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Sea Salt Minerals, FPJ Alcohol Smell, IMO3 to IMO4

November 20, 2022 · by Drake Weinert

Drake opens with an I Ching reading on the family, then answers whether 100% Korean Natural Farming can match chemical farming's yields. His answer: yes, but the switch takes time, like weaning off a drug. He also clears up that JADAM is not a rival system, it is just a cheap, simplified branch of KNF.

A long water segment covers his vortex brewer and bacterial mineral water setup, run on a Danner AP100 pump rated near 9,150 cubic inches a minute. He explains why finished FPJ should smell slightly of alcohol, and why seawater diluted to about 0.1 salinity (roughly 1:30) supplies nearly every trace mineral plants need. He warns that molasses, common with Southeast Asian farmers, turns FPJ into vinegar because it activates fermentation instead of preserving it, and he distinguishes fermented plant extract (FPE) from fermented plant juice (FPJ).

Shorter answers cover sodium chloride in sea salt (harmless once diluted, or use Sea-90 to strip it out), sourcing Angelica, licorice, and cinnamon from Mountain Rose Herbs, and the lowest temperature for spraying KNF solutions (anything above freezing).

The back half walks through turning IMO3 into IMO4: mix propagated IMO3 one-to-one with field soil and red clay, hold 60-70% moisture, keep the pile between 40 and 50°C, and turn it for about a week. He avoids the term IMO5, calling it fermented mixed compost instead, and gives application timing: one week before planting for a healthy field, two weeks plus an extra liquid feeding after successive cropping disorder.

Questions answered

  • 8:59 Can 100% KNF match chemical farming's production? — Yes, it can, but the switch takes time, like weaning off an addiction, and your soil recovers as you go.
  • 15:16 What's the difference between JADAM and KNF? — None really — JADAM is just a disgustingly cheap, simplified way of doing Korean Natural Farming.
  • 22:36 Does an alcohol smell mean FPJ was strained too late? — No, a slight alcohol smell means fermentation is done and is what makes the chlorophyll water-soluble.
  • 25:02 Is sea salt enough to replace missing soil minerals? — Yes — seawater carries nearly every element, and diluting it lets microbes take them up.
  • 28:14 Can you leave FPJ fermenting too long and lose potency? — Yes, it keeps breaking down through secondary fermentation, so pour it off and pack it with sugar to stop the process.
  • 29:50 Why do some farmers use molasses instead of brown sugar for FPJ? — It's cheaper, but molasses activates fermentation rather than preserving it, so the batch turns into vinegar.
  • 35:34 What is fermented plant extract (FPE) and is it the same as FPJ? — FPE uses lactobacillus for a quick low-pH digestion — it's not the osmotic juice of FPJ, and the two aren't interchangeable.
  • 37:51 Is the sodium chloride level in sea salt harmful to plants? — No, diluted sea salt is fine with living soil and enough charcoal and humus; use Sea-90 if you want the salt removed.
  • 40:15 What size air pump runs the vortex brewer? — A Danner AP100, rated about 9,150 cubic inches a minute at 6.53 PSI.
  • 43:27 Where do you source Angelica? — Mountain Rose Herbs — Angelica archangelica from Germany, about $15 for four ounces.
  • 44:59 Is it possible to farm potatoes without tilling? — Drake doesn't think so — he's not sure how you'd get the potatoes out of the ground otherwise.
  • 49:28 What's the lowest temperature to spray KNF solutions at? — As long as it's not freezing, go ahead and spray — the microbes just slow down in the cold.
  • 54:31 How do you turn IMO3 into IMO4? — Mix propagated IMO3 one-to-one with field soil and red clay, add the soil formula nutrients, hold 60-70% moisture, and turn it while keeping 40-50°C for about a week.
  • 1:04:05 What is IMO5? — Drake avoids the term since Master Cho uses it for four different things, and calls it fermented mixed compost instead.
  • 1:03:19 How do you apply IMO4 and the soil formula in the field? — One week before planting if the last crop was good, or two weeks before plus an extra liquid feeding if you had successive cropping disorder.

Topics: knf, imo, imo4, fpj, fpe, jadam, sea salt, molasses, vortex brewer, bacterial mineral water, angelica, licorice

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 Count down
  2. 2:03 Intro & welcome
  3. 3:24 I Ching: The Family; every man and woman is a star
  4. 9:07 Is KNF production as good as chemical farming?
  5. 15:46 JADAM vs KNF, what's the difference
  6. 16:56 Vortex brewer & bacterial mineral water build
  7. 22:50 Alcohol smell in FPJ, why it matters
  8. 25:15 Seawater minerals, replacing missing minerals
  9. 28:35 Fermenting FPJ too long
  10. 30:02 Molasses vs sugar, makes vinegar not FPJ
  11. 35:22 Fermented plant extract vs FPJ, not the same
  12. 37:35 Sodium chloride in sea salt, Sea-90
  13. 38:50 More on vortex brewer, IMO4, pump size
  14. 43:10 Sourcing angelica, licorice, cinnamon; potatoes
  15. 49:27 Lowest temperature to spray KNF solutions
  16. 50:37 Spray before rain, Makahiki season
  17. 54:10 Culturing IMO3 to IMO4 with slides
  18. 1:04:12 IMO5, fermented mixed compost
  19. 1:04:40 Using IMO4 and soil formula, dilution rates
  20. 1:07:20 Thanks to Cho family, KNF training in Hawaiʻi

Transcript

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

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