Oriental Herbal Nutrient

Traditionally, OHN is a blend of five specific ingredients, each with a unique medicinal purpose for both the plant and the microbial community in the soil:

Place your dried Cinnamon, Licorice, and Angelica in separate jars. Fill with enough alcohol to just cover the herbs. Let soak for 2 days. This rehydrates the dried material and begins the extraction process.

Mix your minced Ginger and Garlic separately with equal weights of brown sugar — so if you use 100g of ginger, mix with 100g of brown sugar. Let each jar sit for 5 days. The sugar draws out the medicinal compounds through osmotic pressure while fermenting the sugars into a potent extract.

After the initial rehydration/fermentation periods are complete, fill each jar with alcohol until it is about 80% full. All five jars should now contain their respective herbs submerged in spirits.

For 4–5 days, stir each jar daily in a clockwise motion to help the alcohol extract the medicinal compounds. This daily agitation increases surface contact and ensures a thorough extraction. Take a moment to smell each jar — you'll notice the aroma deepening each day.

Seal the jars — you don't need a breathable lid for this stage since the alcohol prevents unwanted fermentation — and let them sit for 14 days. Store in a dark place. The alcohol slowly draws out the remaining active compounds from the herbs over this two-week extraction.

Strain the liquid from each of the 5 jars through cheesecloth or fine mesh. Then blend them together:

The Ratio: 2 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 — two parts Garlic/Ginger blend to one part each of the other three (Cinnamon, Licorice, Angelica). The garlic and ginger are doubled because they provide the primary antimicrobial and vitality compounds.

You can re-pour fresh alcohol over the same herbs and repeat the extraction process up to 5 times. Each pass extracts additional compounds, creating an increasingly complex and potent OHN. Serious KNF practitioners often do 3–5 extractions from a single batch of herbs before discarding them.

OHN is the cornerstone of the Tropical Roots Maui maintenance spray.

1:1000 — approximately 1ml per liter of water for routine use.

Spray once a week to keep the garden "clean." This consistent application builds a protective layer on the leaf surface and strengthens the plant's internal defenses over time. Prevention is always easier than cure.

Increase dosage to 1:500 (2ml per liter) and spray every 3 days until the issue resolves. For active powdery mildew or aphid infestations, apply in the evening when temperatures are cooler and the spray has more time to work before the sun evaporates it.

After heavy pruning, transplant shock, or a heatwave, a foliar spray at the standard 1:1000 ratio helps the plant "relax" and recover. The ginger and garlic compounds stimulate new growth, while the cinnamon and licorice protect the fresh wounds from infection.