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IMO Chicken Feed, No-Smell Pig Pens, Roller Crimping

February 23, 2025 · by Drake Weinert

Drake watches archival footage of Master Cho at Master Lee's farm in Muzhu, part six of ten from a poultry training. Master Lee runs pigs, 200 to 300 chickens, chili peppers, apples, garlic, and onions together, and waters his soil with chicken manure that has already been processed by IMO rather than raw feces. Drake explains that skipping animals means losing about three quarters of what Korean Natural Farming can give a grower.

A no-smell pig or chicken pen can be as small as 10 by 10 feet, or better 12 by 14, with no cleaning needed if the microbes are doing their job. Drake compares root systems side by side: plants raised on chemical fertilizer grow tall on top but end up with thin, emaciated roots, while naturally raised plants push out dense, wide root systems that pull in more nutrients. He also notes that Master Cho saw KNF piggeries keep running through a swine flu outbreak, and Drake says the same holds for bird flu, because animals living in a real microbial system are not sitting in their own waste and are not stressed.

The footage moves into biohacking baby chicks. For the first few days they get plain brown rice, then boiled egg, ground fine, not just the yolk. By day two the chicks recognize it and go after it. Right as the egg runs low, a little chopped bamboo leaf goes in, about one leaf for every four or five chicks, which conditions them early to treat greens as rare and desirable, a preference that carries into adulthood when they are fed cheap grass. The rule of thumb is to add only as much as the chicks can finish in about five minutes, then scale the amount up as they grow.

On the crop side, Master Lee plants rye in his pathways, chops and drops it, then builds mounds 15 to 20 centimeters tall in the center for peppers. Drake explains rolling and crimping a cover crop instead of cutting it: a cut stem still has roots that push a new shoot up through mulch, but a crimped, knocked-down stem cannot stand back up. He looks at small BCS-scale and larger tractor-scale roller crimpers, mentions welding a cheap one yourself, notes a listener in Idaho who rents one from local community ag support, and suggests filling a homemade roller with water on site for weight, the same trick used with steam rollers. Rye planted in October has time to grow tall enough to crimp before spring planting.

Questions answered

  • 14:11 Why is integrated animal farming so central to Korean Natural Farming? — Without animals you only get about a quarter of the benefit; Master Lee runs pigs, 200 to 300 chickens, peppers, apples, garlic, and onions together.
  • 15:10 Can you keep animals without smell or much space? — Yes, a 10 by 10 or better 12 by 14 foot pen with IMO bedding has no smell and needs no cleaning, even a deep litter pig pen in a spare room.
  • 16:52 What's the difference between chemically fed and naturally fed plant roots? — Chemically fed plants look tall on top but have thin, emaciated roots, while natural farming plants grow dense roots that reach out for nutrients.
  • 20:13 Do Korean Natural Farming animals get bird flu or swine flu? — Master Cho saw natural farming piggeries keep operating during a swine flu outbreak because animals living with real microbes, not in their own waste, don't get these diseases.
  • 24:41 How do you train chicks to eat greens later in life? — Feed boiled egg, not just yolk, for the first few days so they crave protein, then add a little bamboo leaf right before the egg runs out so greens feel rare and worth wanting.
  • 28:17 How much boiled egg and bamboo should chicks get? — Only as much as they can finish in about five minutes, scaled up as the chicks grow.
  • 34:55 How do you set up planting mounds with a rye cover crop? — Plant rye in the pathways, chop and drop it, then mound the soil 15 to 20 centimeters tall in the center for peppers and other crops.
  • 46:43 Should you cut or roll and crimp a cover crop before mulching? — Roll and crimp it instead of cutting; a cut stem still has roots that push a new shoot up through the mulch, but a crimped stem can't stand back up.
  • 48:33 What is a roller crimper and do you need one? — It's a weighted roller that knocks down and crimps a cover crop without cutting it; you can buy small BCS-scale or large tractor models, or weld a cheap one yourself.
  • 50:45 Where can you get a roller crimper without buying one? — A listener in Idaho said her local community ag support office rents them out.
  • 53:12 Any tips for making a homemade roller crimper easier to move? — Build it so you can fill it with water on site for weight, the same trick steam rollers use, so it's light to haul and heavy once it's there.

Topics: imo, integrated animal farming, chicken, pig, bird flu, root health, boiled egg, bamboo leaf, cover crop, roller crimper, rye, mound planting

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 I Ching Reading and Opening
  2. 3:31 Guests, Soil Microscopes, Research Foundation
  3. 11:45 Master Cho Footage: Muzhu Poultry Training
  4. 13:10 Integrated Animal Farming with IMO
  5. 15:10 No-Smell Small Pig and Chicken Pens
  6. 16:52 Root Comparison: Chemical vs Natural Farming
  7. 20:13 Bird Flu and Swine Flu Resistance
  8. 24:41 Biohacking Chick Diet with Egg and Bamboo
  9. 28:17 How Much to Feed Chicks
  10. 34:55 Building Planting Mounds with Rye Cover Crop
  11. 46:43 Rolling and Crimping vs Cutting Cover Crops
  12. 48:33 Roller Crimper Tools and DIY Options
  13. 50:45 Renting a Roller Crimper Locally
  14. 52:26 Timing Cover Crop Planting for Crimping

Transcript

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

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