Natural Farming, Part 2

Natural Farming Preparations

Indigenous Micro-organisms (IMO)

Properties

Revives soil nutrients; speeds up composting; controls non-beneficial microorganisms. IMO are naturally present in the soil, but are often deteriorated due to many factors.

Making IMO

1. Put 1 kilo of cooked rice in a wooden box that is 8 1/2” x 3” large or a section of a bamboo open on one side.
2. Cover the box or bamboo with a clean sheet of paper and tie with a string.
3. Cover with a plastic to keep out rainwater, insects and small rodents.
4. Place under forest or bamboo leaves or coconut husks.
5. Remove after 3 days. Molds will form on top of the rice.
6. Place in a clay jar the moldy rice and mix with a kilo or crude sugar.
7. Cover the jar with a clean sheet of paper and tie with a string. Place in a cool and shaded place. After 7 days this will yield a mudlike juice.

Development of IMO

1. IMO collected from clean area = IMO 1
2. IMO 1 + brown sugar 1:1 = IMO 2
3. IMO 2 + rice bran (w/ 60% moisture content) 1:1000 = IMO 3
4. IMO 3 + clean forest soil 1:1 = IMO 4
5. IMO 4 + dry manure 1:1 = IMO5

Using IMO

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of the juice to 1 liter of water.
2. Spray on soil and underside of plants
3. Consume within 3-6 months

Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ)

Properties

Food for the Indigenous Microorganisms; enhances plant growth; for greener leaves - better photosynthesis. Can also be consumed as a health supplement.

Making FPJ

1. Cut a trunk of a cardaba variety of banana. Camote tops, kangkong or alugbati tops as well as bamboo shoots can also be used.
2. Finely chop 2 kilos of the preferred ingredient. Mix with 1 kilo of crude sugar.
3. Place in a clay jar and put a rock on top for the contents to settle at the bottom.
4. On the next day, remove the rock and cover the jar with a clean sheet of paper and tie with a string. Put the jar in a cool and shaded place. Fermentation will be complete in 7 days.
5. This will yield 2 1/2 liters of juice when banana trunk is used.
6. Spray on leaves and soil. This will help in the increase of IMO.

Using FPJ

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of the juice with 1 liter of water.
2. Together with the IMO concoction, spray on the soil once a week
3. For human consumption, mix with a little water.

Fermented Fruit Juice (FFJ)

Properties

Sweetens fruit; adds potassium. Can also be consumed as a health supplement.

Making FFJ

1. Chop 1 kilo of ripe fruit. Do not include skin and seed.
2. You can use bananas, mangoes, papaya and avocados. Matured squash can also be used.
3. Put the chopped fruit inside the clay jar and mix with 1 kilo of crude sugar.
4. Cover with a clean sheet of paper and tie with a string.
5. Place in a cool and shaded place. Ferment for 7 days. This will make approximately 2 ½ liters of juice.
6. Spray on leaves and soil.

Using FFJ

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of the juice to 1 liter of water
2. Add to the IMO and FPJ mixture and spray together on the leaves of fruit-bearing trees and surrounding soil.
3. As a health drink, it increases energy, improves bowel movement and the digestive system and removes smell from feces.

Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN)

Properties

Natural pesticide.

Making OHN

1. Chop 5 kilos of ginger or garlic.
2. Put in a clay jar. Add beer up to 1/3 of the jar.
3. After 12 hours add 1 kilo of crude sugar. Ferment for 4 to 5 days.
4. Fermentation procedure is as follows:
   1. Add beer or gin up to 1/3 of the jar.
   2. After 10 days, extract the same amount of juice as the gin that was added.
   3. Do a and b three times.
   4. On the 4th and 5th time, mix with crushed chili, panyawan and neem tree fruits together with the gin to maintain potency.
5. Together with other mixtures spray on plants every week when they weaken or start to flower.

Using OHN

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of OHN to 1 liter of water.
2. Add to the IMO and FPJ mixture and spray together on the leaves and soil every week.

Fish Amino Acid (FAA)

Properties

Aids in nitrogen fixation.

Making FAA

1. Put fish bones, intestines, gills and skin or snails in a plastic container. Add the same amount of crude sugar
2. Cover and place in a cool and shaded place. Extract the juice after 10 days.
3. Mix 2 tbsp. of the juice to 1 liter of water.

Using FAA

1. Sprinkle on plants, soil or compost.

Calcium Phosphate

Properties

Induces flowering.

Making Calcium Phosphate preparation

1. Boil 2 kilos of animal bones to separate meat and fat. Air dry.
2. Broil until charcoal black. Cool.
3. Place in a plastic container with 5 gallons of clear coconut vinegar. Cover for 30 days.
4. For long storage, fill up a bottle to the top making sure no air is present

Using Calcium Phosphate

1. Sprinkle on plants, soil or compost.

Calcium

Properties

To increase the sweetness of fruits and to strengthen flowers.

Making Calcium preparation

1. Panfry 2kg of eggshells
2. Cool and place in a plastic container. Mix with 5 gallons of colorless coconut vinegar. Cover for 20 days.
3. Mix 2 tbsps. of the juice to 1 liter of water.

Using Calcium

1. Sprinkle on plants, soil or compost.

Lactic Acid Bacteria Serum (LABS)

Properties

Defense against viruses and fungi.

Making LABS

1. Save the first rice wash because this has plenty of good microorganisms. Place in a clay jar.
2. Rice wash should be 7 inches deep. Place jar in a cool and shaded place.
3. After 7 days the rice bran will float on top. Strain and use only the water of LABS.
4. Put in a jar and add fresh milk 10 times its quantity.
5. Cover with a clean sheet of paper and tie with a string. After 7 days the fat will float on top and underneath is a yellowish substance.
6. Extract only the yellowish substance without the fat and add crude sugar the same amount of the LABS so it will not spoil. Store in a cool and shaded place for 7 days.

Using LABS

1. Mix 2 tbsps. of LABS to 1 liter of water.
2. This can be used as animal drink and can also be sprinkled on plants and compost.

Natural Attractant for Flying Insects

Properties

Helps eliminate flying insects.

Making Natural Attractant preparation

1. Get 1 gallon of coconut vinegar and add ½ kilo of crude sugar before boiling. Cool and add 1/3 liter of FPJ concentrate.
2. Put some of the mixture in containers and hang on fruit-bearing trees.
3. Put some of the mixture and hang on vegetable trellises.

Using Natural Attractant

1. Put some of the mixture in a container and place near vegetable plots.

Soil Management

As a farmer it is important that he manage his soil for this will affect the future of his existence and his income. If the soil is damaged then he will have less income and may end up selling the land for it is not productive anymore.

In Natural Farming, we discourage tilling the soil, which means no plowing.

The reason is that the more soil is tilled, the harder it gets. When the rain comes, the tilled soil compresses and the soil becomes harder.

Why farmers till the soil

• Aeration - to soften the soil. To break up the pathogen growth and cycle.
• For weeding - to be able to initially stop the growth cycle of weeds

Perfect soil structure should be soil, organic matter and microorganisms. Without organic matter and microorganisms, soil becomes hard and infertile. This is the reason why farmers have to till their soil and add conventional fertilizer, because this soil lacks organic matter and microorganisms.

Mulching

The natural farming solution is mulching. Mulching means to place material like rice straw or chopped banana trunks over the soil and letting it decompose there, where it acts both to protect the topsoil and as fertilizer. Some discourage mulching because it creates more bacteria. While that is true, the natural farming method has techniques to ensure that you get the right kinds of bacteria in your mulch.

Mulching is land preparation for the coming years. It helps the soil the regain its nutrients. The more you use mulching the more your soil becomes fertile. In the mulching process, you only need to spray your soil with the solution of IMO, FPJ, OHN and FAA. IMO helps produce microorganisms and FPJ revitalizes the microorganisms. OHN prevents any bacteria from producing your soil while FAA will produce more earthworms, which fertilizes the soil.

In mulching, the microorganisms and the earthworms will perform the aerating and soil breaking processes modern farming does by tilling. Thus the more earthworms and microorganisms present in your soil, the better your soil will be.

Other forms of good soil management are to practice crop rotation and avoid mono-cropping.

Benefits of Mulching

• Prevents water evaporation
• Prevents weak growth
• Improves soil structure
• Binds sandy soil together
• Increases rain penetration for up to 1 meter in depth
• Improves clay soil drainage
• Can be done in rainy and dry season
• Increases presence of earthworms

Preparation of Mulching Solution

1. Mix the ff preparations:
   • 2 tbsp IMO + 1 liter water
   • 2 tbsp FPJ + 1 liter water
   • 2 tbsp OHN + 1 liter water
   • 2 tbsp FAA + 1 liter water
2. Spray over mulched soil

Nutri-Periodism Theory

Nutrio-Periodism Theory is a theory that emphasizes the different nutritional requirements of crop plants at the different growth stages. The theory can be summarized as follows:

There are two different major stages in the life of crop plants, the vegetative growth and the reproductive growth. The transitional and overlapping period is called as the change-over period.

For this reason, we will divide the crop growth into three stages and apply supplements as needed in each stage.