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Seawater Microbe Dilution, Kombucha Uses, Composting Hair

March 30, 2026 · by Drake Weinert

Drake opened with the I Ching hexagram Kun, the receptive, then took questions from the chat.

First question: how much seawater to use instead of sea salt for the disgustingly cheap microbes recipe. The book's 50-gallon batch calls for 20 grams of sea salt, about one gram per liter, so seawater (roughly 3% salinity) should be diluted down to that same one-gram-per-liter strength.

Goofman asked about using homemade kombucha in KNF. Drake said yes: dilute it 1:500, or up to 1:200 if you have plenty, since it carries lactobacillus and other probiotics much like other protector solutions, and he thinks it may help against powdery mildew.

A viewer asked why a chicken-bone-and-vinegar structure recipe failed. Drake checked the book: bird bones are specifically excluded, called too frail and light. The chat also covered hair and keratin, which is highly insoluble and slow to break down, so ferment or dissolve it rather than composting it raw, and confirmed LAB rock spray works as a surface cleaner.

Questions answered

  • 8:03 How much seawater can replace sea salt in the disgustingly cheap microbes recipe? — The 50-gallon recipe uses 20 grams sea salt, about one gram per liter; dilute seawater (about 3% salinity) down to that same ratio.
  • 34:19 What makes vinegar useful beyond just cleaning? — Drake called vinegar both a cleanser and a catalyst that helps other reactions happen.
  • 35:05 Is there a way to borrow Master Cho's old books? — Join the Pure KNF Foundation library, which Drake said should be working again within a couple of days.
  • 35:49 Goofman started making kombucha at home — is it useful in KNF? — Yes, dilute it 1:500 (or up to 1:200 with plenty on hand) since it carries lactobacillus and other probiotics like other protector solutions.
  • 39:25 Is boiling pineapple scraps in water a good sugar-free drink? — Drake said cool it after boiling five minutes and drink it as a simple no-sugar cordial.
  • 41:32 Should alpaca hair go straight into the soil, or work as mulch? — Better to ferment or dissolve hair first rather than add it raw; alpaca fiber works fine as mulch.
  • 42:11 Would hair break down better in a fungal IMO pile? — Hair is full of keratin, which is very insoluble in water, so it stays resilient either way; dissolving or fermenting works better than raw composting.
  • 47:04 Can LAB rocks be used as a cleaner on house surfaces? — Yes, LAB cleans surfaces and the leftover microbes act as protectors that keep contamination from coming back.
  • 47:48 Why didn't the structure recipe work with chicken bones and white vinegar? — The book specifically says not to use bird bones because they are too frail and light.
  • 51:51 Are the new member books available in the library yet? — Not yet — the website and library are still being fixed, but the books are on their way to members.

Topics: seawater, disgustingly cheap microbes, kombucha, lab, hair, keratin, alpaca, mulch, structure recipe, bird bones, vinegar, powdery mildew

KNF Office Hours is a free live Q&A every Sunday at 9 AM HST. Bring your question to pureknf.org/learn/questions or join live.

In this episode

  1. 0:00 Stream opens, CPU struggling to render
  2. 2:47 I Ching reading: Kun, the receptive
  3. 8:03 Seawater ratio for disgustingly cheap microbes
  4. 34:19 Vinegar as cleanser and catalyst
  5. 35:05 Pure KNF library and Master Cho's books
  6. 35:49 Kombucha in KNF farming
  7. 39:25 Pineapple scrap cordial
  8. 41:32 Alpaca hair and fiber as soil amendment
  9. 42:11 Why keratin makes hair hard to break down
  10. 47:04 LAB rocks as a surface cleaner
  11. 47:48 Structure recipe fails with bird bones
  12. 51:51 Library and new member books status

Transcript

Auto-transcribed with Whisper. Click any timestamp to play from there.

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