Re: silica spray/biodynamic gdng

**"* S* <m*@gmail.com>**

I think of the bits that stick out from the main stem as "leaves." Saying
"crumble the plants" is more accurate.

Miranda

On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 5:39 AM, Miranda Smith <mirandaconstance@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have used home-made horsetail spray for disease prevention in greenhouse
> crops. It works beautifully. I'm sure you could spray it on the soil, too.
> If you can't find any wild, you can buy it from almost any good herb
> supplier.
>
> If you make it, crumble the leaves into small pieces and wrap them in
> several layers of cheesecloth--like a giant bouquet garni. Then put it in a
> pickle crock filled with water. Cover the crock and let it sit in a warm
> spot for at least five days and preferably a couple of weeks. Strain it
> through a coffee filter before diluting it and putting it into a sprayer so
> it doesn't clog the nozzle. (Cleaning nozzles is a major pain.) It should
> look like weak tea when you use it.
>
> For a faster brew, you can bring it to a light boil, preferably in a
> stainless steel or ceramic pot--not aluminum or non-stick--and hold it just
> under boiling for about 5 minutes. Again, strain, dilute, and fill the
> sprayer.
>
> Traditionally, there is a way of stirring these materials--first one way
> and then the other, to create a vortex and bring in particular energies.
> It's tedious--so much so that many BD farmers have mechanized it. I confess
> to having stinted on this step--my arm gets tired. It still worked well.
>
> Miranda
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 24, 2008 at 12:06 AM, MARY FRAN MCQUADE <mfmcq@sympatico.ca>
> wrote:
>
>> Margaret--
>>
>> I don't know about commercially available silica spray, but I remember
>> horsetail (equisetum) is supposed to be full of silica. Some herbalists
>> recommend horsetail tea for use on for hair and nails (as well as
>> internally, tho I don't think I'd want to try that).
>>
>>
>
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