Skip to main content
← Back to Office Hours

JADAM Soap Recipe, JADAM Sulfur (JS), Maui Farmers Convention

Drake is back from the Maui Farmers Union Convention, where he taught about 40 farmers to make JADAM microbe solutions and KNF foods, including a ginger drink from his dad and an old lime ferment. After a week off, he returns to office hours to put a year of JADAM/Madag study into practice on his own farm.

He walks through the JADAM soap recipe for a 100-liter batch: 2.5 liters of water dissolve 3.2 kg (7 lb) of caustic potash, then 18 liters of canola oil are drilled in for about 10 minutes until it turns to "thin mayonnaise." Sealed and cured for three days, the mix heats from around 140°F up to 181°F before cooling. After curing, 20 more liters of water are stirred in, then further water added until the container is filled to about 3 cm below the rim. Dilution runs 25 ml per gallon light, 125 ml per gallon heavy; for a 500-liter tank, use 3-15 liters in the growing season and 10-20 liters in winter. Cost lands under 50 cents a liter, driven mostly by oil price.

He then covers JADAM sulfur (JS): 25 kg (55 lb) of 99% sulfur, 20 kg (44 lb) of 98% sodium hydroxide, 82 liters of water (50 L first, 32 L second), plus phylite or red clay powder and sea salt to clarify it. The sodium hydroxide reaction heats the brew past 212°F, melting the sulfur without any fire. After roughly 20-24 minutes of stirring, first by hand with a wood stick, then with a drill, it liquefies; after 24 hours of settling, the clear top layer (about 25% sulfur) gets bottled in thick-walled containers. Use 0.5-2 liters per 500 liters in season, up to 5 liters in winter, only when fighting disease, and test grapes, persimmon, walnut, and perilla first, since sulfur can burn them.

Drake closes with a note on a January course and hard copies of his book available for anyone wanting one before the holidays.

Questions answered

  • 9:51 How do you know if your water is soft enough to make JADAM soap? — Drop soap into the water; if it stays clear, the water is soft enough to use.
  • 10:43 How much caustic potash goes into a 100-liter soap batch? — 3.2 kg (7.5 lb) dissolved into 2.5 liters of water first, with breathing protection on.
  • 13:04 Can hemp seed oil replace the canola oil in JADAM soap? — Probably, but Drake says to check with Mogli since he hasn't tried it himself.
  • 22:29 What if the soap won't dissolve after drilling too long with too little water? — Add more water, let the bubbles settle, and skim off the white film before using it.
  • 25:41 How much soap should I dilute per gallon of spray? — 25 ml per gallon for a light dose, up to 125 ml per gallon for a heavy dose.
  • 31:13 How much does a batch of JADAM soap cost? — About 50 cents a liter, mostly the canola oil, since it's roughly a 1:5 oil-to-finished-soap ratio.
  • 34:26 Can JADAM soap be mixed with chemical pesticides? — Yes, use 3 to 5 liters per 500 liters after running a mixture and concentration test first.
  • 44:45 Can a steel barrel be used instead of plastic for the sulfur brew? — Yes, steel is fine, just don't use aluminum since it reacts with the caustic soda.
  • 45:27 Which crops can be damaged by JADAM sulfur? — Grapes, persimmon, walnut, and perilla can burn, so run a concentration test before applying.
  • 58:46 Will spraying JADAM sulfur lower the soil pH? — It will disrupt the whole soil microbial system, so Drake says stick to microbes and use sulfur sparingly.
  • 1:00:11 How much sulfur solution should I use per 500 liters? — 0.5 to 2 liters in the growing season, up to 5 liters in winter, or 0.1 liter per 17 liters through a fogger.
  • 1:02:37 Should JADAM sulfur be sprayed on a regular schedule? — No, only when actively fighting a disease, not as a routine spray.

Topics: jadam, jadam soap, jadam sulfur, js, caustic potash, sodium hydroxide, canola oil, fungicide, insecticide, grapes, persimmon, sulfur

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 and I Ching Reading: Duration
  2. 3:21 Back from the Maui Farmers Union Convention
  3. 6:33 Why Make Your Own JADAM Soap
  4. 9:02 JADAM Soap Recipe: 100-Liter Batch Begins
  5. 10:43 Mixing Caustic Potash and Water
  6. 11:30 Adding Canola Oil and Drilling
  7. 14:36 Curing the Soap for Three Days
  8. 16:58 Second and Third Water: Diluting the Soap
  9. 21:40 Troubleshooting and Storing JADAM Soap
  10. 25:41 Soap Dilution Rates and Usage Guide
  11. 29:35 Soap Cost and Application Tips
  12. 37:41 From Soap to JADAM Sulfur (JS)
  13. 39:13 JADAM Sulfur Ingredients: 100-Liter Batch
  14. 41:42 Non-Heating Method: Mixing Sulfur and Caustic Soda
  15. 49:13 Stirring the Sulfur Brew as Temperature Rises
  16. 54:00 Diluting and Settling the Sulfur Solution
  17. 58:01 Bottling and Storing JADAM Sulfur
  18. 1:00:11 JS Usage Rates and Crop Cautions
  19. 1:02:37 Closing Thoughts and Upcoming Course

Transcript

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

Share