March 2026 – Medicine
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.
March's meeting dove into medicine — the five-herb extract that sits at the heart of Pure KNF plant protection. Where food builds mass and cleanser flushes and flexes, medicine activates the immune system: it tells the plant to defend itself, wakes up the microbial community in the soil, and fills the air around treated plants with aromatic compounds that pests find deeply unpleasant. Drake walked the group through the herb selection philosophy, the simple extraction process, and led a tasting of finished batches.
TL;DR: Medicine = 5 aromatic/medicinal herbs + equal weight brown sugar, extracted 7–14 days in a dark place. Strain and store in dark glass. Dilute 1:1000 for foliar spray. Apply early morning or evening. Works on plants, soil, animals, and people.
What Medicine Does
Medicine works on three levels simultaneously. Pest repellent: aromatic compounds (allicin from garlic, gingerols from ginger) coat leaf surfaces and off-gas into surrounding air — most soft-bodied insects and pathogens find these compounds repellent. Immune stimulant: bioactive phenolics and alkaloids from herbs like angelica and licorice trigger the plant's systemic acquired resistance pathways — the plant upregulates its own defensive chemistry. Microbe activator: medicine shifts the microbial community in the soil and on leaf surfaces toward beneficial organisms that suppress disease and support plant health.
The Five Herbs
Master Cho's medicine calls for five aromatic, medicinal herbs. The classic five: garlic, ginger, licorice root, angelica root, and a fifth chosen for your context — often cinnamon, mugwort, or a locally abundant medicinal plant. In Hawaiʻi this opens the door to noni, ōlena (turmeric), mamaki, or ʻawa. The principle: medicine made from the plants of your place carries information specific to your place. Garlic is the non-negotiable anchor — allicin is one of the most potent natural antimicrobials known. Drake encouraged the group to make a classic five-herb batch and also a local variant, then compare.
Making and Using Medicine
Chop or crush your five herbs finely to break cell walls and release aromatic compounds. Layer in a clean glass jar with an equal weight of brown sugar, alternating herbs and sugar. Cover two-thirds full, leave headspace. Cover with a breathable cloth lid and store in a dark, room-temperature location. Within 24–48 hours the sugar draws liquid out through osmosis. After 7–14 days, strain out the spent plant material and store in dark glass bottles. Dilute 1:1000 with water for foliar spray. Apply early morning or evening. For soil application, water the same dilution around the root zone.
The group made a batch together — garlic, ginger, licorice root, angelica, and noni leaves — layered with brown sugar. As Drake reminded everyone: make the homework, bring it back, taste it. The confidence that comes from holding a finished jar of your own medicine is something no video can replace.
The Hilo KNF monthly meetings are held at the Komohana Research and Extension Center, 875 Komohana St, Hilo. All are welcome — bring a dish to share.
Next Month: Structure — April 14, 2026