How to Make a 10-Liter Batch of JADAM Wetting Agent (JWA)

JADAM Wetting Agent (JWA) is a natural soapy liquid or surfactant that is used in conjunction with natural pesticides. It lowers the surface tension of the pesticide which results in increased spreading and penetrating abilities. In other words, JWA significantly increases the success of pesticides. JWA functions as both a wetting agent and insecticide.

You can visit JADAM’s website and learn the techniques directly from the professionals. This recipe can be found in the book, JADAM Organic Pest and Disease Control. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to grow a sustainable, organic garden on a budget.

In this post, we will demonstrate how we made the 10-liter batch of JWA using the directions on page 41 of JADAM Organic Pest and Disease Control by Youngsang Cho. You can watch the video below.

JWA is most effective when used along with JADAM Sulfur (JS). You can learn how to make it in our post, How to Make a 10-Liter Batch of JADAM Sulfur Solution (JS). You can watch the video of making JS below.

How much does it cost to make JWA?

The beauty of JWA is that it can be safely made at home for about one dollar a quart. It can also be used as a liquid hand soap or dish detergent.

How much JWA do I need for my garden?

A quarter-acre garden will use about 100 liters of JWA annually. We mixed up a 10-liter batch and anticipate that this should be enough for our backyard garden for a year or two. We will update you in a year or so.

Will JWA harm or damage bees?

It is safe to use JWA without causing harm to bees. JADAM reports the damage to bees as “almost none.”

What is the shelf-life of JWA and how should it be stored for best results?

JWA natural wetting agent is shelf-stable and does not have an expiration date. JWA will darken over time and the functionality will actually improve. JWA should be stored above 23 degrees F or -5 degrees C.

What dilution rate should I use with JWA?

JWA can be diluted 30 to 100 times and can be applied to the entire plant. Pests do not build up a tolerance to JWA as with other pesticides.

Ingredient List to Make 10-Liters of JADAM Wetting Solution

0.25 liters or 1 cup of soft water, rainwater, or distilled water. DO NOT use tap water.
0.32 kg or 0.71 pounds of potassium hydroxide (90%) (KOH) also known as caustic potash.
1.8 liters or 0.48 gallons of canola oil. See page 41 of JADAM Organi Pest and Disease Control for tips for using other oils.
0.25 liters or 1 cup of soft water
8 liters or 2.11 gallons of soft water

Step-By-Step Instructions to Make 10 Liters of JADAM Wetting Solution or Natural Wetting Agent

Wear personal protective equipment including eye protection and gloves.
Start with a clean, heat-resistant container in a warm place. We used a 5-gallon plastic bucket with a lid. The initial chemical reaction produces quite a bit of heat.
Pour 0.25 liters or 1 cup of soft water, rainwater, or distilled water into the bucket. The quality of the water is important so don’t use regular tap water.
Add 0.32 kg or 0.71 pounds of potassium hydroxide (90%) (KOH) to the water in the bucket. Place the lid on top and swirl the contents of the bucket for a minute to dissolve the potassium hydroxide.
Add 1.8 liters or 0.48 gallons of canola oil to the mixture.
Stir the mixture with an electric drill that has a paint or mud mixer attachment for approximately 10-15 minutes. The mixture should thicken slightly to the texture of a runny pudding.
Place the lid on the bucket and set it aside for 3 days in a warm location. The aged mixture should harden like soft butter. If not, mix with an electric drill until it is thick like mayonnaise.
Add 0.25 liters or 1 cup of soft water to the thickened mix and stir with the electric drill to make it into small chunks and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the bucket. DO NOT over stir or it will form a cream-like mixture.
Add 8 liters or 2.11 gallons of soft water and stir with a long stick.
Stir until all of the chunks are dissolved. You may want to stir intermittently for a few hours. We finished dissolving the soap into the water using a stainless steel immersion blender. It produced a lot of bubbles which we had to let settle out. Eventually, the final product was a slightly thickened golden liquid soap.
Package the liquid soap in clean liquid-tight containers. JWA is shelf-stable and should be stored above 23 degrees F or -5 degrees C.

Organic Low-Cost Backyard Food Production

Taking control of our food supply is more important than ever before. Growing a garden in your own backyard can make all the difference in your food security. We invite you to join us on our journey as we grow our victory garden so that regardless of what happens to the world’s food supply, we can feed our family from our very own backyard.