permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

FERMENTED FERTILIZER (2)- Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ)
http://www.freewebs.com/jumblebox/blogF/jumbleblog/fertilize2.html


FERMENTED FERTILIZER (2)

FERMENTED FERTILIZER (1): To Page 1
- FERMENTED ECO-ENZYME FERTILIZER | - HOW TO MAKE ECO-ENZYME |

FERMENTED FERTILIZER (2) |
BENEFITS OF LIQUID FERTILIZER
HOW TO MAKE FERMENTED PLANT JUICE

FERMENTED FERTILIZER (3): To Page 3
- FERMENTED FRUIT JUICE (FFJ) |
- GUIDELINE ON CHOOSING PLANTS |
- HOW TO MAKE FERMENTED FRUIT JUICE |

FERMENTED FERTILIZER (4): To Page 4
- ZOO POO & COW DUNG TEA

Related:
SOIL & PLANT HEALTH

For phytochemicals in plants, refer to:-
PLANTS THAT REPEL OR KILL PESTS (1A)

PLANTS THAT REPEL OR KILL PESTS (1B)- Toxins

HEALTHFUL COLORS, NUTRITIOUS DIET- GREEN COLOR

HEALTHFUL COLORS, NUTRITIOUS DIET (2)- YELLOW, ORANGE-RED COLORS

HEALTHFUL COLORS, NUTRITIOUS DIET (3)- PINK, RED, PURPLE, BLUE COLORS
BENEFITS OF LIQUID FERTILIZER

    Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) is a liquid fertilizer made from
natural plant materials. When your plants suffer from certain nutrient
deficiencies, liquid fertilizer is a faster and more effective way to
deal with the problem than solid fertilizer, which needs time to break
down.
    The nutritional needs of plants change as they progress through
different stages of growth. When you use solid fertilizer, the same
fertilizer continues to break down even though the plants’ growing
needs are changing. Since liquid fertilizer can be taken up
immediately by plants, you can feed your plants different nutrients as
they pass from seed to root to stem and foliage growth; then (for some
plants) to flowering and fruiting.
    Fermenting liquid fertilizers is not a hot process like
composting. Therefore, plant hormones are retained to improve seed
germination, flowering and fruiting. You can never get these hormones
from chemical fertilizers.
    FPJ promotes beneficial microbial activities in the soil. The
microbes help break down minerals and convert nutrients to a more
absorbable form for plants.
    Chemical fertilizers can certainly provide some of the nutrients.
However, as many farmers have found out after decades of chemical
usage, these chemicals actually harm the soil. After initial bountiful
harvest, the yields gradually go down and increasing amounts of
chemicals are needed, increasing cost of production and poisoning the
soil further. On the other hand, FPJ help to improve soil quality and
fertility.

FPJ form part of the ‘Natural farming method’ developed by Dr. Han Kyu
Cho of South Korea. Like eco-enzyme, it uses brown (raw) sugar to
extract the phytochemicals in plants.

When the juice is fermented from fruits, it is called Fermented Fruit
Juice (FFJ). The juice or essence of the plant is extracted using raw
sugar through osmotic pressure.

Dr. Cho’s method is much more detailed than eco-enzyme, giving the
farmer or gardener more control over the fertilizing process to meet
plant needs. The method of making FPJ and FFJ differ slightly from
eco-enzyme.
HARVESTING PLANTS
WHEN TO HARVEST

Good ingredients produce high quality FPJ. On the surface of every cm.
of leaf is 100,000 to 150, 000 yeasts and bacteria, including lactic
acid bacteria (the sort found in yogurt). These microorganisms aid
fermentation. Therefore, do not pick plants immediately after heavy
rain, as much of the microorganisms would be washed away. FPJ does not
ferment well when there is insufficient microorganism. The juice can
become sticky and thick. This is also, why you should not wash the
ingredients before fermentation.

Wait two days for the plants to be repopulated before harvesting. The
plants are also flushed with juices at that time.

In a dry spell with sunny weather, water the plants one day prior to
harvesting to increase moisture content so that there are more juices
to extract.

Harvest the plants before sunrise when there is still dew on them.
According to Dr. Cho, nutrients and plant vitality peak at this time
of day. Once the sunlight reaches the plants, they would start up
their chlorophyll factories to capture sunlight and spend the rest of
the day using part of their energy for biosynthesis.

It is best to make FPJ as soon as possible after picking the plants to
retain maximum amount of enzymes, hormones, nutrients and life-force
energy. Delay would lead to the plants drying out, leaving less juice
for extraction through osmosis.

Individual plants have ‘best’ season for collection to use in FPJ just
as there are ‘best’ season to collect fruits. If you are living in
temperate lands, spring is a good time for collection. Plants are
growing and flowering actively. Therefore, there is plenty of growth
and flowering hormones in the plants.
HOW TO HARVEST

The growing tips of plants contain the highest amount of growth
hormones. Snip off this part quickly. For plants such as sweet potato
or cucumber, it is best to cut about 10cm down from the growing point
of the lateral vine. Some people cut about 20 cm for more plant
materials to process.

As the growing season draws to a close, Dr. Cho advises, “cut about
50cm up from the root system and then hang the cucumber stem upside
down in a bottle so that the cucumber juice flows out and is
collected. This cucumber juice is also good for facial care. It is
said that the juice can be stored for up to three years with the juice
retaining its original quality, without discoloring or losing its
flavor.”
For other plants, after you have set aside the edible parts for
consumption, use the rest of the non-woody parts above ground that you
do not need for making FPJ.

If you need several hours to collect enough materials, bring along a
bottle of FPJ and dip the cuttings in the juice to provide a
protective film and prevent the escape of nutrients and energy.
MATERIALS
FERMENTATION CONTAINER

The best container to make FPJ is either a clay or wooden jar with a
narrower mouth. These materials are not prone to rapid wide
temperature fluctuations. A wine barrel with an outlet valve at the
bottom to facilitate easy retrieval is also suitable. If clay or
wooden container is not available, use glass or plastic. However, the
quality of the end product will not be as good. Cover transparent jars
with thick black paper or cloth to keep out sunlight.

Avoid metal containers.

The reason for using a narrower mouthed fermentation jar is to reduce
evaporation and drying out of ingredients. When there is too much
drying, it encourages fungal growth. The shape of the jar is conducive
to fermentation.

If you wish to drink FPJ yourself, wash the jar clean before use.
PLANT MATERIAL

Dr. Cho recommends using one type of plant material per FPJ. Different
plants in your garden or farm may require different FPJ. The single
plant FPJ will give you more flexibility to feed your plants the
needed nutrients.

Certain types of FPJ are used more frequently than others are and are
made in larger quantities. Use jars of different sizes to store your
FPJ.
BROWN SUGAR

Plants use chlorophyll to capture the energy of sunlight and use the
energy to extract carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from air and water to
form sugar. Therefore, sugar is stored energy of sunlight. All plants
contain energy that gives plants their life force and vitality.

Use any type of raw or crude sugar as it contains more nutrients. For
example, raw cane sugar contains iron, calcium and sodium.

If raw sugar is unavailable, use white sugar but this refined sugar
contains fewer nutrients. Consequently, the fermentation process will
be different and the FPJ will be of low quality.

Do not use Molasses because it contains too much water and cannot
generate osmotic pressure as high as brown sugar does for good
fermentation.

To improve juice extraction, you can add a little unrefined salt to
the sugar. Salt should comprise less than 30 percent of the weight of
sugar. Too much salt is not good for your soil.
HOW TO MAKE FERMENTED PLANT JUICE

When making FPJ, use more sugar if the plant material is very juicy
and less sugar if less juicy. Shake away dirt from the plant material
but do not wash.

INGREDIENTS

    1 part Brown Sugar
    2 to 3 parts plant material
    Fermentation jar
    Porous paper or loosely knit cloth to cover mouth of jar and
string to tie it down
    Basin or tub big enough to hold all ingredients
    A bag of sand or water

METHOD

    Cut plant material into finger size so that the juices can flow
out more easily.
    Weigh plant material. Next place plants in a basin or tub.
    Weigh 1/3 or ½ amount of sugar to the weight of the plant material.
    Sprinkle sugar over cut plants and mix thoroughly with your hands.

    (If there is a huge amount of plant materials, put alternate
layers of plants and sugar in the tub before mixing.)
    Next, cover with a newspaper and leave it for 1-2 hours.
    Put mixture into a fermentation jar, filling it up to about 80
percent of the container. Place a weight such as a bag of sand or
water. Ensure the bag do not puncture and spill its contents into your
plant materials.

    (The weight is to compress the materials and remove any air spaces
to ensure the sugar is in contact with all plant materials.)
    Cover the jar with porous paper or loosely knit cloth to allow 
ventilation.
    Remove the weight after half to one day after the air has been
expelled from the mixture. By this time, the mixture will probably
fill 2/3 of the jar. (When the jar is filled 2/3 with materials and
1/3 with air, optimum fermentation will occur.)
    Cover the mouth again with porous paper or cloth. Date and label the jar.
    Place the jar in a cool, shaded place. Do not open, move or stir
the ingredients while fermentation is taking place for about 5-7 days.

TIP:
If there is not much juice extracted from the plant material, add some salt.
FERMENTATION PROCESS

The brown sugar draws out the juices of the plants. The juice should
cover all plant materials to ensure they are all fermented.

A few days after fermentation, alcohol is produced, which dissolves
the chlorophyll in the plant.

After 4-5 days, thin, soft leaves will disintegrate and the others
will be whitish in color. The smell of amino acids becomes noticeable.

Depending on the type of plants, the fermentation process takes
between 5-7 days. If you ferment too long, too much of the materials
will be turned into nitrogen.

A successful FPJ has a pleasant fragrance. The liquid is clear when
filtered. Sometimes, small bubbles or fungi will be present in the
jar. They result from inadequate brown sugar or from an unbalanced
volume between the empty space and the ingredient. In this case, stir
in a little brown sugar to preserve after filtering.

Store the juice in clean containers.

The strained residue is full of beneficial microorganisms. Toss it
into your compost heap or bury in the ground to disintegrate into
humus. If you mix the residues with soil, wait until it has decomposed
into humus before using it to grow anything.