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Slurry vs Fermented Plant Food, Weeds to Ferment, JADAM Pest Spray

Drake opens with the I Ching reading on Kǐn, water, then answers a question about JADAM's cheap plant food. The "disgustingly cheap" slurry method packs plant material, water, and a handful of soil into a bucket and lets it sit one to two weeks. Anaerobic bacteria putrefy it, and you dilute the result 1:100. KNF food, also called fermented plant juice, mixes plant material with a third to half its weight in brown sugar so the sugar draws the juice out osmotically. It ferments three to fourteen days, gets diluted 1:500, and is about five times more potent with far less risk of spreading pathogens.

LAB helps the smelly slurry bucket but isn't needed in KNF food, which already develops its own LAB and yeast. For weeds to ferment, Drake favors juicy plants like dandelion, purslane, black medic, and wild onion, and skips grasses such as crabgrass, nutsedge, and ryegrass since they don't ferment well. You can combine two or three different plant foods at the same 1:500 dilution rate for a broader nutrient mix; add more than three and cut the dilution back.

Fermentation also breaks down oxalic acid, which is why rhubarb leaves (about 5% oxalic acid), spinach, and brassicas are safer once fermented. Drake then works through two JADAM pest recipes from the book: 5 liters soap and 5 liters Jerusalem artichoke herbal solution in 500 liters of soft water, plus 1-2 liters sulfur and 0.5 kg fine red clay powder, for mites and aphids. For moths, the mix gets stronger — 8 liters soap and 15 liters Jerusalem artichoke solution in 500 liters water, with soap upped to 10 liters for bad infestations.

Questions answered

  • 8:10 What's the advantage of KNF food vs a comfrey or nettle slurry? — Slurry (JADAM/Madag) ferments by putrefaction from water, plant material, and dirt; KNF food uses sugar to draw out the juice by fermentation, making it five times more potent.
  • 21:24 Can I buy banana vinegar (BRV) from you in Hawaiʻi? — No, make it yourself since bananas grow in Nigeria too; mix one part KNF food with two parts water and ferment three to six months for a sweet vinegar under pH 2.4.
  • 24:30 Can you add LAB to the disgustingly cheap JADAM bucket? — Yes, add a good amount of LAB to help control smell and pathogens in the water-and-dirt slurry; skip it in KNF food, which already grows its own LAB and yeast.
  • 28:50 Which weeds in Tennessee work for ferments? — Any lush, juicy weed like dandelion, purslane, black medic, or wild onion; skip grasses such as crabgrass and nutsedge since they don't ferment well.
  • 35:16 Can you combine different plant ferments, like dandelion and purslane? — Yes, add two or three different KNF foods together at the same 1:500 dilution; add more than three and reduce the dilution.
  • 41:52 Is rhubarb leaf too toxic to ferment because of oxalic acid? — Rhubarb leaves hold about 5% oxalic acid, but fermentation breaks oxalic acid down, the same reason spinach and brassicas should be fermented before eating a lot of them.
  • 47:16 What's the JADAM recipe for aphids and mites? — Mix 5 liters of soap and 5 liters of Jerusalem artichoke herbal solution into 500 liters of soft water, then add 1-2 liters of sulfur and 0.5 kg of fine red clay powder.
  • 48:49 Why does soft water matter for these pesticide sprays? — Hard water full of calcium and minerals won't take up soap or suds properly, so soft or rain water gives much better pesticide results.
  • 55:13 What's the JADAM recipe for moths like the diamondback moth? — Same idea but stronger, 8 liters of soap and 15 liters of Jerusalem artichoke solution in 500 liters of water, with soap upped to 10 liters for bad infestations.

Topics: jadam, madag, fpj, lab, jerusalem artichoke, oxalic acid, aphids, mites, moths, banana vinegar, dandelion, purslane

KNF Office Hours is a free live Q&A every Sunday at 9 AM HST. Bring your question to pureknf.org/learn/questions or join live.

In this episode

  1. 0:00 Welcome & I Ching: Water
  2. 8:10 JADAM slurry vs KNF food: the science
  3. 21:24 Making banana vinegar at home
  4. 24:30 Adding LAB to your ferment bucket
  5. 28:50 Best weeds to ferment (skip the grasses)
  6. 35:16 Combining multiple plant ferments
  7. 41:52 Fermentation breaks down oxalic acid
  8. 47:16 JADAM recipe: aphid and mite spray
  9. 55:13 JADAM recipe: moth spray
  10. 1:03:29 More JADAM recipes coming next week

Transcript

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