Corn + IMO4 = No Till, No Weeds; Then a Four-Season Farm

How do you build the soil and start the plants before the season begins, and what kind of farm does Cho want Hawaiʻi to have?

Saturday afternoon, the last session. Cho stands at the projected Korean prescription table, '영양주기에 따른 자연농업 처방' (Natural Farming prescriptions by the nutritive cycle), and starts over from its first column, 토양기반조성 (soil foundation). From about 3:00 to 6:00 he draws the corn timeline on the flip chart; the writing is too small to read on video. A rice nutritive-cycle slide flashes up around 8:00, then it's back to the table for the second column, 종자·종묘처리 (seed and seedling treatment). From 11:50 he leaves the table for his vision of Natural Farming agritourism in Hawaiʻi. At 29:15 he's told they must finish at 3 pm.

• Corn cover crop bed (soil foundation) — Cho's Korean and the interpreter: sow corn about 2 months before the crop (his example: corn on March 20, tomatoes around May 10). Before cutting it, scatter Microbes (IMO4) evenly, about 150 kg per quarter acre (here the 150 kg is heard only in the interpreter's English because Cho's Korean is garbled; Cho gave the same 150 kg per 300 pyeong in his own Korean on Friday morning, session 3). Cut the corn and lay it down; Cho says the layer comes to about 7 cm. Don't till. Open small gaps and plant into them; open the mulch as the plants come up and close it again once they grow. The table's soil column (transcribed) also lists grass cover (rye in winter, clover in summer), charcoal, IMO4, BRV 1:500, FPJ 1:500, OHN 1:1,000, malt 1:500, seawater 1:20–25 and Mineral A 1:1,000, at about 1 ton of the diluted solution per 300 pyeong, soaking the top 20 cm (in drought add only more water). Cho doesn't read those rates aloud.
• Seedling and young-tree soak — The solution from the table's 종자·종묘처리 column. The transcribed table gives Cleanser (BRV) 1:500, Food (FPJ, mugwort or dropwort) 1:500, Medicine (OHN) 1:1,000, Fuel (FAA) 1:1,000 if needed, Structure (WCP) 1:1,000, malt 1:500, yeast 1:500, Minerals (seawater) 1:20–25 and Mineral A 1:1,000. The frame matches as far as it can be read. The interpreter: at the seedling stage swap Mineral A for 'root power'. Vegetables 20–30 minutes, or overnight if you plant the next morning. Cho's Korean: mango, papaya, banana and coconut soak from the evening before, 12 hours or more.

1. Soil prep starts with a cover crop, and in Hawaiʻi the best one is corn

   First column of the projected table. Hawaiʻi is always warm, so sow it about two months before the crop, any time of year.

   ▶ 0:34 As spoken

2. At about two months, cut the corn and lay it flat; the layer is about 7 cm

   Cho: 한 7센티 (about 7 cm); the interpreter said 6 to 7 cm. She gave the corn's height at two months as '1.10', unit unclear (probably 1.1 m).

   ▶ 1:39 As spoken

3. Corn breaks down fast and turns into fertilizer, and no weeds come up under it

   Cho: 옥수수는 발효가 빨리, 분해가 빨리 돼서 거름이 되고. Tomato, paprika, eggplant, watermelon, melon: plant whatever you like into it.

   ▶ 2:10 As spoken

4. Worked example: corn sown March 20, tomatoes planted into it around May 10

   Drawn as a timeline on the flip chart. The May 10 date is in Cho's Korean only; the interpreter didn't repeat it.

   ▶ 3:47 As spoken

5. Before cutting the corn, scatter IMO4 at about 150 kg per quarter acre

   Spread it first, then cut the corn and lay it on top. Here the 150 kg is heard only from the interpreter, as Cho's Korean is garbled (it seems to say 300 pyeong, about a quarter acre). On Friday morning (session 3) Cho said 150 kg per 300 pyeong himself, and there the interpreter first said 300 kg.

   ▶ 5:04 As spoken

6. Don't till: lay the corn on the IMO4, open small gaps and plant

   Cho: 갈지를 말고 그대로 (don't till, leave it as it is). The interpreter left out 'don't till'.

   ▶ 5:36 As spoken

7. Open the mulch as the plants come up; close it around them once they grow

   As interpreted, with 'ventilation is very important'. Cho's Korean here is only partly clear.

   ▶ 6:51 As spoken

8. With IMO4 underneath and the corn breaking down, no more fertilizing for a while

   Cho: the microbes have started working and it turns into fertilizer, and no weeds come up. 'For a while' is the interpreter's own hedge.

   ▶ 7:23 As spoken

9. Dip seedlings in the seedling solution for 20–30 minutes, or overnight if planting tomorrow

   Interpreter. She adds: at this stage swap Mineral A for 'root power', and the roots grow much faster. What 'root power' is isn't explained.

   ▶ 9:03 As spoken

10. Mango, papaya, banana and coconut: soak 12 hours or more before planting

    Cho: from this evening, 12 hours or more (12시간 … 이상), and the others won't keep up with them. The interpreter said 'about 12 hours' and dropped papaya.

    ▶ 10:11 As spoken

11. Treated plants grow twice as fast as untreated ones

    Interpreter. Cho says they grow 'vigorously, completely differently'. No trial was described.

    ▶ 11:29 As spoken

12. Apples and pears don't fruit in Hawaiʻi because there's no winter: feed them and make a winter

    Cho: 겨울이 없어서 안 되는 건데, 영양분을 줘서 겨울을 만드는 거예요. The interpreter said only that with Natural Farming you can grow them.

    ▶ 14:13 As spoken

13. Even a small farm can show four seasons: canola and cherry in spring, plums and apricots in summer, apples and pears in fall

    Cho: make it four kinds (네 가지 종류). Add a guesthouse so people come to visit and to learn Natural Farming.

    ▶ 12:50 As spoken

14. A farm visitors love pleases all five senses: the mouth first, then the eyes, then the heart

    And it shows a way of life that secures their children's future. Cho pictures Steve's farm (fish, taro, lotus) with camping, a restaurant and a training ground for Natural Farming.

    ▶ 25:01 As spoken

15. Waikiki is a place of consumption, not production

    Send your children on honeymoon somewhere that produces; consuming alone has no joy in it.

    ▶ 27:50 As spoken