The most valuable skill in farming can’t be bought, bottled, or scheduled. It isn’t proper planting, fertilizing, or pest control. It’s learning to recognize patterns and respond to them in a timely manner. Recognizing patterns enabled humans to settle, grow food, and build civilizations. The right action at the wrong time has zero reward; the right action at the right time produces abundant results.

POTASSIUM DEFICIENCY occurs when soil is lacking potassium. Even when sufficient potassium is present, if the soil contains high levels of lime and magnesium, the plant still suffers from potassium deficiency because these elements suppress potassium absorption. Potassium deficiency can also easily occur in sandy soil, which has less humus, because potassium is readily leached from sandy soil, as with nitrogen.   Using a soil foundation with Indigenous Micro-Organisms (IMO)

1. Water-Soluble Calcium Phosphate (WCaP) is leached from the bones of vertebrate animals. It is an essential substance for plant growth and is widely distributed in the soil. Calcium Phosphate is insoluble in water but soluble in acids. This property is used in Natural Farming to make a product that is bioavailable to plants. 2. Provides two essential elements: Calcium (Ca) → strengthens cell walls, root tips, and reduces physiological disorders. Phosphorus (P) → vital for e

1. Contributes to better utilization of carbohydrates and protein. It is the major component in forming cell membranes and enables smooth cell division. Calcium is essential for maintaining cell wall strength, regulating membrane function, and facilitating signaling.  2. Functions to remove harmful substances in body tissue by binding with organic acids. 3. Prevents crops from overgrowing. 4. Makes fruits firm and prolongs the storage period. 5. Promotes absorption of phospho

In the practice of Korean Natural Farming (KNF), Seawater is used for a Full Spectrum Mineral approach. It ensures that all minerals are available in the food-growing system. In addition, we use a set of Targeted Minerals, which are added to formulas that follow the Nutritive Cycle to direct growth or to address specific mineral deficiencies. These Targeted Minerals are the focus of this article.

How are minerals used in KNF if soil amendments are not a regular part of crop establishment and management? In a word, the answer is Seawater. This is not the only source of mineral elements in KNF, but it is the most important. There was a pasture in Hawaii that was doing poorly, with a lot of weeds, but very little edible grass and forage. A livestock expert and KNF practitioner had the rancher apply seawater to the pasture. Nothing else was done, but everything changed. G

Observing the Vital Forces is the foundation of Natural Farming Management, guiding when and how we act, rather than forcing outcomes. By attuning ourselves to sunlight and heat, moisture and water, air and wind, we can respond to Nature’s cues instead of relying on artificial inputs. In KNF, we attune ourselves to these elemental rhythms instead of relying on fixed schedules or synthetic inputs. Sunlight changes with the seasons and the time of day. Moisture varies with humi

Korean Natural Farming (KNF) is a systems technology to grow food in ways that mimic Nature. In this series for beginners, we have already looked at Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ), and we learned about the Nutritive Cycle and how to use FPJs to follow the patterns of the life cycle of plants. Now we deepen our understanding of the system by creating a basic formula to apply at each different stage of growth. We are developing a system. In order to mimic Nature, we always want to

Korean Natural Farming (KNF) is a systems technology. We learned what Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) is, then we learned about the Nutritive Cycle and how to use FPJs to follow the patterns of the life cycle of plants. Before we look at making formulas, let’s look closer at making the FPJs. e give plants what we want them to do. Therefore, we collect the plant material that is doing the function we want to apply. With vegetative leaf growth, we use fast-growing leaf tips. For de

Biochemical Signaling Technology (BST) follows the Nutritive Cycle using Fermented Plant Juices (FPJ) as an active ingredient in formulas designed for each phase. Specific FPJs are made to signal plants to develop growth in the specific phase of growth because of the hormones, enzymes, and cofactors found in each specific FPJ. SEEDLING The seedling still has the seed leaf (cotyledon) and needs to utilize that embryonic nutrition to trigger the genetics that will grow a health

1. Soil Foundation using IMO Technology Establish a living soil by using cultivated Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) that restore and sustain natural soil function and fertility. This allows plants to live in their Natural State, drawing nutrition on demand through symbiotic relationships with soil biology. As in Nature, balanced nutrition leads to fewer pests and disease, improved health, quality, nutrition, and increased yields.

embracing for example, the “pigness of the pig.” For this reason, when building the bedding system for pigs, they need an extra layer of logs that other animals do not need. We will look at the construction of an Inoculated Deep Litter System (IDLS) for pigs, then discuss how to build the system for other animals. Ideally, all bedding systems should be installed on a dirt floor. This provides minerals for both animals and microbes and a connection between Nature and the barn

Just like we use IMO to inoculate soil, we can install IMO into the bedding of barns and other animal enclosures to create living floors. The concept is to install a floor that mimics a healthy forest floor made of leaf litter and spongy soil, which composts all organic matter quickly and efficiently. It’s easy to make. We build a bedding system with sufficient organic matter and inoculate it with high concentrations of soil biology, IMO, taken from healthy local soil. The

Water is divided into two solutions: one for diluting and activating the IMO-2 and the other for diluting the Liquid Nutrient.

Master Cho used his corn method to turn solid lava rock into planting soil. I have used it to overcome weeds and turn overgrown pasture/lawn

I want to take some time to honor my hero, Master Cho Han-Kyu. He was born in Sowan, South Korea, in 1935. He started life as a peasant chic

You don’t need to have every KNF input available to start KNF. I recommend only the most important ones, as well as starting the ones that t

cotyledons act as the egg yolks of the seeds, which plants use for nutrients and energy until they can develop their first true leaves and p

The basis of agriculture is to create an environment in which plants can absorb as much nutrients as they need at the proper time. Fertilizi

“As I became conscious of the realization, I decided to practice Natural Farming to save people from harmful food, and to save the environme