9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Collecting and burning pests and spreading their ashes is a common, effective practice in biodynamic agriculture to help balance pest infestations. We will be making remedies from the varroa mite, small hive beetle, ticks, and the spotted lantern fly.
This is three-day workshop is one of four modules of our Spikenard Biodynamic Beekeeping Training (SBBT). It can be taken as part of the full training or as a stand-alone experience.
This is Spikenard’s introductory class in biodynamic/sustainable beekeeping methods. This workshop offers advice for those who want to have bees and those who want to learn more about methods focused on the health and vitality of honeybees. Learn about different hive types, approaches to feeding and pest management, and how to support the bees during the season of swarming, expansion, and growth.
8:30AM - 5:00PM
Please bring a lunch. Light snacks are provided.
This is five-day workshop is one of four modules of our Spikenard Biodynamic Beekeeping Training (SBBT). It can be taken as part of the full training or as a stand-alone workshop experience.
Practical Course for All Experience Levels with Anthony Mecca
Dates: Wednesdays — Dec 10, 17; January 7, 14, 21, 28
Time: Afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 pm ET, with a 30-minute break midway
with Stewart Lundy, M Mueller, and other facilitators
In collaboration with the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied Biodynamic
Dates: Monthly First Tuesdays — Dec 2, January 6, February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, November 3, December 1
Time: 7:30 - 9:00 pm ET
Cost: FREE
All students and friends of Spikenard are invited to join in three days of gratitude and celebration of the bees, the landscape, and our own inner transformation. This is a time we get to know and work with the hives from the periphery through three days of special lectures and activities, art and music making, and tending of sanctuary land, the "body" of the beehive.
In this workshop we will look at what needs to be done in the fall in order to let the hives go into the winter as strong and healthy as possible, and also take a look at the winter and early spring months, probably the most difficult time of the year for the bees. We will take a closer look at the various illnesses and probable causes, as well as share our methods of hive feeding, wrapping, and consolidation for best possible over-wintering success.
Josephine Porter Institute Late Spring Preparation Workshop
June 13-15, 2025
The mission of biodynamics has always been one of fostering health for the purpose of universal human freedom.
The goal of the “farm organism” is so that every farm might source from within its own boundaries, all its own fertility needs that stream in from the cosmos.
Hosted by The Waldorf School of Santa Barbara and the Helen Hecker Study Group - Studies in Anthroposophy:
Sept 14, 2024 9:30am - 6:00pm with breaks for lunch (BYOL or buy locally) and healthy snacks (provided)
Harald Hoven introduces the history and evolution of biodynamics, the preparations, and their applications in a day-long workshop. In the garden, we will build a compost pile together and close with a stir and spray of BD 500. Join us to learn exceptional practices to nourish and invigorate your garden, farm, and landscape!
Fee: $35, $40 after Sept 7th
