With a proper Soil Foundation, plants provide their own nutrition on demand, yet the Korean Natural Farmer (KNF) is still able to direct growth to fill people's wants and needs. We can obtain high yields of desired crops by signaling plants to provide what we want. Furthermore, this can be accomplished without degrading quality, health, or the environment.
This is accomplished by following the Nutritive Cycle, by misting plants lightly, like dew, no more than once per week, about an hour before sunset, using formulas designed according to specific stages of life or need. The formulations use biochemistry to directly influence plant growth. We direct growth using the Nutritive Cycle.
The formulas for the weekly misting of plants are made from inputs that can be easily made on the farm using locally available materials, like leaves and fruit. Wild aerobic fermentation is used to make Fermented Plant Juice, FPJ. These fermented juices are the active ingredients in the weekly sprays.
FPJs contain hormones, enzymes, cofactors, and other essential plant compounds. When made and used properly, the FPJ biochemistry signals plants to perform specific biological functions, such as growing big leaves, starting flower formation, forming fruit, and ripening fruit. This may sound complicated, and if we needed to understand all the biochemistry involved, it would be. However, we are working with the patterns of Nature.
The Nutritive Cycle gives us a set of patterns to follow to get the growth we want. When plants are young and we want leaf growth, the active ingredient in the formula comes from the fermented tips of fast-growing leaf tips. These leaf tips contain the specific biochemistry that plants use to produce leaf growth. Likewise, when we want to ripen fruit, the active ingredient in the formula is an FPJ made from ripe fruit. And so forth.
We find the pattern we want to use in Nature, ferment the plant material with that pattern into an active ingredient (FPJ), and then mist the biochemistry from that pattern onto plants we want to perform that function, e.g., grow leaves.
The formulas are not designed to fertilize plants but to direct their growth.
In addition to the active ingredients, FPJs, formulas also include an ionic buffer, a tonic for immune system modulation, and adjuncts, such as mineral serums useful at specific stages of growth. All inputs for the formulas can be easily made on the property with materials on hand, and the formulas are easy to create.
The results of misting with Nutritive Formulas are almost immediate, just like conventional chemical agriculture, often even more dramatic, except that all KNF inputs are edible. Everything in KNF is edible. Nothing toxic is added to the food system. Many inputs are taken by people regularly and used in cooking.
Only very small amounts of inputs are needed for the desired effect. If properly stored, most inputs can be kept for several years. These inputs can also be helpful for animals by adding very dilute amounts to drinking water, depending on their needs.
Another advantage is that weekly formulas allow reactions to a changing environment in real time, offering a high level of flexibility. Unlike when fertilizers for the entire growing season are added to the soil on planting, a weekly mist to direct plant growth can be changed whenever conditions change.
Using the Nutritive Cycle respects plants' nature. We signal the plants what we want them to do (e.g., grow leaves or produce flowers) yet allow them the freedom to obtain the nutrients they need, when they need them, and in the proper amounts. This is important because nutrient insufficiency and excess both lead to pests and disease.
Of course, for the Nutritive Cycle to work properly, it is important to have a good Soil Foundation, as discussed above.
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