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KNF Chicken Feeder, JADAM Pesticide Recipes, Cassava Polyculture

Drake opens Office Hour 126 with the I Ching hexagram for the day, then answers a question about the KNF chicken feeder Master Cho designed: a V-shaped trough about three feet long with a bar drilled through an eighth-to-quarter-inch hole and pinned on nails so it spins freely, keeping chickens from standing in the feed or fouling it.

He digs through fifteen years of photos and shares 2016 footage from Hoku Nui Farm on Maui, where Young Song Cho tested JADAM pesticide solutions on beetles under a magnifying loupe, including a click beetle whose larva (wireworm) attacks potatoes. Drake explains beetles survive sprays longer because of their hydrophobic, armor-plated coating.

Drake weighs in on pressing plant material with a weight instead of Master Cho's sugar-and-salt osmotic method for fermented plant juice, and notes fish amino acid is usable as soon as it liquefies and keeps improving for up to three years. He also warns that overusing fermented plant juice causes nitrogen overgrowth and more pest problems, then revisits photos of a school garden that grew cassava roots up to 20 pounds through mulch, IMO, and polyculture.

He closes with two JADAM recipes: disgustingly cheap microbes (20L microbe solution, 5L Jerusalem artichoke herb, 5L ginkgo, 3L soap in 500L water) sprayed preventively to boost microbial diversity, and an all-purpose pesticide of 1.5L sulfur, 6L soap, 5L Jerusalem artichoke herb, and 10L Korean pasqueflower root herb in 500L water, strengthened for serious pest pressure.

Questions answered

  • 8:38 How do you build a KNF chicken feeder so chickens don't perch in it or foul the feed? — A three-foot V-shaped trough with a spinning bar drilled through an eighth-to-quarter-inch hole and pinned with a nail or screw on each side.
  • 31:50 Why are beetles so hard to kill with pesticide sprays? — They have a hydrophobic coating and armor plating, so it takes repeated strong doses.
  • 34:31 Is pressing plant material with a weight a good substitute for fermented plant juice? — It can pull out juice, but it skips the sugar-and-salt osmotic pressure Master Cho's method relies on.
  • 37:57 When is fermented fish amino acid (FAA) ready to use? — As soon as it's fully liquefied, and it keeps improving for up to three years.
  • 39:37 Can you overdo fermented plant juice (FPJ) on plants? — Yes, too much nitrogen causes overgrowth and makes plants more attractive to pests.
  • 51:38 What was last week's slug and snail recipe, and is it safe? — Soap and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), which needs full eye, skin, and respiratory protection.
  • 53:07 What is the 'disgustingly cheap microbes' recipe and how do you use it as a pesticide? — 20L microbe solution, 5L Jerusalem artichoke herb, 5L ginkgo, and 3L soap in 500L water, sprayed regularly for prevention.
  • 56:18 Why does spraying microbes early and often stop pests and disease? — A strong, diverse microbiome leaves nothing diseased or weak for pests to target.
  • 57:42 What's the all-purpose JADAM pesticide recipe for both pests and disease? — 1.5L sulfur, 6L soap, 5L Jerusalem artichoke herb, and 10L Korean pasqueflower root herb in 500L water.
  • 59:57 How do you strengthen the recipe for a serious pest outbreak? — Increase Korean pasqueflower root herb to 15 liters and raise the soap and herb concentration.

Topics: jadam, chicken feeder, disgustingly cheap microbes, korean pasqueflower root, sulfur, caustic soda, fpj, fish amino acid, cassava, polyculture, beetles, click beetle

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 I Ching reading and intro
  2. 8:38 Building a KNF chicken feeder with a spinning bar
  3. 20:01 2016 JADAM visit to Hoku Nui Farm on Maui
  4. 24:47 Testing pesticide solutions on beetles
  5. 34:31 Pressing plant material for hormones vs FPJ
  6. 37:57 When fish amino acid is ready to use
  7. 39:37 Overdoing fermented plant juice and nitrogen
  8. 40:22 School garden polyculture and soil building
  9. 44:09 Giant cassava roots and polyculture harvest
  10. 51:38 Recap: soap and caustic soda for slugs and snails
  11. 53:07 Disgustingly cheap microbes as a preventive pesticide
  12. 57:42 All-purpose JADAM pesticide: sulfur, soap, herbs
  13. 1:04:15 Wrap-up and sign-off

Transcript

Auto-transcribed with Whisper. Click any timestamp to play from there.

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