TRANSPLANTING IN KNF KOREAN NATURAL FARMING
Plants can be programmed to be stronger, more resilient no matter what weather and climatic challenges they face, and more resistant to pests and disease.
In KNF, seeds are soaked in Seed Soaking Solution (SES). Soaking time is dependent on how quickly the seeds germinate.
Likewise, transplants are soaked in the same SES solution after being stressed by withholding water for about three days immediately before being transplanted. This is completely contrary to modern practices that advocate babying plants before transplanting.
The tender touch in modern agriculture, however, creates plants that are lazy and can be completely dependent on added fertilizers. The KNF method creates plants that are strong, able to adapt to changing conditions, and able to provide their own nutrition.
The Seed Soaking Solution (SES) is made with a specific combination of wild-fermented products, which inoculates the seeds and transplant roots with the right kind of microbes and biochemistry.
This microbial cocoon helps prevent root rot in transplants and can eliminate problems like damping off, offering a big advantage for seeds to germinate and transplants to take successfully.
It also allows plants to make relationships with soil biology in order to get the nutrition they need from soil. If this is not done early in the life of the plant, it won’t happen, and the plant will be completely reliant on the farmer for nutrients. This, in essence, makes a slave of the farmer.
STRESSING PLANTS BEFORE TRANSPLANTING
Stressing plants for transplanting begins three days prior. The pot is turned and roots are broken in order to disturb and stress the plants. The plant is then denied water for three days. The plant now thinks it will die.
This trains the plant that life is hard. Since everything alive wants to continue to live, these stressed plants will work harder to establish themselves in soil once they are revived and planted.
The philosophy is this. If organisms have to suffer while they are young, they are better able to handle suffering when they are old, when conditions are bad. This gives young plants “Pioneer Potential,” much like pioneer species in ecosystem development. They are hardy and better able to reach their genetic potential.
SOAKING IN SES
After having their roots disturbed and being drought-stressed, transplants are soaked briefly in Soil Solution, SES. Plants will be forced to go from dying to growing many new side shoots. Onions, for example, will grow two to three times bigger. Plants like tomatoes and chili will grow without disease.
Seedlings and transplants can be soaked the night before transplanting or dipped the morning of planting. To dip a plant, remove it from the pot, shake off the dirt, and dip in SES for about 15 seconds.
Plants like papaya trees and banana clumps need to soak for about five minutes. Plants like ginger root also need about five minutes, as well as plants that have “eyes,” such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro.
A sweet potato “eye” may start to sprout right away, and if leaves are kept out of the water, it can soak for up to twelve hours. If this happens, the sweet potato can be said to be “already pregnant,” and water-soluble Calcium Phosphate (WCaP) should be added to the solution.
Mangos, macadamia nuts, and many fruit and nut trees may need to be soaked for about three hours. If you are unsure, it is better to soak for too little time, rather than too long, as with seeds.
Once plants have been stressed and treated with Soil Solution, SES, they are ready to be transplanted.
THE TRANSPLANT DONUT
Just like seeds are planted into soil that has not been tilled, transplants are placed in the ground in a way that the soil is disturbed as little as possible. This is done in just a few steps.
First, the sod or weeds are carefully removed from the planting area. Then, a circular trench is dug at the diameter of the roots for the incoming transplant in a ring like a donut. This keeps the soil intact at the center of the “hole,” as well as the outside perimeter.
Next, the transplant (which has had its roots disturbed, been drought-stressed for three days, and then soaked in a SES, Seed Solution) is removed from its container, and the roots are splayed out. The trunk or central stem of the plant is placed over the solid center, and the roots are draped around the circular hole. The doughnut trench should be deep enough to accommodate the roots of the transplant, but not deeper.
The last steps are backfilling the circular hole to cover the root, watering it in with dilute Soil Solution, then mulching.
This method does several things. The most obvious result of transplanting in this way is it keeps the plant in soil that is as intact as possible. It will not be a lazy plant and the soil biology will be as intact as possible.
This also keeps the “Nose” of the plant, the interface of the aerial parts of the plant and the root system, above the soil because it is placed in the center where the soil is harder and still intact. It is important to keep the nose of the plant above the soil because plant root systems need oxygen, and this structure, the nose, allows them to take in needed oxygen.
The plant has been stressed, which makes it strong. It has been soaked in SES solution, which creates conditions that enable the transplant to develop relationships with the soil biology so that it can feed itself. Adding some of the SES solution to the roots on planting stimulates the local soil biology to interact with the newly planted root system.
Both actions, drought stress and soaking in SES solution, develop a strong plant and enable it to develop to its full genetic potential.
This method is great for planting trees or small numbers of plants, but on a commercial level, some adaptations might need to be made. For my tea garden, I had to alter the system a bit to save on labor.
Tea plants take about a year after sprouting or developing roots as a cutting before they are strong enough to be planted out in the field. Transplanting into the field is labor intensive and was a major bottleneck in expanding my tea fields.
What I did was get a tractor with a small trenching tool a few inches deep to correspond with the root systems of the tea plants in pots. I dug a trench along each planned planting row. This kept the tea row soil as intact as possible while avoiding the manhours of digging each hole. I then splayed the tea plant roots along the trench rather than around a donut, backfilled, watered in with SES, then mulched.
How you adapt to your commercial or large operation depends on the size and needs of your crop.
Best Transplanting Practices for any size operation employ these concepts:
Drought-stress the transplant for a few days before transplanting
Soak in dilute Seed Solution (SES) before planting out
Disturb the transplanting hole as little as possible (Doughnut holes)
Water in with dilute Seed Solution (SES)
Cover backfill with mulch
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