Invariably, there is something that does not belong. Whether it’s a typo in an essay or a suspicious lump that must be removed, the world of perpetual change is unpredictable. This doesn’t mean there’s not a plan, but like “irrational” numbers like Pi, it’s a kind of order of such complexity that it appears, at least to our limited rational minds, to be incomprehensible.
In an older time, sickness was considered a punishment from God and medicine — whether the intervention of herbs or witches — was considered to be diabolical magic. Very few people embrace such complete resignation. I’d wager that even Søren Kierkegaard would not have been a knight of infinite resignation when it came to seeking remedies for ailments. The concept of divine vengeance as a source of our problems is a one-sided take on what is more expressively articulated as the law of karma. Yes, everything relates to everything else, and yet, in the end, we must still act. If we are constantly trying to take into account all factors, we will be like Chidi Anagonye in The Good Place, so perplexed my moral quandaries that we find ourselves unable to act at all. Is it right to suppress weeds? Yes, in a limited sense. It is “right” because it is better for humanity to dwell here on earth and better be mirrors of Divinity. But suppressing weeds is “wrong” when it is mere convenience, facilitating the worst aspects of our nature.
When it comes to weeds or pests in the garden, there are specific practices that can be employed to transmute the very problem into its own solution. If you take pests and char them, you create a sort of pathogenic process which is antagonistic against the original pest itself, but limited to that specific species. These are called by Rudolf Steiner “peppers” but only because of the ash and char resembling the visual of cracked black pepper. The char and ash can be distributed across the garden to suppress the particular weed or pest in question.
There are, of course, weeds that do not reproduce by seeds, so the approach must be modified somewhat in these cases. To remove what does not belong means only what is essential remains.
At Perennial Roots Farm, we consult with growers of all scales and offer packages for the smallholder, the beginner, and the large-scale producer. These ideas are for all. We are here for any of your questions.