Ferment with sugar or without

2cent

Well-Known Member
I do my fish fpj etc with sugar as they do equal amount to parts used and wait
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Fermented Plant Juice is one of the best types of organic fertilizers. Follow along the recipe and let us know how it went for you!

Preparation Time:- 20 minutes
Cooking Time:- 20 minutes
Total Recipe Time:- 40 minutes
Ingredients​
2/3 full plant material fast growing plants before sunrise

1/3 weight of plant material brown sugar or molasses

Water; depends if needed, just enough to top off the plant material

A jar with cloth napkin or cheese cloth (breathable lid)

then there the sit in a bucket anaerobic ferment
like this

If you buy a bale of alfalfa at a feed store and you can opt for organic alfalfa, you can take enough of this hay and fill a 5-gallon bucket about 1/2 full - stuff as much as you can into the bucket. Fill with water and let it brew and ferment for 3 - 4 weeks. Strain and apply as above.

The very best alfalfa option is fresh and if you can get some of the roots that's what you want to do. Crush the fresh alfalfa and fill the 5-gallon bucket as stated above. Let it brew for a few weeks and strain and apply as above.

The spent alfalfa can be placed outside around your plants, compost piles, worm bins, etc. There is still a lot of value even after the brewing/fermentation cycle.
Which is correct I mean is the alfalfa missing sugar for a reason
Bare in mind I found u can do either one with any product almost like comfrey alfalfa etc all can be done with or without sugar
 
They're just different styles is all, and they both work. FPJ is a food safe KNF recipe whereas the "swamp bucket" style of just dumping plants in water is more in the JADAM realm of thought, which they would call Jadam Liquid Fertilizer, or JLF (so many freaking acronyms I swear).

I do JLF myself, mixing in random weeds, wild grass, clippings from vines and bushes from my garden, old rootballs, stems, and trim after harvest or bubble hash runs; anything really. Toss it in a 5gal with a handful of compost or healthy local soil to diversify those microbes and in a day or two it's bubbling like a witch's brew. A week or two later, it starts to smell like something between a petting zoo and the worst bathroom trip of your life, depending on what plants you put in. And the smell sticks if you get any on you. Let it go a few weeks or months more and it starts getting a strange, almost alluring effervescent smell, what one friend called "like medicine". That's one con to this method for sure, it sure as hell aint food safe, smells like ass, and it can attract bugs if you don't seal the bucket well. But you could say the same things about manure - the plants don't care one bit lol. In fact it's made in a rather similar way when you think about it - anaerobic digestion, only in a bucket instead of a cow.

Everything in my garden loves JLF, whether it's pot, tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries, herbs, trees....their leaves start praying almost immediately whether I spray or fertigate and I've yet to burn anything with it, even at decently high ratios (like a cup or two per gal, where 1-3 tbs per gal is the general recommendation).

I think the Elaine Ingham/"Teaming With Microbes" crowd has a rather unhealthy aversion to anaerobic processes, and they've really contributed to making people think you NEED fancy brewing devices and techniques and a million lectures to succeed when really it's as easy as stuff it in a bucket and forget it. I can't fathom why. Maybe they wouldn't make as much money if it sounded too simple, lol.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I started doing the KNF FPJ but have since switched over to JADAM JLF. It's just easier plus I have dozens of buckets with lids. I have 5-6 buckets going right now. Different plants in each. I have a bucket from last summer of the bean plants after I took them down that hasn't been opened and I will use for the beans this year. I have a bucket that's nothing but cannabis trim that I'll use for my outdoor weed this year. The cannabis one doesn't have that nasty putrid smell some of the others have. It's not pleasant but it's not that bad either.

Here's my cannabis JLF. I just keep adding to it. I started it about 6 months ago so it's ready to go.





JLF is just easier and you don't need sugar. Is one better than the other? I don't know but I have nice healthy plants with the JLF. Applying it to the garden is stinky but the plants seem to like it and that's what matters.
 

su98

Member
ditto on KNF - can add brown sugar to start the ferment / digestion. just making all of the nutes available to your growing plants. another is vinegar with egg shells & don't forget the epsom salts. good post thanks
 

F_T_P!

Well-Known Member
Use molasses and labs to break down almost anything, will make the smell non-offensive and breaks materials down quicker.
 

Ganja.Queen

Well-Known Member
Use molasses and labs to break down almost anything, will make the smell non-offensive and breaks materials down quicker.
the problem with molasses is it's been found to lower the pH, significantly. A JADAM JLF will typically be 6.5 pH, and when adding molasses, it drops to 3.5 pH. That's why Youngsang Cho (creator of JADAM) recommends not using it if doing that style of fertilizer.
 

SnidleyBluntash

Well-Known Member
I did this recently and the next day my plants had yellow sores and didn’t look happy. I think I did it too strong. I should do again and we should decide on a concentration
 

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
the problem with molasses is it's been found to lower the pH, significantly. A JADAM JLF will typically be 6.5 pH, and when adding molasses, it drops to 3.5 pH. That's why Youngsang Cho (creator of JADAM) recommends not using it if doing that style of fertilizer.
in my case molasses raised ph to 8+
 

bursto

Well-Known Member
i sometimes do the ferment thing with say 4 boiled potatoes blended up with water then add a handful of compost to get it started in a bucket of water
 
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F_T_P!

Well-Known Member
I have never had a problem with molasses, plants love it. Microbes handle the pH in living soil. I don't even check pH anymore because I know I have everything the plant needs in my mix and the microbes make sure the plant gets what it wants, simple as.
 

SnidleyBluntash

Well-Known Member
Ok guys I made this and at too concentrated it yellowed and stunted the plants, but I watered them with just a weaker amount and plants are doubling in size. So I guess the old ‘more isn’t better’ thing is true.
Are there any particular plants that one should NOT make a tea with? Like maybe they release plant inhibiting chemicals? I am using a lot of poppys
 

conor c

Well-Known Member
I have never had a problem with molasses, plants love it. Microbes handle the pH in living soil. I don't even check pH anymore because I know I have everything the plant needs in my mix and the microbes make sure the plant gets what it wants, simple as.
That has been my experience too don't over do it and it isn't a problem plus assuming your soil and all the life within it is good pH will be self regulated so even if it changes the pH it is only temporary assuming everything is right
 
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