Natural solutions for soil test help!
Hello,
We recently got a soil test on fresh ground at our flower farm in Florida. I got discouraged seeing how much it would cost to order all of the amendments needed to prepare it. Then I remembered there has to be a natural farming solution to make it affordable!
Our sandy soil is low in Mg, K, S, P, and N. We have decent compost a local place makes out of yard debris.
What can I make for these specific deficiencies?
ALSO: For bed flips, other than compost, what is the natural farming solution you amend into your beds to replace an all-purpose fertilizer?
Thank you!
EDIT: Or would a better question be: What would you recommend I do?
right now I have 2 month old FAA going (some guts coming up into bubble airlock of faa bucket), weekly aerated compost teas made from huge worm tub and one collection of imo2, fpj made from weeds around farm started a couple of weeks ago
Top answer
compost is a very good place to start also making (IMO 4) Activated Microbes will help a lot also and using Soil Prep Formula ....start with adding a good amount of compost to the soil to bring up the plant matter and get a loamy soil to grow in ...spread the IMOs across the top of the soil just under the mulch layer to bring back the life to the soil, with out the soil being alive it will be harder to process the nutes the plants need, worm tea and JMS is a good source of microbes but the best will be in the IMOs, JMS will help to get the microbes deeper into the soil and help to feed the IMOs, another great source of microbes is in (IMO5) Composted Microbes also called FMC (this is the source i use for IMOs) LIMO is another great way to get IMOs into the soil ....after adding compost to improve the soil and IMOs we want to go in with soil prep to add nutes and get the IMOs to chase the soil prep down into the soil (this is how i prep my beds with KNF, FMC IMOs and soil prep formula) ....soil prep formula is made by using Food (FPJ) Cleanser (BRV) Medicine (OHN) Structure (WCAP) Protectors (LAB) Minerals (SW) this replaces the need for a all-purpose fertilizer
Happy Experimenting
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
·
Sep 2026
·
7 sources
Drake's sources say to make fertilizer from what the farm gives you. Breaking crop waste down in water and feeding it back is what the manual calls CheapFood. (Pure KNF Manual, p. 70) FPJ and FAA are both on the list of Natural Farming inputs. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 8)
For minerals, Master Cho's soil recovery set is IMO, seawater diluted 1:30 or sea salt diluted 1:1000, and wild grass. (Office Hours Ep. 54, 52:04)
For bed flips:
- Skip tilling. Tilling resets the microbes' progress each season. (KNF Demystified, p. 14)
- Drench with diluted OHN before planting. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 27)
- Add LAB when working in compost. It helps break the compost down and frees nutrients for the plant. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 18)
- Drench with soil formula until the ground recovers. Drake's worst field needed less over time. (Office Hours Ep. 30, 47:45)
The library does not name amendments for Mg, K, S, P or N. It does not name an all-purpose fertilizer replacement either.
Sources
- 52:04 Office Hours Ep. 54 (Oct 2022) — Water-Soluble Phosphoric Acid, Chitin, Bare-Root Tree Planting · “Indigenous microorganisms (IMO), seawater diluted 1:30 or sea salt diluted 1:1000, and wild grass.”
- 47:45 Office Hours Ep. 30 (May 2022) — The 9 KNF Solutions, Good vs Bad Microbes, IMO Indoor Collection · “Drake drenches his worst field with soil formula through a 250-gallon tote until the ground recovers, needing less over time.”
- p. 70 Pure KNF Manual · “CheapFood - Customized Liquid Fertilizer Break down crop waste in water and feed this back to your plants.”
- p. 8 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “Inputs include Fermented Plant Juice, Fermented Fruit Juice, Lactic Acid Bacteria, Oriental Healing Nutrient, Fish Amino Acid, Vinegars, Sea Water, and Water-Soluble Calcium.”
- p. 18 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “It is THE solution for soil preparation as LAB aids in decomposing compost and making the nutrients more available for the plant.”
- p. 14 KNF Demystified · “tilling and resetting their progress each season is out of the question.”
- p. 27 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “Apply diluted OHN as a soil drench prior to planting to activate dormant soil microorganisms.”
