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JADAM Sulfur Pesticide, Water Softening, Wetting Agent Test

Drake opens with a farm update: he sold the last three piglets and says he's done breeding pigs after 16 years, though he may still raise weaned pigs for meat and IMO production. He also shows off a mowing-robot project using RFM95W LoRa radios at 915 MHz to relay IMO data from the barn to a Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant, and reminds folks he'll be at the Hawaii Farmers Union Convention on Maui October 3-4, so there's no office hours that Sunday.

The main lesson continues Young Sung Cho's JADAM natural pesticide chapter: soap and sulfur, unlike neem, never lose effectiveness because pests can't build resistance to them. Cho's basic soap dilution runs from about 1000:1 (0.5 liter soap to 500 liters water) up to roughly 160:1 for full wetting power, and JADAM pesticides can be mixed with chemical or organic sprays as long as you run a mixture test first. A viewer, Dibajit, reported that JADAM sulfur solution worked against every disease he tried except potato late blight.

Water hardness gets the most attention: hard water full of calcium, magnesium, and iron keeps soap from sudsing and wastes the sulfur and herbs, so Drake walks through Cho's home tests: dropping soap into a water sample to check foam and clarity, spraying a mix on glass to check wetting power, and running a mixture test (5cc of each pesticide per half-liter bottle) and a concentration test (about 1:1000 on a single plant) before treating a whole field. He also covers Cho's cup test, diluting pesticide across a row of cups to find the lowest dose that kills a pest, and notes a home pesticide lab costs about $50 in cups, dishes, and a pH meter, closer to several thousand dollars today after inflation.

Questions answered

  • 5:23 What's the plan for pig breeding on the farm now? — Sold the last three piglets and is getting out of breeding pigs after 16 years, though he may still raise weaners for meat and IMOs.
  • 6:58 What's the setup for the mowing robot's remote signal? — Using RFM95W LoRa radios at 915 MHz to send IMO buddy data from the barn to a Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant.
  • 17:20 Why do JADAM pesticides rely mainly on sulfur and soap? — Pests and diseases can't build resistance to sulfur or soap even with repeated use, unlike neem, which loses effectiveness over time.
  • 21:10 Can JADAM pesticide be mixed with chemical or organic sprays? — Yes, Cho says JADAM soap, sulfur, and herb solutions are compatible with chemical or organic pesticides, but always run a mixture test first.
  • 30:31 Does JADAM sulfur solution work on potato late blight? — A viewer, Dibajit, said JADAM sulfur worked on every disease he tried except potato late blight.
  • 34:20 Why does water hardness matter for spraying pesticide? — Hard water full of calcium, magnesium, and iron won't let soap suds, wasting the sulfur and herbs, so use a water softener or rainwater.
  • 34:59 When is the best time to spray natural pesticide? — Spray when it's humid, like right before or after rain, so the mixture doesn't evaporate too fast off the leaves.
  • 37:12 How do you test at home if your water is soft enough? — Drop a few drops of soap into a bottled water sample and shake it; clear water with lots of foam means soft, cloudy and clotted means hard.
  • 41:49 How do you check if a pesticide mix has good wetting power? — Spray it on glass or a mirror; beading into droplets can sunburn leaves and misses coverage, spreading out evenly means it's working.
  • 48:40 Where can you get a JADAM water softener unit? — Email jadamorganic@gmail.com and ask for Hyun Ho Cha; the unit uses ion-exchange resin to strip calcium, magnesium, and iron.
  • 51:45 Do you need to store rainwater specially before spraying it? — No, plain rainwater in an IBC tote works fine; it just loses some oxygen over time, which stirring or bubbling before use fixes.
  • 54:12 How do you run a mixture test before combining pesticides? — Put 5cc of each pesticide into a half-liter bottle of water, shake, and check it foams clear with no clotting before combining.
  • 55:45 How do you run a concentration test before spraying a field? — Mix at roughly 1:1000, spray it on a single plant, and check for leaf marks or stress before treating the whole field.
  • 57:12 What is JADAM's cup test for finding pesticide dose? — Dilute a pesticide across a row of cups at rising concentrations, then test each on the pest in a petri dish to find the lowest working dose.
  • 1:00:24 How much does a home pesticide-testing lab cost to set up? — About $50 in cups, dishes, syringes, a scale, and a pH meter, though inflation puts that closer to several thousand dollars today.

Topics: jadam, sulfur, soap, water softener, wetting agent test, mixture test, concentration test, cup test, pigs, imo, lora radio, potato late blight

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 Intro & I Ching: Hexagram of Increase
  2. 4:36 Farm Update: Selling the Last Piglets
  3. 6:58 Mowing Robot & LoRa Radio Setup
  4. 11:48 Hawaii Farmers Union Convention on Maui
  5. 12:33 JADAM Natural Pesticides: Overview
  6. 17:20 Why Sulfur and Soap Beat Resistance
  7. 21:10 Mixing JADAM With Chemical or Organic Sprays
  8. 24:58 PIMO and JADAM's Full Pest List
  9. 28:20 Mr. Cha's Farm Photos and Demo Crops
  10. 34:20 Soft Water vs Hard Water for Pesticide
  11. 34:59 Best Time of Day to Spray
  12. 37:12 Home Soap Test for Water Softness
  13. 41:49 Wetting Power Test on Glass
  14. 48:40 Getting a JADAM Water Softener Unit
  15. 51:45 Rainwater Storage for Spraying
  16. 54:12 How to Run a Mixture Test
  17. 55:45 How to Run a Concentration Test
  18. 57:12 JADAM's Cup Test for Dosing
  19. 1:00:24 Cost of a Home Pesticide Lab
  20. 1:02:32 Wrap-Up and Next Week's Topics

Transcript

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

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