KNF ~~~ The Rabbit Hole thread :)

Greetings to all my Cannabis cultivating family. I am creating this thread to introduce myself and help people get the info they need to practice KNF tech. I grew my 1st plant about 39 years ago and have been growing off and on ever since. Luckily I was introduced to growing organically at a young age and have never grown with chemical fertilizers, except a few fails when I was very young. I started making my own "fertilizers" about 12 years ago following examples mostly of Gil Carandang in the Philippines. I found KNF a bit over 2 years ago and since then have pretty much been exclusively using it for my garden ,animals and myself. I do incorporate a bit of experimentation using what I've learned over the years but it's always including some KNF Soulutions and philosophy. I am certified to do basic KNF training by Eric Weinert and I also follow and have learned a lot from Chris Trump and Rei Yoon all following the teachings of Master Cho. To me KNF is a spiritual endeavor ~ Healing ourselves, our animals and our environment. The fungal networks and their diversity are under attack by our modern way of life and this has to be one of the best ways to combat that attack. No other farming method I know of can I consume the solutions I am making for my garden. I think that says a lot right there. Anyway if anyone has questions they want answered I am here to help - if I don't know I'll get you the correct and up to date info.

So to start off for those you you who have LABs I have attached a file of a paper on chitin extraction. It seems LAB is a great way to make chitin bio-available to plants. In two recent experiments I have used it to break down meal worm frass and crustacean meal. In the first one I had some crustacean meal I was inoculating with IMO4 and had thrown a few worms and chunks of wood (fungal food /home) in there to help out. I took this material and filled a 1/2 gal. container about 1/2 way ( 1/3 is better as it blew out!) added water to 2/3 and mixed in 1/4 cup LABs and 2 oz of FFJ ( you could use molasses if no FFJ or FPJ avail) I stored in a shaded 70-80f spot and within 24 hours there was serious activity. After about 72 hours it quiets down. At this point I believe it can be used - after consultation with a KNF scientific mind - Jonathon Traxler - I think a 1:1000 ratio with water will be adequate. Second experiment was the mealworm frass - only put 1/4 volume of frass to start - it really expands!!! I did same addition of LAB and FFJ - no IMO - also explosive activity in 24 hours - really leave room for expansion if you do this one! I plan on using it in a LIMO ( AACT with IMO 4 or 5 ) or in solutions with other KNF inputs. Be careful no to use this in full flower as its reported it can stop the flower growth in its tracks!!!!! Great to use right up to transition - but don't over do it - be REALLY careful in KNF dosing in containers under 20 gal. - in those circumstances 1/2 the amounts in solutions to start and carefully work up if you feel brave. Keep KNF inputs in small containers to 1 soil application a week. I haven't noticed any issue with normal foliar applications so that can be done in normal amounts and timings.

 

heheeh Once people taste the terps KNF produces it will be all over. Sounds like we have the same "gurus" Chris and Eric have been my main educational sources, although Eric Weinert is really my man as I've met him, studied with him and had the pleasure of having him over for a night at my house and get his input on my inputs and practices. I am in Seattle, WA and we host a public meet up group once a month in the warmer months to learn from each other. I honestly in the last 2 years have had nothing but increasing success -as I learn more and make more of the inputs the quality just keeps rising, and it was great before this.... Thanks for your welcome, look forwards to sharing as we grow ~~

 

Well lucky you on the Big I, all that yummy free tropical fruit to ferment....!!! Have you connected with Eric Weinert ? He lives there too . You're at the epicenter of the KNF world in the USA and I do believe they have free meet ups for KNF there too. I gotta make it back over there one day, I so miss the vibes on that island.

 

Ok my good people , here's today's DL. I woke this morning feeling energized and my mind whirling in the realms of KNF and I had questions in my mind I wanted answered so I called my brother Eric Weinert to get it straight. He is truly a top notch human and I highly suggest watching his videos and or attending one of his teachings. There is no substitute for seeing and tasting properly made inputs. Anyhow at the same time I am part of a regenerative cannabis group on bookface and we have been discussing how to deal with small container ( under 20 gal seems finicky) indoor KNF gardens of Cannabis. I am going to copy and paste a question asked and my answer to save a lot of typing...

??? - "Have you run into ph problems doing full scale knf in containers before?"

= "YES!!! Actually just chatted with Eric Weinert about this issue this morning. One of my goals is to develop a protocol for Pure KNF treatment of indoor cannabis -especially pertaining to containers Under 20 gal -as above that life gets easier - when you hit like 100 gal. its almost like outside. Right now, derived from talking to him I will say this : One: IMO4/5 ( add charged bio char to this if you have it ) is really a key element (use Grokashi as a sub ) once soil settles cover with about a 1/2 in layer and cover with a good mulch - water in with soil treatment solution or a LIMO. --- Two : drench with LAB only once a month -foliar applications can be done weekly. Three : if you soil drench inputs keep to only 1x a week - go easy on amounts -some cultivars can take it -some can't. 4 : Rely more on foliar applications to deliver KNF inputs ( in properly set up rooms -ie good ventilation and temps - you can spray inputs well into flower -ask Jonathan Traxler) ALWAYS include BRV or a fruit vinegar and OHN if you have it in your solutions. Five through 100: LESS CAN BE MORE - get to know your cultivars and what they can accept. KISS ~~~ Long Live the Natural Cannabis Farmer ~ "

I hope some of this info saves someone from "lockout" or other assorted ph issues. I added a pic of this mornings harvest, it is just the secondary buds but the weather made taking a good pic possible . Herb is so loud its screaming, makes my eyes water....

 

I woke up breathing ...its a good day !!! Hope everyone is well, just think in 12 days the the daylight will start to increase again!!! One of my favorite days of the year. Yesterday I received two wonderful packages- one containing some Mesa Cookies seeds from Miles Filipelli which I can only say I am super excited to grow as the grows I've seen of it were impressive and some Yucca extract - which is an amazing surfactant - although not KNF it has a place in my arsenal. So in KNF we prepare seeds for planting with the SES soulution ( Seed/seedling treatment solution). It is very simple and boosts the vigor and sprouting time for seeds. To make a quart of the solution mix : 1/4 tsp Brown Rice Vinegar , 1/4 tsp FPJ and 1/8 tsp OHN (Oriental Herbal Nutrient) if you are missing any of the ingredients use what you have and proceed. For seeds like lettuce or real fast sprouting seeds a quick ten minute soak can suffice, for things that take a little more time - ie squash etc go 30 min , for a cannabis seed I am going to go 4 hours as its a very hard shell with a waxy protective coating. After soaking , plant as normal. you can use this solution to water seedlings as well if the soil has little nutrient but as we all know be careful with the babies, might be a good idea to dilute it further.

 

Good day family, wanted to share another extraction tech, this time for Alfalfa. I don't have access to fresh Alfalfa where I am so I buy animal feed organic pellets in 50lb sacks. Because this material is dry we need to rehydrate it and since we want to ferment we can start with a ferment to do that - namely beer or a weak wine will work. This is following the KNF OHN tech - I just wont add alcohol. To start take a gallon jar ( I used 2 quarts and it was a mistake...) and put just 1/4 full about of pellets -fill to 2/3 mark approx with the cheapest beer you can get. Wait 1-2 days - if warm 1 day if cool 2 days - then take it and mix in about 1/3-2/3 weight in sugar of what you think the original material weighed. I chose about 1.5 lb for this. I had to also add more water as it soaked up all the beer and needed more hydration - thats ok if you need to do that - Then put back in a jar shooting to fill to about the 2/3 mark. This now ferments for 5-7 days depending on temps - if you start to see a lot of activity and start to smell more alcohol its time to strain. This could be faster in real warm climates. I will then store this in the fridge and use for foliar treatments 2 weeks before and until I see flowers set. It can be used in veg too if you like. Don't use into flower past when you see clusters. Mix 1:1000 in water. Strain with old t=shirt cloth in a strainer - Don't squeeze the liquid out - Master Cho says we don't want to squeeze the "crap" out of it !!LOL . You have to be patient and just set it up to drain for an hour or two if needed. (same for any FPJ) Leave some for the worms -which will freak out on the leftovers in your worm bin or compost.. This is a way to get all the goodies mainlined from alfalfa right into the plant. Use 1:1000 brv and OHN too if you have it along with this in the same solution.

 

There is a great video by Chris Trump on Youtube for making OHN. I talked to a very renowned PNW herbalist about the possibility of using other plants and he told me : 1 we can grow Licorice here and he has starts avail in spring. 2 - we can also grow Angelica here - also he has starts - 3- Of course garlic we can grow ... 4 - there is no sub for ginger.... _ --- 5 - there is no sub for cinnamon. That being said its the alcohol thats expensive - not the herbs... you only need to start with about 10-20% dried volume in a jar. You can avoid all this and buy some if you want - Chris has some here ( Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN) | Natural Farming Co. ) and I saw one other place too but forget their name. There are no subs for OHN - you are making something else - not to say you couldn't formulate something.... but Skeeter said he thought there wasn't really a good sub for ginger or cinnamon - which are the only two we can't grow (ginger in a greenhouse or indoors we can ). I am going to start Angelica and Licorice in Spring and maybe make a greenhouse to grow some ginger, oh yeah and cannabis ... SO really all we can't make is cinnamon ... On the banana FFJ - it is FFJ not FPJ - recipe calls for FPJ ,,,, so you adventure at your own peril on that one. You can make a FPJ out of any plant thats not toxic but this time of year here no way unless you grow a crop for it in a greenhouse or indoors (I'm about to do a small cover crop to FPJ). You can also order FPJ's from people now too....lol... If nothing else just use the Brown rice vinegar at 1/4 tsp per quart. It will help. My first seed just started sprouting!! Noon today would have been 48 hours - it was about 6pm I saw one starting to poke up when I checked on them. I thermometer stuck under them to see if they need the heat pad and was just checking it. Staying good at 75 F ( ideal to me ) without pad. I personally have tossed a lot of my old ideas about things and am just following this path - so far no regrets -just a learning curve. I'm here to try to help people avoid my pitfalls

 

Definitely compatible, from my talk with Eric he has encouraged me to think of using KNF more in foliar versus soil drench applications. He says that's where the magic is - not to say we shouldn't use them in our soil - just sparingly and especially so indoors in containers. I will post a pic here of one of his open source info sheets to help you get the handle on the acronyms. There are great videos on both Chris Trump and Eric Weinerts youtube channels for pretty much everyone of the recipes as well as footage of live trainings you can binge watch. PureKNF.com has a few books and apps that can be handy. FFJ for future info is equal weight fruit and pure cane sugar mixed and left to ferment for 5-7 days. I will do a a post on a good water soluble cal-phos solution (WCaP) as soon as I find some more bones. I will over time cover all the things listed in the basic 9, but as I said you can go see it now. OHN is OHN - it is those 5 - anything else is your experiment. We say learn the by the book way first -then experiment - but do as you like. It is addictive once you start -as your friend can attest. I mean really - I drink a lot of it myself -almost every day something... what other garden nutrients you can do that with ? There is a very active group on bookface too if you go there. Actually everything you need is out there on the web - you just have to look. At some point you need to meet someone who's solutions are certified to make sure yours are on point but really 90% can be done through research & trial and error. I will help you all I can too as long as I see you are helping yourself as well ... Long Live the Natural Farmer!!!!

 

OHN and FPJ videos :

 

Exactly, although some of the translation is a bit off in that pdf - but its minor stuff. If using it its good to check in about the process you are doing to make sure the info is correct. I'm glad to see you in here, your name I remember I think from about 8 years ago - were you here then >? Is Lumperdawg still around?

 

I don't know about canna boost - but if it's organic and does not harm biology then whatever is clever. The tech in KNF isn't necessarily proprietary, Master Cho I think created a few of the processes but mostly I think he gathered together different tech and made a whole out of it. He says he was inspired by god, which is fine by me ... So I think a lot of stuff you see out there is made using similar recipes. Brown sugar is ok but you have it backwards it is white sugar with molasses added and its usually a bit moist from that addition which does not serve us well as we want the osmotic pressure from the DRY crystals.- pure cane sugar is dried sugar cane juice. I don't know about using yeast - although certainly when we make a lot of our inputs wild yeast is in there. We want diversity from our surroundings so a cultured yeast from a lab won't serve us. We use the beer just to rehydrate. The molasses ferments are from a different tech - maybe going back to Gil Carandang who was my first exposure to making my own nutrients. I have some 12 year old squash , banana and papaya ferment I made inspired by him - its still smells good!!!! Here I am going to focus on KNF as it is today - I can't predict any experiments you take on and encourage you to do an learn the basic soulutions as they are before you do experiment. ~~~