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Build the Soil First: A Chemical Field's First Natural Year

Kim Eun-ja (interpreted into English by Dr. Hoon Park) and Ahmad Jawid Zamany, Kim Eun-ja's natural farming test farm in Jeokseong, Paju, the Konkuk University natural farming practice field where the students' 2016 trials grew · South Korea

Kim Eun-ja (in black) shows the group her vegetable beds; Dr. Hoon Park (blue jacket) interprets.
Kim Eun-ja (in black) shows the group her vegetable beds; Dr. Hoon Park (blue jacket) interprets.
The sign at the gate: 자연농업 실습장 (Natural Farming Practice Field), KU 글로벌농업개발협력센터 (Konkuk University Global Agricultural Development Cooperation Center).
The sign at the gate: 자연농업 실습장 (Natural Farming Practice Field), KU 글로벌농업개발협력센터 (Konkuk University Global Agricultural Development Cooperation Center).
'Tomato Natural': a plot from Ahmad Jawid Zamany's three-system trial (talk 07), still green and fruiting in October.
'Tomato Natural': a plot from Ahmad Jawid Zamany's three-system trial (talk 07), still green and fruiting in October.
'Tomato organic': the organic plot beside it, on black plastic mulch.
'Tomato organic': the organic plot beside it, on black plastic mulch.
Snack in the field shelter before the walk: corn, bread rolls, grapes and more. Kim Eun-ja (in black) stands behind the table.
Snack in the field shelter before the walk: corn, bread rolls, grapes and more. Kim Eun-ja (in black) stands behind the table.
Visitors at the hen house, a shade-covered hoop house with wooden perches.
Visitors at the hen house, a shade-covered hoop house with wooden perches.
Visitors stand in Kim Eun-ja's ginger patch while she answers questions.
Visitors stand in Kim Eun-ja's ginger patch while she answers questions.

Video of this visit will be added to the members' archive. The transcript times below match that recording.

The trip's last farm: Konkuk's natural farming practice field in Paju, where the students' trials from the talks grew. Ahmad Jawid Zamany showed his tomato, eggplant and pepper plots under three systems; in October the natural rows were still flowering and fruiting while the others had nearly stopped. Kim Eun-ja then walked the group through her first natural year on ground farmed with chemicals for decades: careful soil groundwork, her own Microbes fertilizers (IMO5), crop residue returned to the field, and the tomatoes she over-fed with nitrogen.

What they found

The question

What the Konkuk practice field in Paju looked like at season's end, where the students' trials from the talks grew and Kim Eun-ja runs her test farm, and what its growers learned in their first natural year.

How they tested it

Konkuk University's natural farming practice field (gate sign 자연농업 실습장, KU 글로벌농업개발협력센터), Paju, Gyeonggi Province; visited the afternoon of October 7, 2016, about 13:10 to 15:12 by photo times. Kim Eun-ja runs it as her test farm (talk 21: close to 1,000 pyeong, about 3,300 m², in Jeokseong, Paju). The ground grew napa cabbage and radish for decades with chemical fertilizer and pesticides; natural farming began in March 2016. Seen on the walk: Zamany's conventional, organic and natural plots of tomato, eggplant and pepper (talks 07, 08); corn, peanuts, sesame, perilla, soybean, napa cabbage, radish, carrots, green onion, chives, ginger and lettuce; hens in a shade-covered hoop house; rabbits in wire cages; a small shed of farm-made solutions; a greenhouse holding IMO4 and feed IMO5. First pass with a tiller, all later work by hand. Not stated: field or bed sizes, yields, rates or dilutions for any solution.

What was compared
  • Zamany's three systems (tomato, eggplant, pepper) — Conventional: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium, given before planting and one month after planting. Organic and natural rates not given on the walk; talk 07 says the natural plots used Microbes (IMO4). Black plastic mulch on the beds; conventional rows under a plastic cover. Data taken from the middle row of each plot.
  • Mulch on peppers after a cold start — Mulch to keep the soil warm; the peppers did not grow for the first month because it was cold. Mulch type not stated; straw and black plastic both visible.
  • Second corn crop for feed — Corn sown a second time on the same ground to feed the chickens and animals. Charcoal went in before the first planting, not the second.
  • Peanut companion planting — Peanuts between shishito peppers and between cherry tomatoes. Spacing was too tight; next time about 1 m.
  • Kim Eun-ja's tomatoes and peppers — IMO5 kept light where the soil already had enough nitrogen. No natural pesticide ever on the tomatoes; some natural pesticide on the peppers (name unclear). Dilutions adjusted by how the plants looked; rates not given.
  • Soil foundation (groundwork) — Built 3 to 4 months before planting, then covered with a sheet; no spraying or watering until sowing. Seedlings given solutions at varied, stronger dilutions. A strip done the ordinary way sits beside it for comparison.
  • Nitrogen IMO5 — Oil cake, sesame cake, fish scraps and quail droppings (one more word unclear, possibly chicken manure), made with IMO4/IMO5. Rates not given.
  • Phosphorus IMO5 — Rice bran and bone meal. Rates not given.
  • Potassium IMO5 — Burnt rice hulls (rice-hull charcoal) and wood ash; because that was not enough, chemical potassium chloride and potassium sulfate were mixed in.
  • NPK compound — The N, P and K batches combined, 'IMO4 plus IMO5', in equal shares of N, P and K (no amounts given), and scattered on the soil (뿌리다; the interpreter said 'spray', but IMO5 is solid). IMO5 given monthly to the chive bed in summer and to green onions sown thickly in spring.
  • Liquid fertilizer when leaves pale — When leaf color lightens, she sprays a liquid fertilizer; one ingredient word is unclear. No dilution given.
  • Crop residue returned — Corn roots and stalks piled under shade cloth and leftover eggplant and other plants in a barrel make a liquid fertilizer (water at first, then rain), spread before replanting the same crop. Planned for 2017: this year's corn stalks cut fine and returned to the corn field, compared with corn on ordinary compost.
  • Ginger for the herbal nutrient — Planted in May for Medicine (OHN); mulched with corn stalks; should have been hilled up repeatedly but was not, for lack of time. Not watered: a river beside the plot keeps it moist.
  • Chicken-feed IMO5 — Made in separate layers in wooden rice-bran bins and a straw-covered heap in a greenhouse, covered with felt blankets; mixed only when taken out to feed the chickens. Rabbit droppings are not used.
  • Hornet traps (seen, not explained) — Cut plastic bottles hung among the peppers, holding liquid and drowned hornets. Bait not stated.
Results
  1. Natural tomato, eggplant and pepper rows still flowering and fruiting in October; organic and conventional had almost stopped

    Ahmad Jawid Zamany on his three-system plots (talks 07 and 08). He added that the leaves feel and smell different. Shown in the field, not measured.

    ▶ 2:33 As spoken

  2. Peppers stalled a month in the cold, then caught up: fewer leaves, more fruit

    A Korean speaker at the pepper plots (not identified) says mulch kept the soil warm after the cold start and the plots have since evened out.

    ▶ 6:03 As spoken

  3. Buyers picked the natural tomatoes in an unlabeled test

    Zamany gave customers fruit from all three systems without saying which was which; they chose the natural for its shape. Size of the test not stated. Fits talk 07's higher taste and appearance scores. Quality analysis (vitamins, carotenoids, fatty acids, nutrients) still to come.

    ▶ 9:49 As spoken

  4. Peanuts beside shishito peppers and cherry tomatoes: peppers grew so hard half had to be cut back

    The grower, most likely Kim Eun-ja, will try 1 m spacing next time. She and the interpreter credit the peanuts' nitrogen for peppers still flowering in October as it cools. Not measured.

    ▶ 12:59 As spoken

  5. Over-fed tomatoes showed nitrogen excess: 'that's why I told you my tomatoes failed'

    Kim Eun-ja, matching her talk (21): the tomatoes she planted further over got a lot of nitrogen. On the tomatoes shown she held back IMO5 because the soil already had enough nitrogen, and said the fruit color was beautiful.

    ▶ 16:46 As spoken

  6. No natural pesticide ever went on these tomatoes; the peppers got some

    She adjusted dilutions by how the plants looked. Bugs came sometimes, 'but not enough to worry about'.

    ▶ 18:25 As spoken

  7. Decades of chemicals, natural farming since March 2016: no earthworms at first, a few now

    She calls it a field in transition. Cabbage and radish still draw many bugs because the land grew them for so long. Earthworms not counted.

    ▶ 19:21 As spoken

  8. A bed built with great care held up under heavy insect pressure; the ordinary strip beside it did worse

    Soil foundation made 3 to 4 months before planting, covered, no spraying or watering. Insects came in numbers but 'couldn't wipe it out'. She points to a strip prepared the ordinary way beside it (1451 s), and later a poorly prepared patch 'is gone' (1615 s). By eye only.

    ▶ 21:29 As spoken

  9. Green onions grown with IMO5 had a fragrance eaters called new to them

    One of her best IMO5 results. 10,000 won of seed (the interpreter said 'about $10') sown thickly in spring gave, she says, a large harvest. Not weighed.

    ▶ 25:44 As spoken

  10. Corn residue and leftover crops go back as liquid fertilizer, not out as waste

    Residue of corn removed midway was gathered under shade cloth and made into liquid fertilizer; leftover eggplant and other plants go into a barrel. She ties this to Master Cho's teaching that you must eat what comes out of your own body. Next year she will compare corn on its own chopped residue with corn on ordinary compost and expects 'quite a difference'.

    ▶ 29:07 As spoken

  11. Barely tended ginger still grew; she says hilling decides how much it sets

    Planted in May for the herbal nutrient. With no time to hill it, new shoots kept coming instead of more rhizome. Locals told her ginger does poorly in the area. Harvest expected in about 20 days because of the cold.

    ▶ 34:43 As spoken

  12. Host's claim: no continuous-cropping disorder in natural farming, if the soil is alive

    Asked about growing ginger on the same ground every year (a Taiwanese visitor said they rest a field a year after each crop), she says natural farming can crop every year, but without bringing the soil back to life you get a year or two at most. A visitor adds a nematode-balance explanation. No data shown.

    ▶ 40:31 As spoken

  13. The neighbor's peppers drooped and wilted beside the natural plot

    Kim and a visitor point to the neighbor's field next door. Visual only; the neighbor's practices were not described.

    ▶ 41:37 As spoken

  14. Chives were IMO5's best result: cut monthly in summer, same color, sweet

    The chive pancakes served at the snack were made from this bed.

    ▶ 43:59 As spoken

  15. Her potassium IMO5 included bought chemical potash because the ash was not enough

    Rice-hull charcoal and wood ash, plus chemical potassium chloride and potassium sulfate. Stated plainly by her and the interpreter.

    ▶ 46:20 As spoken

  16. Feed IMO5 under straw was warm, not hot

    Visitors dug into the straw-covered heap and the wooden rice-bran bins in the greenhouse: 'fermenting, but not burning'. IMO5 for feeding the chickens, with IMO4 underneath. No temperature measured.

    ▶ 50:53 As spoken

Hold it loosely
  • Nothing was measured on the walk. Every result is the hosts' word or a side-by-side seen by eye.
  • First season on this ground (since March 2016), after decades of chemical farming. One year says little about what the field will do.
  • Zamany's numbers are in talks 07 and 08; here he only described the plots. Kim's ordinary-versus-careful beds and the neighbor's field are not controlled comparisons.
  • No rates or dilutions were given for IMO5, the liquid fertilizers or the natural pesticide.
  • Her potassium IMO5 included chemical potash, so her crops did not run on farm-made materials alone.
  • Translation was partial. Kim spoke Korean and was interpreted in pieces; the Korean was rebuilt from two machine passes and a re-run, and several lines stayed unclear (see uncertain).
  • A walking tour: wind, overlapping talk and several languages at once. Some speakers are not identified.
For your farm
  • Build the soil before you plant. She prepared hers 3 to 4 months ahead, covered it, and says the plants show where she cut corners.
  • Go light on nitrogen. Her over-fed tomatoes failed; where the soil already held enough, she gave less IMO5.
  • Try peanuts between peppers or cherry tomatoes, and give them room, about 1 m.
  • Return a crop's own residue to its field, as liquid fertilizer or chopped stalks.
  • Hill up ginger as it grows if you want rhizomes, not just shoots.
  • A field just off chemicals will draw bugs. She planned to share with them while the soil recovers rather than spray.

Next to Master Cho's teaching

  • Agrees

    Too much nitrogen spoils fruiting; she held back IMO5 Cho writes that late nitrogen causes poor floral differentiation and fruit bearing, leaving crops stuck in vegetative growth. Her over-fed tomatoes failed, and she cut IMO5 where the soil already had enough nitrogen.

    Cho, Cho Han-Kyu's Natural Farming (Theory), p. 119–120

  • Agrees

    Share with the bugs; healthy plants weren't wiped out Cho: natural farming aims to co-exist with pests rather than kill them all, and pests flourish where crops are acidic or have too much nitrogen. Her 'this time we share with the bugs' fits this.

    Cho, Janong Natural Farming (2003), p. 164

  • Goes further

    Soil foundation built 3–4 months before planting Cho's schedule puts IMO4 down one week before seeding, or two weeks in fields with continuous-cropping problems. She prepared the ground months earlier and kept it covered. That is longer than Cho asks, and suited to her first year on a long-chemical field.

    Cho, Cho Han-Kyu's Natural Farming (Theory), p. 62

  • Agrees

    No continuous-cropping disorder once the soil is built Cho's Theory book gives IMO4 soil-making schedules both for fields with and without successive-cropping disorder. He treats the disorder as something soil groundwork corrects, which is her claim: it works only if you bring the soil back to life.

    Cho, Cho Han-Kyu's Natural Farming (Theory), p. 62

  • Agrees

    Return the crop's own residue to its field ('eat your own') Cho repeats the maxim 'unless you eat your excreta for three years...', and in the 2017 nutrient-cycle course he has corn cut and laid down on its own ground after IMO4. Her plan to grind corn stalks back into the corn field follows this.

    Cho, IMO and Vital Power of Crops and Livestock, p. 17–18

  • Differs

    Chemical potassium chloride and sulfate added to the K IMO5 Natural farming swaps chemical N, P, K and Ca for farm-made materials. Mixing bought potash into IMO5 departs from that, though she said so openly.

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“I didn't say to them, this is natural. I said to them, which one is the best for you? And they selected the natural.”

▶ 10:02

“This time we have to share it with the bugs.”

▶ 20:42

“When you really take care with the soil foundation, it's completely different.”

▶ 24:24

“If you don't bring the soil back to life, you can't do natural farming. You can do it for a year or two.”

▶ 41:06

“It is fermenting, but not burning.”

▶ 51:11

In this talk

  1. 0:00Arrival and snack prayer
  2. 0:30Past peanuts, sesame and perilla
  3. 1:55Zamany's three systems: tomato, eggplant, pepper
  4. 3:58Questions: fertilizer records, quality analysis
  5. 5:44Peppers after a cold start
  6. 8:08Natural rows still fruiting
  7. 8:56Corn for feed; the blind taste test
  8. 11:09The hen house
  9. 12:59Peanuts with peppers and cherry tomatoes
  10. 16:24Kim Eun-ja: too much nitrogen, failed tomatoes
  11. 18:25No sprays on tomatoes; a field in transition
  12. 21:29Soil foundation, 3 to 4 months ahead
  13. 25:21IMO5 green onions and careful groundwork
  14. 27:00Corn residue back into the corn field
  15. 30:11Hand-made beds; residue liquid fertilizer
  16. 33:31Ginger for the herbal nutrient
  17. 35:48Same crop every year? Nematodes and soil
  18. 41:37The neighbor's wilted peppers
  19. 43:13Rabbits and the input shed
  20. 43:59Chives: IMO5's best result
  21. 45:01Her N, P and K IMO5 recipes
  22. 48:56IMO4, IMO5 and chicken feed in the greenhouse
  23. 53:32Back to the bus

Transcript

English translation, checked against the English as spoken.