Biodynamic Practices

Soil Health

Filigreen’s fertility program is a central feature of its Biodynamic practice. The farm cultivates on-site nutrient sources in a variety of ways with the goal of farming the land as a self-sustaining organism. Learn more about Filigreen’s carbon farming efforts.

Cover Crops

Cover crop experimentation brings a balance of qualities to the soil. Sown in orchard rows and fields, these cover crops grow and flourish throughout the farm’s winter dormancy. In spring the plants are turned under, relinquishing these diverse qualities and augmenting soil fertility.

Azolla

Azolla, an aquatic fern, has replaced the farm’s need for imported manure in compost production. This nitrogen-rich plant has long been used as a biofertilizer in traditional Asian agriculture and Filigreen has assigned two ponds to its production for use in various ways around the farm.

In addition to a high nitrogen content, azolla is known for its pronounced capacity to sequester carbon at a rate of six tons/acre per year. Its proliferation in the Arctic Sea over an 800,000-year period of the Eocene brought a drawdown in atmospheric carbon from 1,000ppm to 280ppm. The cooling effect of this 80% drop in atmospheric carbon is believed to have triggered the beginnings of the plant and animal life we know today.

To learn more about Azolla’s properties, we recommend the following resources:

• The Little Fern That Could

• The Plant That Cooled The Planet

• Azolla at Filigreen

• The Arctic Azolla Event

• Can the Fern that Cooled the Planet Do it Again?

Compost Production

Compost comprises the heart of Filigreen’s soil health program. A year’s growth of farm and pond gleanings are windrowed into 70-foot heaps, layered with azolla and inoculated with Biodynamic preparations. In-house compost teas also contribute to Filigreen’s fertility. The tea is brewed in one of three large underground amphorae, and then brought to life with rhythmic stirring and aerating.

The farm’s soil health practice remains an area of experimentation and development. Its ultimate purpose is to provide nourishment to the soil, supporting a diverse array of crops while magnifying nature’s capacity to regenerate.

Water Dynamics

Filigreen Farm experiments with water as a living substance, and as a vehicle and carrier of various dynamic forces.

By working with water dynamics, Filigreen endeavors to harness water potency and utilize this force in tandem with its Biodynamic practices.