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
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)
It’s important to know that this fermented plant juice should be started right away after gathering your plants. Start the ferment while the plants are still fresh or else you will have a low quality, weak fermented juice.
First thing in the morning, go out and pick your green plants as they still have their morning dew
Do not wash these plant leaves, just swipe off or lightly flick off any dirt or debris. If you wash it, you lose many beneficial microorganisms the FPJ needs.
Weigh your plant material, then mix in with it 1/3 of its weight, brown sugar. (You can use up to 1/2 of the plant material’s weight of brown sugar, depending on the plant’s natural water content)
Next, stir these together in a container on a wide tray or container. Lay something light and breathable on top and let it sit for a couple hours.
After the initial waiting period, place the mixture in your Jar. You should have enough to fill the jar up 2/3 full with the plant and sugar mix.
(Leave 1/3 free for air circulation.)
It’s recommended to place a rock on top of your plant material mixture to push out extra air before rubber banding a thin cloth or piece of paper on the clay jar as a lid. If your container has it’s own lid, don’t use it. Use paper or thin cloth. By tying a cloth or paper tight it keeps little critters like fruit flies out.
After 1 to 2 days of sitting in a dark room, open the jar and remove the rock you have inside to remove extra air. You can use any heavy object for this, but at this step take it out.
Leave the jar open for a few minutes up to an hour and then cover it again to let it ferment for a few more days.
After around 5 days, check the plant material to see if liquid is coming out from the plants yet. The sugar should have broken down the plant cells and started the decomposition process to get it fermenting. If there is no water yet, at this point you want to add clean water to it yourself, just enough to top off the plant material, no more. Cover it again and place it back in your dark room.
Next, after adding the water or confirming water has been extracted and covering it again, leave it be for 2 to 3 weeks. Do not touch it, mess with it, check on it, or move it to a better location in these 2 to 3 weeks. Leave it alone to let it complete the fermentation.
After this final waiting period, it should be finished. The fermentation won’t have a very pleasant smell. It will be sour. If you see tiny bubbles, then it’s well made and ready to use.
Last step is to strain the plant material out. Discard the solids and keep the liquid fermented plant juice in an air tight container. It will last a year in room temp in an airtight container.
In order to become fermented plant juice, the green plants produce cell sap and chlorophyll by using sugars that build up the osmotic pressure that breaks down plant cells and starts the process of decomposition by fermentation of the agents’ cell walls by microorganisms. FPJ from green plants is rich in nutrients and growth hormone for plants.
Early Stages: Use a 0.1% concentration of FPJ for seed soaking, germinating plants and to fertilize your seedlings.
Mid Stages: 750:1 Once you see stem growth, increase the concentration to 0.2%.
Later stages: 500:1 Dilution. Spray onto leaves and fruits. It will take some personal experimentation depending on your local factors and plants used. Most plants do thrive with it though. I find the 500:1 dilution to work better than the stronger 200:1.