Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 34

ALTERNATIVE AGRICULTURE
From page 30

promoting soil life, and
balancing the soil's minerals.
These terms mean using
natural systems to improve
soil structure, control weeds,
pests, and diseases, and
improve crop quality.
K Traditional farming is an
indigenous practice of
cultivating land to produce
crops, breeding, and raising

livestock while managing
natural resources in order to
produce nutritious and
continual food supply without
external contribution, but
using self-reliance and locally
available resources.
K Biodynamic agriculture is a
worldwide movement that
uses an approach to sustainable agriculture based on the
Anthroposophy philosophy of

Rudolf Steiner.
His approach is based on a
spiritual understanding of
man's connection to the earth
and cosmos and the concept
of a self-contained farm
individuality.
Biodynamic agriculture differs
from many forms of organic
agriculture in its spiritual,
mystical, and astrological
orientation.

Two of the
compounds
used to improve
soil spiritually
in the biodynamic
system as
described in the
text.
Left: Chamomile
Right: A cow’s
horn filled with
manure

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A central aspect of
biodynamics is that the farm
as a whole is seen as an
organism, and therefore
should be a largely selfsustaining system, producing
its own manure and animal
feed.
Plant or animal disease is
seen as a symptom of
problems in the whole
Continued on page 34