January 2026 – Food (Fermented Plant Juice)

The Hilo KNF Monthly Meeting is a free, community-driven gathering held on the second Tuesday of every month at the Komohana Research and Extension Center. Each session focuses on one of Master Cho’s nine core solutions of Korean Natural Farming, with hands-on demonstrations, tastings, and potluck dinner.

January’s session dove into Food — the most foundational of the nine solutions. Drake demonstrated the osmotic extraction process live with fresh comfrey and brown sugar, showing how the sugar draws vital juice through cell walls without heat or water. The group learned how to match different plant materials to different growth stages, and tasted lime and basil ferments that drew audible gasps.

TL;DR: Food (fermented plant juice) is the king of KNF solutions — mix plant material with brown sugar, ferment 3–7 days, dilute 1:500 to feed acres from a handful of plants. Match growing tips for vegetative growth, flowers for transition, ripe fruit for fruiting. Everyone’s homework: make a batch and bring it to February.

Why “Food” Instead of “FPJ”?

Drake opened by explaining his approach to renaming the nine KNF solutions in plain language. “If I say get the FPJ, the OHN, and the BRV, you’re like — what did you just say? But if I say get the food, cleanser, and medicine, let’s go feed the garden — that makes sense.” By calling it Food, practitioners can leverage their lifetime of intuition about nutrition, balance, and feeding.

And Food earns its name. Drake called it “the king of all medicines” — because the right food, made from the right plant, can address virtually any deficiency in plants, soil, animals, or even humans.

The Power of Osmotic Extraction

The process is elegantly simple:

1. Gather one species of plant material — ideally at dawn, before morning dew evaporates, when hormones, auxins, and enzymes are concentrated in the growing tips
2. Mix with brown sugar — one-third to one-half the weight of the plant material, tossing like a salad (not crushing) until the sugar draws out the juice through osmotic pressure
3. Pack two-thirds into a container — clay is best, glass is next, plastic works in a pinch
4. Ferment 3–7 days — look for white wispy mold on top as an indicator that fermentation is complete
5. Collect the liquid — strain off the potent juice and supersaturate with additional sugar for long-term storage

Drake demonstrated with fresh comfrey, showing how the sugar rapidly “cooks” the plant material without heat or pressure. Within minutes, the leaves wilted and began weeping liquid as osmotic pressure pulled the vital juice through the cell walls.

Matching Food to Plant Stage

One of the most powerful aspects of KNF Food is the ability to match your solution to your plant’s life stage:

• Growing tips → Best for vegetative growth (rich in hormones, auxins, enzymes)
• Flowers and unripe fruits → Best during flowering and transition phase
• Ripe fruits → Best during fruiting

The NPK ratios in each plant stage naturally correspond to what your crop needs at that same stage. Drake emphasized: “The more you match it, the better. But anytime, anything — just feed your plants.”

Defeating Monoculture Sickness

Drake shared a remarkable application: by making Food from soybeans and spraying it on corn, the soil microbiome believes soybeans are present. This tricks the system into avoiding monoculture sickness, allowing continuous planting of the same crop — exactly how Korean farmers maintain production year after year.

Community Demonstration

An attendee came up to help with the hands-on portion, mixing comfrey with brown sugar under Drake’s guidance. The group watched as the sugar-coated material transformed from stiff leaves to a wilted, juice-weeping mass — the osmotic extraction happening in real time.

Key tips from the demo:

• No water at any stage — water disrupts the fermentation process
• Use what you have — don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
• Dilute 1:500 for use — about 40 milliliters per 5-gallon bucket
• Spray on leaves or drench soil — plants absorb foliar spray in about 15 minutes
• Store properly — supersaturated in a full container lasts years; small amounts in big jars rot quickly

Tastings and Testimonials

Drake passed around syringes of lime Food and basil Food for the group to taste. The basil drew audible gasps — “That is like the best salad dressing you’ve ever had!” The lime Food, mixed with water, makes a naturally sweet probiotic soda.

An experienced grower shared his success using KNF Cleanser (vinegar) to solve persistent seed germination problems caused by fungus — a preview of next month’s topic.

The Challenge

Drake challenged everyone: make a batch of Food before the next meeting, bring it back for evaluation. “I can check your work, help you with what went right and what didn’t, and help you become confident. That support is something you can’t get from a video.”

He also introduced the Pure KNF Foundation as the nonprofit supporting these meetings, with membership offering access to community resources, videos, and recipes.

Next Month: Cleanser (Vinegar) — and here’s a preview: the leftover plant material from your Food can become the starter for your cleanser. Just add water.