Asked by infinitesugar ·July 14, 2018 ·6.23k readers

How do we supplement zinc?

if a plant is exhibiting Zinc deficiencies, how do we supplement that while still following KNF protocols?

The answer

Drake Weinert Foundation · Jul 14, 2018 ✓ Marked as the answer

Zinc and other Micronutrients are present in KNF Minerals, also called diluted seawater. Seawater is typically applied as a soil drench at 1:30~1:20, or if you are using sea salt you can reconstitute it to a 1:30 dilution by mixing 1g per liter of water. The drench rate is 100gal/acre in deficient soils. This can also be combined with other KNF Foods made from fermented plant material that are known to be high in zinc.

From the KNF library

From the KNF library Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books · Sep 2026 · 2 sources

The accepted answer covers minerals and ferments. The library adds the soil microbes.

One study of KNF soils found B. aryabhattai and B. megaterium in every soil sampled. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 36) B. aryabhattai solubilizes insoluble zinc, along with calcium phosphate. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 36) The author suggests these bacilli may explain why some farmers see a positive response with KNF. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 36)

A second study found that inoculating wheat with P. aeruginosa improved nutrient uptake and biomass under zinc stress. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 119) That bacterium can help or harm depending on strain, so the library does not offer it as a fix. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 119)

The library gives no zinc-specific KNF recipe, rate, or deficiency test.

Sources

p. 36 Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF · “the only two bacteria identified in all soils sampled”
p. 119 Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF · “inoculating wheat with P. aeruginosa improved nutrient uptake and plant biomass in wheat under Zn (zinc) stress”