Brassicas in general are typically pretty bacterially oriented on the spectrum of plants grown for consumption, as compared to something like a tomato, corn, or beans. This means that evolutionarily they are much simpler in terms of how they grow and interact with the ecosystem.
This simplicity also applies to the growth cycle. However, I am in the process of refining the vocabulary and my understanding of what is meant in the original language of the nutrient cycle theory. I am not sure the original attempts were any more clear, so here goes another attempt.
The “flower stage” as I have in my app is actually closer to something called puberty. Just cause a girl has menses does not mean she is ready to have a baby. Sure, she is now capable, but it’s not wise to reproduce at this point.
Take this concept and apply it to your broccoli, your plant is ready to put out a head, this represents puberty, but you don’t quite want it to bolt yet, this represents pregnancy. So, at the stage where it is putting out the head, it’s no longer really growing leaves, which is analgous to the vegetative or “leaf stage”, but now it instead beginning to have a menses, indicated by putting out a head.
Master Cho has specifically talked about broccoli and that 5 days before the heads start to form, one should treat with “flower solution” to ease this transition and to get even more heads than thought possible. This does not mean it will encourage it to bolt, but rather help the plant ease from accumulative growth to get ready for reproduction.
As a rule of thumb the time to apply flower solution is 1/3 through the life of the plant. So with 80 days for broccoli, that would be at day 26 or so, but you want to actually precede it by 5 days, so day 21 would be optimal. Of course this will vary widely in practice, but with your experience you should be able to anticipate and treat in the correct window.
- drake answered 7 years ago
Sounds like you may have added too much sugar?
A plant like honohono grass has very little sugar content, and thus not much additional sugar is needed to create the osmotic pressure necessary to get the juice to come through the cell wall.
Master Cho’s book recommends using between 1/3-1/2 of the plants weight in sugar for making FPJ. So if I have 1 pound of honohono grass, I will typically add about a half pound of brown sugar to start the extraction.
Though others say the sugar cap is necessary, the literature only suggests the cap on the Fermented Fruit Juice recipe, where also the sugar is 1:1 or greater. Adding additional sugar on the top does not make any measurable difference in practice.
- drake answered 6 years ago
Hawaii Flour Mill may still carry it!
HFM Foodservice Corporation, Oahu Distribution Center
Physical: 716 Umi Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Mailing: PO Box 855, Honolulu, HI 96808
Phone: 1-808-843-3200 / Fax: 1-808-843-3211
- drake answered 6 years ago
Looks like a good catch Dean. I almost always measure in milliliters, so when I put teaspoon measurements in there, I forgot to convert.
- drake answered 6 years ago
In practice the Angelicas are almost identical in effect. The cinnamon and licorice will have slightly different properties, but will still be effective as the idea of OHN is KNF Medicine primarily focused on digestion and supporting female reproduction.
- drake answered 6 years ago
In my experience aquatic plants tend to be harder to ferment. They tend to putrefy instead of ferment.
A ULC KNF Food may be a better recipe for doing this as it is based upon putrefaction.
- drake answered 6 years ago
Root aphids can be taken out with an ULC KNF Pest Recipe as follows:
- 5 liters of soft water
- 100 mL of liquid soap
- 100 mL of herbal solutions made from Jerusalem Artichoke or other herb
- 10-20 mL of liquid sulphur (optional)
Of course this recipe can scale as appropriate.
The method of application is to drench the soil twice a day until the aphids die. Once in the morning and just before evening are best. Be careful not to drown your plants. Also, if you are using this preventatively, reduce the soap and herbs to 50mL and do not include the sulphur.
- drake answered 6 years ago
In practice, ULC KNF Microbes alone may not be enough to create a balanced soil ecosystem.
The microbes are like workers, and they need sandwiches, material to build with and tools to be productive. So to extend this analogy out in terms of the KNF Solutions we work with:
- Workers = (ULC) KNF Microbes
- Sandwiches = (ULC) KNF Food
- Materials to build with = KNF Minerals
- Tools to be productive = KNF Cleanser and KNF Medicine
In the case of nematodes, this complete recipe needs to be drenched deep. Either fully saturating the substrate or if in the ground, going at least a meter down once a week. If you apply before a rain, can make more concentrated and the water will do the depth penetration for you!
Now, if you need to immediately kill the nematodes I found this paper that says “In addition, sulfur 100 mg/kg of soil caused 70% and 69% decreases in the final population and reproduction factor of the nematode, respectively”
So go with liquid sulphur diluted at 1:100 and liquid soap diluted at 1:50 into soft water, and drench it deep! Only use this 2-3 times in a row to kill the nematodes, then follow it with the above recipe to restore living balance to the soil.
- drake answered 6 years ago
Tree wounds and scars in trees can be healed with KNF Microbes made into a paste with seawater and bound with oatmeal so it sticks to the bark.
Master Cho talks about this solution in regards to sunburn in the following video (starting at 7 minutes 40 seconds), but the solution is the same for healing wounds and scars.
- drake answered 6 years ago
- last active 6 years ago
Yes, it is still important to toast coral sand. The reason for toasting to a light brown like a perfectly done marshmallow is twofold:
- Remove the moisture from the calcarb so the vinegar will penetrate more easily and thoroughly dissolve all the calcium out into solution
- Coral is full of tiny bits of organic matter, so to cook them out so that the mixture will not rot later during storage.
I recommend doing this on a slightly higher heat that has been traditionally taught, around a low medium so that it will take about 15 minutes with constant stirring as not to burn. Try not to burn the coral and turn it black as that chemically destroys the calcium and starts to carbonize it. Sort of like the marshmallow, it takes keen effort and the right heat to cook it just perfectly!
Good luck, and Long live the natural farmer!
- drake answered 6 years ago