Foto: Grøn Kommunikation ©

As the interest in cultivating vegetables keeps growing, so does the interest in keeping the garden soil healthy.  

Natural Korean farming - what is it and is it something we can use in the garden? The answer is yes. It is a method known from Korea, where the bacteria, lactobacillus, is added to the soil. This is meant to improve the soil and its health in the garden. 

Lactobacillus exists in our small intestine, but also in fermented food, for example cabbage, yoghurt and sourdough and is, according to denstoredanske.lex.dk, widespread in nature. It makes up for a large part of the normal human bacteria in our mouth and intestinal canal and the women’s vagina. It is a benign bacterium, that helps our immune response and is furthermore beneficial to the microorganisms and plants in the soil.

Natural Korean farming is fundamentally built on another famous term, permaculture. Permaculture is about making sure your land has all the nutrients is needs, instead of adding a bunch of nutrients from the outside. The natural nutrients originate from dead plants and whatever naturally exists in healthy soil. The goal of permaculture is to look positively at nature and find solutions, not problems. For example, there is no such thing as weed, simple not enough plants to cover the soil. You do not have too many Spanish slugs, but too few Muscovy ducks. Plants should, for example, pick up more CO2 than they are discharging, and maybe the most important, they should in every way be useful. To be useful, means, they either have to be eaten, be beneficial to insects, or they must have value as fertilizer.  

A permaculture garden does not look like a regular, garden or is called a garden, but it is called a forest garden. This stems from the idea of bringing the soil back to its origin. It is also called; to learn from natures experience. The forest garden should not be perceived as a forest, but as another way of cultivation plants. In cultivated gardens, we divide the garden into separate sections. A place for vegetables, a place for fruit trees, and an area for a kitchen garden. In the forest garden these areas overlap. The plants grow in according to their claim of light or shadow. The forest trees are fruit- or nut trees. There are berry bushes and perennial vegetables in the underwood.  

In natural Korean farming a potion of lactic bacteria (LAB) is added to the soil to strengthen the bacterial flora. The vitamin bomb for your soil, is also highly beneficial added to your compost. It is especially good for your garden soil in the beginning of the season or beneficial to soil that hasn’t been taken care off in a while. The mixture is very simple, it is based on organic white rice and organic milk.  

In the video below, you can learn how to make an energy drink for your soil, that your plants will love.  

 Note that the video is in Danish, but it is possible to choose English subtitles in settings. 

1. Open the video on YouTube by clicking on the YouTube-logo in the right corner 
2. Click settings 
3. Click on ‘Subtitles/CC’ and then ‘Auto-translate’ to choose your preferred language.