Plant Alchemy With KNF: Korean Natural Farming And Jadam

[Azimuth]

What is CSPM?

Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. Often used as the base in potting mixes. Mostly inert, a bit acidic, and super hydrophobic when it dries out.

Veg extract? Tell me more please. Do you add this to all of your vegging plants as a matter of course?

This thread is about my exploration of natural farming methods like KNF (Korean Natural Farming) and Jadam. Father and son duo with slightly different takes on extracting nutrients from the plants growing around us. The first page or two of the thread gives a bit of background and the rest is mainly about various experiments I've done as I explore the possibilities.

I've done extracts with lots of plant material including dandelion, comfrey, nettle, horsetail fern, willow, fish, seaweed, eggshells, bones, etc, and for my veg mix I settled on the five ingredients I felt offered the broad mix of micro and macro nutrients needed for growth without having to mix 15 different things. The five were specifically selected for their known properties and the ratio is a bit of a first pass. I basically wanted mostly an even balance of fish for the fungal properties and plants for the more bacterial properties and then a splash of calcium from the WCA and another splash of growth hormones from the seaweed.

At least that's the theory. Well see how it does in practice, but as stated I'm down to basically massaging the ratios of the stuff I use as I've had pretty good luck using this stuff in place of both purchased soil and nutrients.

About three weeks ago I started adding this diluted mix of extracts to all veg plants at every watering. I grow in SIPs so I just pour it down the fill tube and move on with my life. Super simple and easy, but I've never seen the positive plant response like I have these last few weeks. Pretty astonishing, actually. Great new growth on old, tired plants, much better color and larger leaves (like twice as large) on my normal, younger plants.

In flower I add an equal amount of my Fruit and Flower extract to the veg mix for a bit of extra P and K.

Maybe I've just been underfeeding them this entire time, but I'm going with the theory of doing more of what's working and less of what ain't.

I've settled on mostly Jadam water extracts for their ease of production and simple shelf stable properties without having to do much to them. The downside is the smell but that's really only an issue when the container is open. Once I dilute and pour into my reservoirs I haven't noticed any odor. Possible I've gone nose blind to it though.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. Often used as the base in potting mixes. Mostly inert, a bit acidic, and super hydrophobic when it dries out.


This thread is about my exploration of natural farming methods like KNF (Korean Natural Farming) and Jadam. Father and son duo with slightly different takes on extracting nutrients from the plants growing around us. The first page or two of the thread gives a bit of background and the rest is mainly about various experiments I've done as I explore the possibilities.

I've started reading it a few times . Now I am keen to learn more about your veg and flowering extracts if I may. Is the recipe tailor made to your soil, or can it be applied to any plants, mine for instance?

I've done extracts with lots of plant material including dandelion, comfrey, nettle, horsetail fern, willow, fish, seaweed, eggshells, bones, etc, and for my veg mix I settled on the five ingredients I felt offered the broad mix of micro and macro nutrients needed for growth without having to mix 15 different things. The five were specifically selected for their known properties and the ratio is a bit of a first pass. I basically wanted mostly an even balance of fish for the fungal properties and plants for the more bacterial properties and then a splash of calcium from the WCA and another splash of growth hormones from the seaweed.

Are you willing to consider sharing the list of 5, and the ratios please?

At least that's the theory. Well see how it does in practice, but as stated I'm down to basically massaging the ratios of the stuff I use as I've had pretty good luck using this stuff in place of both purchased soil and nutrients.

About three weeks ago I started adding this diluted mix of extracts to all veg plants at every watering. I grow in SIPs so I just pour it down the fill tube and move on with my life. Super simple and easy, but I've never seen the positive plant response like I have these last few weeks. Pretty astonishing, actually. Great new growth on old, tired plants, much better color and larger leaves (like twice as large) on my normal, younger plants.

In flower I add an equal amount of my Fruit and Flower extract to the veg mix for a bit of extra P and K.

What's what with these too please?

Maybe I've just been underfeeding them this entire time, but I'm going with the theory of doing more of what's working and less of what ain't.

Good thinking.

I've settled on mostly Jadam water extracts for their ease of production and simple shelf stable properties without having to do much to them. The downside is the smell but that's really only an issue when the container is open. Once I dilute and pour into my reservoirs I haven't noticed any odor. Possible I've gone nose blind to it though.

I will tolerate the stench lol.

 

[Azimuth]

I've started reading it a few times . Now I am keen to learn more about your veg and flowering extracts if I may. Is the recipe tailor made to your soil, or can it be applied to any plants, mine for instance?

Well, keep in mind that this is DIY almost completely. There is no website to check if something goes sideways so I share my experiments for those interested in trying it themselves but I take no responsibility if it crashes your grow.

I mix up a batch of concentrate and then dilute it when I water, and use it on all plants, houseplants and outdoor veggies included.

Are you willing to consider sharing the list of 5, and the ratios please?

I already did above, at least mostly. I make separate batches of comfrey, nettle, fish, seaweed and calcium extracts and then combine them in a single larger container in different ratios. Right now that's a 60 oz bottle since I'm still experimenting and don't want to use all of my reserves on a mix I might decide to adjust a bit later.

Since the FAA and the WCA are typically used at a 1:1,000 ratio whereas the Jadam extracts are used at 1:20 or 1:30, I had to adjust the inputs to account for the dilution differences. Essentially the FAA and the WCA are 30-50x more concentrated so I basically used 1/30 of the volume to arrive at my input quantities.

So, 20 oz of comfrey plus 20 oz of nettle is 40 ounces or 80 tablespoons. 80T / 30x is 2.667 tablespoons at the more concentrated amount. Since I wanted roughly equal representation of FAA and comfrey/nettle in the end product, I did 20 ounces each of comfrey and nettle and 3 tablespoons of FAA.

The seaweed I wanted at 10% of the total or 1/4 of the 40 oz of comfrey/nettle, so that was 10 oz, and the WCA is 1/4 of the FAA, so I rounded that to 1T.

In short, the 50 oz of veg mix is:
20 oz comfrey JLF
20 oz nettle JLF
10 oz seaweed JLF
3T FAA
1T WCA
(So I guess technically 52 total oz of concentrate)

What's what with these too please?

My Fruit and Flower extract is exactly that, a Jadam water extract of various fruits and flowers.

For fruits its things like apples, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, banana, pumpkin, stuff like that. Just a good mix of whatever at hand but being sure to have banana and pumpkin which are known to be high in K.

For the flowers (P) I use mostly big showy flowers like peony, lily, daylily, hydrangea, etc since I want big showy flowers too, but also flowers of the dynamic accumulators like dandelion, comfrey and nettle.

Each batch is slightly different so I just make it in one big container and add new stuff as I take out some of the older part making sure to mix it well as I do.

I will tolerate the stench lol.

The extracts actually mellow over time to what I call a "springtime horse barn smell." Still not super pleasant but not all that offensive either.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Well, keep in mind that this is DIY almost completely. There is no website to check if something goes sideways so I share my experiments for those interested in trying it themselves but I take no responsibility if it crashes your grow.

Understood!

I mix up a batch of concentrate and then dilute it when I water, and use it on all plants, houseplants and outdoor veggies included.

A good testimonial!

I already did above, at least mostly. I make separate batches of comfrey, nettle, fish, seaweed and calcium extracts and then combine them in a single larger container in different ratios. Right now that's a 60 oz bottle since I'm still experimenting and don't want to use all of my reserves on a mix I might decide to adjust a bit later.

Since the FAA and the WCA are typically used at a 1:1,000 ratio whereas the Jadam extracts are used at 1:20 or 1:30, I had to adjust the inputs to account for the dilution differences. Essentially the FAA and the WCA are 30-50x more concentrated so I basically used 1/30 of the volume to arrive at my input quantities.

What is FAA?

So, 20 oz of comfrey plus 20 oz of nettle is 40 ounces or 80 tablespoons. 80T / 30x is 2.667 tablespoons at the more concentrated amount. Since I wanted roughly equal representation of FAA and comfrey/nettle in the end product, I did 20 ounces each of comfrey and nettle and 3 tablespoons of FAA.

The seaweed I wanted at 10% of the total or 1/4 of the 40 oz of comfrey/nettle, so that was 10 oz, and the WCA is 1/4 of the FAA, so I rounded that to 1T.

In short, the 50 oz of veg mix is:
20 oz comfrey JLF
20 oz nettle JLF
10 oz seaweed JLF
3T FAA
1T WCA
(So I guess technically 52 total oz of concentrate)


My Fruit and Flower extract is exactly that, a Jadam water extract of various fruits and flowers.

For fruits its things like apples, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, banana, pumpkin, stuff like that. Just a good mix of whatever at hand but being sure to have banana and pumpkin which are known to be high in K.

How do you make it? Do you have a method jotted down in your journal somewhere?

For the flowers (P) I use mostly big showy flowers like peony, lily, daylily, hydrangea, etc since I want big showy flowers too, but also flowers of the dynamic accumulators like dandelion, comfrey and nettle.

This could end up quite a pricey affair! LOL, will one bouquet be enough?

Each batch is slightly different so I just make it in one big container and add new stuff as I take out some of the older part making sure to mix it well as I do.

Still unclear about containers, mixing etc.

The extracts actually mellow over time to what I call a "springtime horse barn smell." Still not super pleasant but not all that offensive either.

No problem.

 

[Azimuth]

What is FAA?

Plant Alchemy With KNF: Korean Natural Farming And Jadam

Yes absolutely. We all lived off-grid so no stores or electricity. We canned salmon and venison all together every year and played hide and seek with helicopters all summer to get bud in our jars each October and make some cash for boat parts and solar panels. Twas a place out of time.

www.420magazine.com

How do you make it? Do you have a method jotted down in your journal somewhere?

Don't over think this. I have an empty 60 oz container into which I put all of the ingredients. So, 20 oz of my comfrey extract, 20 oz of my nettle extract, 10 oz of the seaweed extract etc.

Then, to use it, I take 1 tablespoon of that blended concentrate and add it to 1L of rain water

This could end up quite a pricey affair! LOL, will one bouquet be enough?

Depends on how much you want to make. I put however much plant material I have in a bucket, add some microbes and cover that with rain water. That water becomes my concentrate after the plant material breaks down.

Still unclear about containers, mixing etc.

I use 2-3 containers for each extract. A big one which is the long-term breakdown container, a second small working one that has any plant material screened out, and then a third one into which I put fresh material for a month or so to start the breakdown so I don't water down the big container.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Plant Alchemy With KNF: Korean Natural Farming And Jadam

Yes absolutely. We all lived off-grid so no stores or electricity. We canned salmon and venison all together every year and played hide and seek with helicopters all summer to get bud in our jars each October and make some cash for boat parts and solar panels. Twas a place out of time.

www.420magazine.com

Excellent, thank you. I'll watch the video.

Don't over think this. I have an empty 60 oz container into which I put all of the ingredients. So, 20 oz of my comfrey extract, 20 oz of my nettle extract, 10 oz of the seaweed extract etc.

Lol, thanks. No I meant how do you make the extracts themselves?

Then, to use it, I take 1 tablespoon of that blended concentrate and add it to 1L of rain water


Depends on how much you want to make. I put however much plant material I have in a bucket, add some microbes and cover that with rain water. That water becomes my concentrate after the plant material breaks down.

When you say "cover it", do you mean enough water to cover the plants and no more? Do you chop it up? I'm thinking of blending it in the Nutribullet? Can I make it in a sealable jar do you think? Can I buy a bunch of flowers and chop em up, is it that simple? Also, the fruit version, just chop up a variety of fruit in the Nutribullet?

I use 2-3 containers for each extract. A big one which is the long-term breakdown container, a second small working one that has any plant material screened out, and then a third one into which I put fresh material for a month or so to start the breakdown so I don't water down the big container.

Oh wow, this is a big production. In my circumstances I am unable to achieve this. I don't have the space for it. Sigh, all the build up and everything. I guess that's why I had to ask a bunch of questions. Thanks Azi. Maybe my space will change one day to accommodate these potions

 

[Azimuth]

I rough chop my stuff to take a lot of the air out of it but don't blend it down, but however you do it it should be consistent so you get a fairly repeatable output.

 

[Carmen Ray]

I rough chop my stuff to take a lot of the air out of it but don't blend it down, but however you do it it should be consistent so you get a fairly repeatable output.

I might try one at a time and see where it gets me. So to make the extract, I simply chop the ingredients, cover with water and leave it to rot like I did the banana tea?

 

[Azimuth]

I might try one at a time and see where it gets me. So to make the extract, I simply chop the ingredients, cover with water and leave it to rot like I did the banana tea?

Yes, but with microbes added. I use worm castings, but compost or leaf mold soil also work, and you just need a very little of that.

 

[Carmen Ray]

Yes, but with microbes added. I use worm castings, but compost or leaf mold soil also work, and you just need a very little of that.

So the same way I made the banana peel one then. Cool as! I'm going to slowly get together next grow's nutes then I think I can do it if I utilize the gap in growing for making liquid fertilizers once a year.

 

[Azimuth]

So far I'm really impressed with the new inputs combination and I'm not even using my new, latest soil recipe yet.

About two weeks after flip and the newest plant looks great. Best plant this far in by far so it must like something. This combination is a good soil mix, a weekly topdressing with malted barley and crumbles of comfrey and nettle (no worm castings this round to see if that helps with bugs) and then JLF with every watering. This is the round with worms rather than aeration in the soil mix, so maybe that whole aeration thing is a myth. Lol.

The biggest positive effect I think is coming from my weak (1:65) JLF with every watering in veg. I have more healthy green leaves than usual which are easily twice as big as I typically get so maybe I've just been underfeeding them this whole time.

Once in flower I step up the concentration of JLF from 1T/L of my veg mix to 1.5T veg mix plus .5T of my Fruit & Flower. I'm just getting to the part of the grow where I often start getting yellowing leaves so it will be interesting to see how far I can get this round.

If it continues to go this well, I may run a small plant through flower on just the JLF (no weekly top dressings, no organics in the soil mix) and see what it can do. I've also thought about adding some of the F&F JLF to the veg mix but I think there's probably enough P and K in there from the comfrey already. But we'll see. If I get either P or K issues in the next few weeks I can look at adjusting what I give in veg.

 

[Azimuth]

I'm now starting to see a bit of a fade of the nice green color on the veg plants so I'm changing the dilution factor from 1:60 to 1:45. Still should be on the weaker side of things but still gives me some additional room if I need to go further.

That fade and a bit of what looks like a K ask have happened a few days after giving them some of my WCA, so I'm wondering if that might be related.

Not all that bad, at least yet, so I'm content to watch and wait a bit.

 

[Azimuth]

Once in flower I step up the concentration of JLF from 1T/L of my veg mix to 1.5T veg mix plus .5T of my Fruit & Flower. I'm just getting to the part of the grow where I often start getting yellowing leaves so it will be interesting to see how far I can get this round.

Now, after bud set, I'm getting a bit of yellowing, really more like gentle fading, on some of the undercanopy leaves but the rest of the leaves still look great so I'm not sure if it's just a lack of light down there or if the mobile elements are being moved up.

It's not dramatic but definitely noticeable so I'm going to modify the input mix a bit. I'm keeping the same amount of JLF but am shifting the blend by reducing the Fruit & Flower portion and increasing the Veg part.

Seems like I'm pretty close but I guess time will tell.

 

[jmrl]

I've finally had time to read a bit on this topic, to say I've enjoyed it so far.

This past year, I decided to kickstart my indoor grow adventure, all in the pursuit of exploring KNF/Jadam Processes. Why, you ask? Well, I'm on a mission to find a more budget-friendly alternative to the organic gardening methods we've all grown accustomed to here in the States. It's a bit disheartening how pricey things can get, isn't it?

So far, I've dabbled in a few ferments and whipped up some Jadam Microorganisms (JMS) – and let me tell you, it's been a breeze to get into compared to other methods. The best part? No limitations based on the size of your wallet. Who doesn't love that kind of flexibility?

What's been the highlight of my journey so far? Well, I've joyfully crafted my own Water Soluble Calcium, Potassium, and Phosphorus. Oh, and let's not forget a flowering mix I whipped up solely from MJ flowers. Talk about a DIY adventure, right?

Currently, my grow is rocking a combination of JMS and FPJ, and I'm pleased to say the results are pretty darn decent. I'm hooked and ready to absorb all the knowledge you wonderful folks have to share. So, here's to more learning, experimenting, and growing – both plants and knowledge!

Cheers, and happy growing! Hope to learn and teach as I go!

 

[Azimuth]

A few more days into flower and the fading continues. It's not a huge rush but more of a slow march, and still all confined to the lower leaves so I increased the feed rate a bit more. Since I don't have any tip burn it seems as though there is some room to up the concentration, but I also don't want to go overboard.

My last increase in feed was about a week ago and I don't want to go up too fast as it can take a week or two for changes to have an impact so I'll give this latest increase some time before changing it again.

I also topdressed some eggshells and added a few worms to the buckets from my recent harvest of the worm bins so those should help provide a bit of calcium throughout the pot in case its a mineral issue.

I took a brix reading on my veg plant and it came in at a disappointing 7ish with a pretty clear demarcation line so that suggests to me that low calcium may be what is leading to the fading lower leaves once flower is underway. So for each of the next few rounds I'm planning on increasing the amount of minerals in my mix, especially calcium. I'll go slowly because the old soil that is part of my mix is starting to have more calcium from the increased amounts I've been using in the last few rounds but it clearly isn't enough.

 

[Azimuth]

After researching and rereading prior stuff I've looked at I'm coming to the conclusion that my yellowing leaves is not a lack of N issue (well, technically that's probably exactly what it is) but rather a lack of calcium. @Gee64 talks at length about what calcium does for the soil and the benefits it brings to plants, one of which is fluffing the soil which allows in more atmospheric nitrogen.

I've recently stopped top dressing a weekly addition of worm castings which may be exacerbating the issue, but when I recently took a brix reading of the best looking plant I think I've ever grown heading into flower it came in at a disappointing 7ish with a very clear demarcation line suggesting inadequate calcium levels.

I've also compared what I'm using for my mix to the Coots Mix and TLO Mix and see that I'm significantly below either of them, so time to make adjustments.

Calcium comes in various forms, but in the Coot's/Cornell University Mix he's adding three different calcium inputs at the rate of about 1oz/gallon, in addition to massive amounts of worm castings which also bring in Ca.

The three he uses are:

- Oyster shell flour for calcium carbonate (he's not a fan of dolomite lime because of the included Mg)

- Gypsum for calcium sulfate (sulfer enhances terpines)

- Crustacean Meal for calcium and chitin (good for encouraging microbes that break down chitin which also makes up the shells and egg cases of soil pests so is a good pest deterrent)

So, I'm going to start there and add them at those rates as a top dressing to each of my SIP buckets with the hopes the the microbes can start breaking some of it down, but really to add it to the overall soil volume that will go into the old soil bucket for future rounds and I will also add them as amendments as I mix future rounds of my GroMix.

I'll use the Oyster shell flour at first but I'm sensitive to Gee's thoughts on Dolimite lime which includes magnesium which I'd imagine would help when growing under led's. But for the first few rounds I'll follow Coot's tried and tested, very successful and simple input suggestions before venturing out on my own.

I do think for example, the crustacean meal can likely be replaced with a mix of eggshells and bug parts (calcium and chitin) both of which I can produce myself, and another of his inputs (neem/karanja meals) can probably be replaced by sunchoke tubers which I've recently started growing in my garden.

But first I'll do things mostly 'by the book' so I'll have a decent baseline to compare any changes I make to the original version.

Onward!

 

[Carmen Ray]

It sounds like a breakthrough.

 

[Azimuth]

It sounds like a breakthrough.

Maybe. More like a theory. Would be great if if it works as I expect hope. I feel like I'm sooo close. But, time will tell.

 

[Gee64]

After researching and rereading prior stuff I've looked at I'm coming to the conclusion that my yellowing leaves is not a lack of N issue (well, technically that's probably exactly what it is) but rather a lack of calcium. @Gee64 talks at length about what calcium does for the soil and the benefits it brings to plants, one of which is fluffing the soil which allows in more atmospheric nitrogen.

I've recently stopped top dressing a weekly addition of worm castings which may be exacerbating the issue, but when I recently took a brix reading of the best looking plant I think I've ever grown heading into flower it came in at a disappointing 7ish with a very clear demarcation line suggesting inadequate calcium levels.

I've also compared what I'm using for my mix to the Coots Mix and TLO Mix and see that I'm significantly below either of them, so time to make adjustments.

Calcium comes in various forms, but in the Coot's/Cornell University Mix he's adding three different calcium inputs at the rate of about 1oz/gallon, in addition to massive amounts of worm castings which also bring in Ca.

The three he uses are:

- Oyster shell flour for calcium carbonate (he's not a fan of dolomite lime because of the included Mg)

- Gypsum for calcium sulfate (sulfer enhances terpines)

- Crustacean Meal for calcium and chitin (good for encouraging microbes that break down chitin which also makes up the shells and egg cases of soil pests so is a good pest deterrent)

So, I'm going to start there and add them at those rates as a top dressing to each of my SIP buckets with the hopes the the microbes can start breaking some of it down, but really to add it to the overall soil volume that will go into the old soil bucket for future rounds and I will also add them as amendments as I mix future rounds of my GroMix.

I'll use the Oyster shell flour at first but I'm sensitive to Gee's thoughts on Dolimite lime which includes magnesium which I'd imagine would help when growing under led's. But for the first few rounds I'll follow Coot's tried and tested, very successful and simple input suggestions before venturing out on my own.

I do think for example, the crustacean meal can likely be replaced with a mix of eggshells and bug parts (calcium and chitin) both of which I can produce myself, and another of his inputs (neem/karanja meals) can probably be replaced by sunchoke tubers which I've recently started growing in my garden.

But first I'll do things mostly 'by the book' so I'll have a decent baseline to compare any changes I make to the original version.

Onward!

Oyster shells already contain chitin. So replacing oyster shells or crusty meal will still leave you with a chitin source. I live in a region where oysters are farmed a lot, so oyster shell flour is cheap and abundant.

 

[Azimuth]

Maybe. More like a theory. Would be great if if it works as I expect hope. I feel like I'm sooo close. But, time will tell.

One of the things I'm concerned about is the pH change of adding all that calcium to the mix.

In the Coot's version, he's using CSPM as his base which is a bit acidic so the calcium in his case can help balance out the low starting numbers. I'm not starting from an acidic base that needs/benefits from adjustment so I'll have to bolo for any adverse effects.

My first step was to top dress existing pots with it, but I'll be blending up a new mix with it included in the amendment part soon which will be a better test as to its effectiveness.