Dr. Frankenstein and Bedford County farmer Jay Faucher share a similar obsession—the reanimation of life.
In February, Faucher unsealed and stirred his four 60-gallon drums filled with decomposing organic matter. The watery mixture slowly ferments into a pungent “tea” called JADAM. One cup of the concentrated compost juice is mixed with 50 gallons of water and sprayed on the vegetables and pasture across his 38-acre farm.
JADAM, or Jayonul Damun Saramdul, is a Korean term meaning “people that resemble nature.” Founded by Youngsang Cho, Ph.D., in 1991, JADAM is a natural farming method that concentrates organic materials from compost, forest mycelium, weeds, straw and crop cuttings into a powerful fertilizing potion and crop protectant.
Liquified JADAM has a balanced and pungent-yet-healthy odor of beer, wet hay and wild fungus.
“That smell means it’s ready,” Faucher said. “See the bubbles? That is alive, baby! This tub was a real thick goo last fall. Now it’s full of liquid.”
In sealed containers, anaerobic fermentation relies on microbes that thrive without oxygen. When JADAM is exposed to air, anaerobes quickly die off, allowing beneficial soil microbes to thrive.
Faucher formulates two types of his nutrient-rich tea.
JADAM Liquid Fertilizer is an aged “stanky” mixture of plant materials fermented in water, used to supply nutrients to the soil and plants, acting as a “biomimicer” to build soil fertility.
“It’s like you’re creating a soil biome,” Faucher explained.
JADAM Microbial Solution is brewed with boiled potatoes, sea salt and forest leaf mold soil to create a potent mix of native microorganisms. It boosts soil health and acts as a gentle pesticide and fungicide.
Expenses are increasing for fuel, energy, chemicals and labor for farms of all sizes, Cho said in a 2017 lecture. He foresees JADAM reducing chemical inputs to “pennies an acre.”
“I don’t care what you plant in the ground,” Faucher continued. “With JADAM, it’ll pop up. But I wish I would have known how to control it better last season.”
Faucher applied diluted JADAM to the entire property, including his rows of beans, chiles, corn, peppers, pumpkins and tomatoes.
“I could not believe the size of my golden russet potatoes!” he said.
However, he learned the broad application of JADAM was too much of a good thing.
“The vegetation took over everything,” he said. “I was killing myself with the weed eater! So, this season I’m just going to spray each individual row.”
JADAM enthusiasts share tips and challenges in multiple social media groups. Read the full story in Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s spring Cultivate magazine.
