Korean Natural Farming

Too perfect a day not to get out and log some steps in the neighborhood. Clear blue sky, temp in the 50° range with a light breeze, I couldn’t resist!

But, it was nearly turn around and go home. Hadn’t gone 5 yards before the first nip bottle showed up, then the next, and another one, 8 of them before I’d gone 50 feet. It wasn’t anything new, I’ve walked and cleaned this stretch of road for years. The numbers seem to be higher lately but there’s always a lot in this stretch. I’m pretty much 2 nips from the corner package store. Why 2 nips? Because on Earth Day I also do a long stretch between here and the package store and about half way between my house and the package store is always another concentration of nip bottles.

Today though is about a walk around the small development that has almost no traffic other than residents coming and going. Two laps are good for 10,000 steps if you circle the cul-de-sacs 2 or 3 times.

Definite signs of Spring in this curbside bed.

Despite narrow, curvy road with no sidewalks, make it safely into the development and start the walk.

There are signs of spring all around, that’s a little worrying because it’s still so early in the year. A couple days of hard freeze will kill buds and mean no apricots, peaches… 2017 and 2018 were like that.

Looking now for early emerging plants like skunk cabbage, mullein, and others are on my mind because we also did the same thing yesterday. I taught a Korean Natural Farming class on gathering and using local ingredients for Fermented Plant Juice extracts to feed our early plants, crops. These little flowers, and some trees adorned with sap buckets, are signs of encouragement.

Walking is always a great time to think, mull things, order, plan your day, if you’re walking alone. If you have company it’s a time to catch up, chat, or just enjoy the day together.

Hoping you know, or can find, a small and safe walk near you. One you can step out your door and just start walking.

See you on the trail…

Common Mullein, Verbascum thaspus. Also known as Bullock's lungwort. — Common Mullein, *Verbascum thaspus.* Also known as Bullock’s lungwort.

I walk as much to see what is around me as to count steps or to wander for a specific purpose.

Lately I’ve been looking for early plants, those that have the ability to defy the weather and show up when they want to, grow quickly, and stand up to a little late winter.

So, this Saturday, February 22nd, I’m teaching a class on Korean Natural Farming (KNF) practices that is already filled to capacity. But, the walk I’ll lead after the class is open to anyone who is interested in exploring the types of locations and plants used. Be at Coogan Farm Nature and Heritage Center, 162 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355 at 11:00 a.m. for the walk.

This quest is spurred on by what some might consider a current phase in gardening or farming. There are a lot of sites where you can learn about Korean Natural Farming. Some of them are excellent – what I’ll be striving for here – and some simply parrot what others have said.

One critical term that keeps recurring when you talk about KNF is the word: indigenous, as in indigenous microorganisms. The micro-biologics that play an immensely important role in plant heath, growth, and nutrients. If this sounds like new age science, it is not.

Dr. Han-Kyu Cho brought these ancient practices, and some of the scientific validation of them, to today’s growing number of gardeners and farmers looking for better, sustainable growing practices. As more research is done and validated (Elaine Ingham, John Kempf, Jeff Lowenfels, Bionutrient Food Assoc., etc.) the importance of regenerating the fertility of our soil becomes more and more compelling.

The down side to this change in growing practices is that as Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What exists now, is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.” (Bible, New English Translation). Dr. Franklin H. King, a former Assistant Chief of Bureau of Soils at the Department of Agriculture, spent 9 months (February – October) in 1909, observing farming practices in China, Korea, and Japan. His book, Farmers of Forty Centuries: Or, Permanent Agriculture in China, Korea, and Japan, outlined the need, and methods, to replenish the fertility of the soil. Dr. Liberty H. Bailey in the preface to King’s book strongly stated the case for renewing soil fertility.

And now, 110 years later we’re finally getting around to it, using Korean Natural Farming practices adapted to our local biome.

Come join me on the walk… And bring your questions, Saturday, February 22, 11:00 a.m. at Coogan Farm Nature and Heritage Center, 162 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355