A 21-nautical-mile stretch of water could trigger a global famine. The Strait of Hormuz controls up to half the world’s fertilizer. The Ukraine war is also a major disruption, and we’ve hit Peak Fertilizer. Cheap, mined minerals are over, and our food system is fragile. What if you could opt out without buying a single bag of fertilizer? It’s a method where you become the supply chain by harnessing the biology already on your land. We’ll get to the solution in a moment. But h

The purpose of Fermented Plant Juices (FPJ) is to capture and preserve the biochemical profile (hormones, enzymes, and cofactors) to direct growth using Biochemical Signaling Technology. Plant material is collected and fermented at defined growth stages, then applied to crops to trigger corresponding growth responses. FPJ directs plant growth. It is important to clean (rack) and store FPJ properly to preserve these qualities. Racking, or separating the fermented serum (FPJ) f

People tend to assume that plants need fertile soil in order to grow well. But that’s not really how nature works. The place where conditions matter most is right around the plant’s roots, the small zone of soil where roots, microbes, and nutrients interact. This zone is called the rhizosphere. Essentially, the rainforest's amazing output isn't due to nutrient-rich soil. It comes from a living biological system that constantly cycles nutrients right where plants need them, ar

Yes, KNF is cheap & easy. In this article, I am showing how little is required to practice KNF, not what it looks like when you do everything. Success does not depend on using every input or technique. Each point here shows how KNF can be simple and cost-saving, challenging the belief that it is complicated or expensive. I also commented on what it looks like if you do want to do everything in the system. KNF was designed for people with little to no money or resources. It ha

As a grower, deciding how to feed plants can make everything better or make everything worse. Many people follow conventional wisdom, not understanding what they have decided or even that alternatives exist. This knowledge can directly affect the bottom line. Modern growing techniques offer prescriptive solutions, directives really. The grower does not need to make many decisions, only to follow directions. • Fertilizer Rates • Soil Test Recommendations • Nutrient Deficiency

I made an FPJ of this herb for personal use. It is documented in a video on our YouTube channel: Natural Farming Field Notes. I follow Korean Natural Farming (KNF) techniques and the Hawaiian Lunar Calendar. This guide is extensive and meant to serve as a reference. As an adaptogen, Tulsi is a plant that helps the body adapt to stress and restore balance. As an FPJ or tonic, tulsi may act as an adaptogen, balancing the immune system of plants just like it does for humans.

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.

In Nature, plants grow abundantly without applied fertilizers. They do so through circular, self-reinforcing systems that recycle nutrients, build organic matter, and make minerals biologically available. These systems run on living soil. When they are intact, fertility is generated internally rather than imported from the outside. Farmers who grow food without fertilizers, whether on small plots or broad-acre land, share this same foundation. They begin by establishing biolo

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

You want to apply once a week (no more) at the right time of day. Apply the misted formulas an hour (or two) before sunset. This avoids using the inputs during photosynthesis (when the plants cannot utilize the formula's biochemistry), it avoids the heat of the day, and it gives the moisture time to evaporate, so that plants don’t go to bed wet, which can entice molds and blights to form. There are two ways you can set up your weekly chores to apply BST. When I started using

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

In order to apply Biochemical Signaling Technology (BST) properly, we first need to understand the Nutritive Cycle, the lifecycle of plants. UNDERSTANDING THE NUTRITIVE CYCLE PHASES SEEDLING Once a seed sprouts, it is called a seedling. The seed leaves at this stage serve the function analogous to the placenta in mammals and the egg yolks of birds. They provide the nutrition the seedling needs to establish roots and grow true leaves that will enable the young plant to start p

Noni flower and forming fruit These seven Core Elements summarize the practice of Korean Natural Farming (KNF) as a comprehensive system...