BIODYNAMIC TRAINING AT RAPHAEL GARDEN

The Garden

Raphael Garden works toward the healing of the earth. It is located at the center of the campus of Rudolf Steiner College, an Anthroposophical training center. Raphael Garden serves as an educational center for training apprentices and is where the Biodynamic Course and other gardening classes at Rudolf Steiner College are taught. The garden is comprised of two acres: a one-acre vegetable and herb garden and a one-acre orchard that also serves as a sheep pasture. The main focus of the garden is the production of biodynamic food for a community of approximately 40 shareholders (CSA). The garden also grows seeds from most of its plants, both for its own use and for sale to seed companies. In addition, many varieties of herbs are grown, which are used for tea and in making the biodynamic compost preparations.

Apprenticeship Training

Raphael Garden offers positions for up to four apprentices for a period of one year or longer. The training is both practical and theoretical and is intended for people who are looking for a vocation in small-scale farming or as gardening teachers. Since one or two years of training does not seem to be long enough for most people to be fully trained, it is suggested that after completion apprentices continue training on other farms.

Practical skills taught include: soil preparation, both by hand and with a small tractor; soil cultivation; growing and harvesting vegetables, herbs and flowers; small orchard management; small greenhouse management; irrigation; composting; seed saving; work with the biodynamic preparations (both the making and the application); pest management and control; beekeeping; and managing sheep.

Theoretical knowledge is offered in classes on campus at Rudolf Steiner College. They include botany, meteorology, astronomy, water study, crop rotation, philosophy of Biodynamics (theoretical background for all biodynamic applications), and the Agriculture lectures of Rudolf Steiner. The quarterly meetings of the Biodynamic Association of Northern California offer a chance to visit other farms and gardens and include some study and preparation making.

Apprentices from all the northern California biodynamic farms join together seven times a year for common training sessions of a two-year training curriculum. These meetings, which are hosted by the participating farms, are very important for all the apprentices. These are times not only for study and concentrated instruction, but also for experiencing one another in the journey toward becoming a farmer. There are hopes to unite this collaborative training with apprenticeship programs in other regions of the country.

The Setting

Rudolf Steiner College is located in Fair Oaks, on the outskirts of Sacramento toward the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It borders the Sacramento Waldorf School, which has a large garden (with livestock); adjacent is the American River Parkway with many miles of bike trails. Winters are mild and wet; summers are hot and dry.

The Farmer

Harald Hoven founded Raphael Garden in 1984 after completing a four-year training in biodynamic horticulture in Germany. He directs the apprenticeship training, which he initiated in 1988.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites for apprenticeship are:

-Willingness and ability to work hard

-Previous farming or gardening experiences desirable

-Special interest in Biodynamics (should have read introductory literature like

Culture and Horticulture or any title by Rudolf Steiner) -Openness to Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy -Free of drugs -Readiness to make a one-year commitment.

What to Expect

The training is free of charge but involves hard work: 7-10 hours per day depending on the season, Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend chores. There are four weeks of vacation per year. The apprentices receive $100 a month pocket money and will be covered by Workers’ Compensation. Free housing and vegetables will be provided. The pocket money will not be enough to cover all living expenses, and most apprentices will therefore have to earn a bit on the side on Saturdays (doing, for instance, landscaping), use some savings, or have some other means of support.