Oriental Herbal Nutrient (OHN) is a potent microbial stimulant and immune booster made by extracting five herbs in a two-stage process (fermentation and alcohol extraction).

It’s used in nearly every KNF input mix to help beneficial microbes outcompete pathogens and to strengthen plants’ natural defenses.

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OHN Recipe

OHN is one of the most labor and time-intensive inputs (aside from IMO).  Don’t let that stop you from making it! This recipe will get you started.

There are three stages within OHN production: (1) Fermentation, (2) Extraction, and (3) Combination. 

Instructions

Stage One: Fermentation

1. Hydrate dried herbs
   • Fill each jar 1/10th full with its dried herb (4 total). 1 jar with licorice root, 1 jar with cinnamon bark, 2 jars with angelica root.
   • Add beer to each jar until half full.
   • Allow foam to settle before adding more beer.
   • Cover with a breathable cloth and let sit for 24 hours.
2. Prepare dried and fresh herbs
   • Smash or crush garlic and ginger separately (do not blend).
   • Weigh each one.
   • Add equal weight sugar to each and mix thoroughly by hand.  Let sit briefly until juices begin to draw out.
   • Add each fresh herb + sugar mixture to its own jar (ginger and garlic each get their own). Fill each jar so that it is 2/3 full.
   • Add sugar to each of the beer-hydrated dried herb jars from Day 0 (cinnamon, licorice, angelica), mixing well, to fill each jar 2/3 full.
3. Ferment
   • Cover with breathable cloths.
   • Let all jars sit at room temperature (shaded and warm) for 7 days.

Stage Two: Alcohol Extraction

1. Add vodka
   • Fill each jar (all six) to the top with vodka. Leave a small gap so that you can stir without spilling.
   • Stir well.
   • Cover with an airtight lid.
2. Stir once daily for two weeks
   • Stir so that herbs are agitated and mixed well.
3. Decant to collection jars
   • Strain the liquid from each herbal jar into its own clean collection jar and seal airtight.
   • Place herbs back into their respective extraction jars.
   • You will have six individual collection jars—
     • one for ginger
     • one for garlic
     • one for licorice
     • one for cinnamon
     • two for angelica.
4. Refill and repeat
   • Pour liquid from each collection jar back into it’s respective herb jar to fill 2/3 full.
     • Your collection jar should be evenly full.
   • Seal the collection jar and repeat steps 2-4 three more times (for a total of 4 extractions).
   • On the final extraction, decant one more time (this will be the fifth extraction) and discard or compost the solids.

Stage Three: Combination

At this stage you should have one jar of each herb extract, plus an additional jar of Angelica extract.

Mix the herbal extracts in the following ratio:

1 part Garlic : 1 part Ginger : 1 part Licorice Root : 1 part Cinnamon Bark : 2 parts Angelica Root

This combined liquid is your finished OHN.

Additional Notes

• Only mix what you intend on using for 1 Year. Store remaining extracts separately.

• Follow the recommended dilution rates for OHN as it ages:

<1 year old = 1:1000; 1 yr-old = 1:1500; >2 yr-old = 1:2000

Get a printable recipe for OHN by accessing our Resource Library below!