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IMO3 Temperature Fixes, Pile Size, and FPJ for Bees

October 5, 2025 · by Drake Weinert

Most of the hour goes to IMO troubleshooting. One farmer's IMO3 finished in four days instead of seven — probably not enough water. Another hit 120°F on day two, then cooled by day four; Drake asks about turning the pile and hitting 65% moisture. Chris in Greece had both an IMO3 and an IMO5 stall at 65°F, so Drake runs the full checklist: seed IMO source, the one-week sugar ferment, and the mix ratio of 50 lbs mill run, 5 gallons water, 1 cup seed IMO, 20ml LAB, 125ml maintenance solution, and 20g sea salt. His fix in most cases: a bigger pile, 50 lbs minimum, and more moisture.

For foundation IMO (IMO4), Drake recommends three kinds of soil plus biochar and wood chips for carbon, and getting moisture to 60-65% before adding more. Quick answers: homemade grape vinegar beats store-bought BRV, flip the pile only after it passes 110°F, unripe apple fermented fruit juice works fine on lawns, and Master Cho's potting mix runs about 10% IMO. On compost at scale, Drake prefers smaller piles over one giant windrow because they're easier to flip if something goes wrong.

The second half is video from a past Korea trip. At a beehive, Master Cho's trick was spraying fermented plant juice 20 feet from the hive so bees fly out, get exercise, and feed on it, with LAB left in troughs at the base — no sugar water needed. Then a tabletop Korean barbecue, cooked right at the table with garlic, peppers, and kimchi, and a quiet moment remembering Master Cho and old friends from those early trips.

Housekeeping: KNF Support is back online after a database repair, Drake built a new IMO box and is planning an IMO bath next, he's still building a Master Cho chatbot using retrieval-augmented generation, and he's weighing a one or two week course in Hawaii this January.

Questions answered

  • 9:57 Is the RAG chatbot for Master Cho's teachings still in progress? — Yes — built on N8N, a Qdrant database, and Whisper transcripts of every podcast, but not fully working yet.
  • 25:28 Is it okay that my IMO3 finished in only 4 days? — Probably didn't add enough water — the process should take about 7 days.
  • 26:09 My IMO3 hit 120°F on day 2 but cooled by day 4 — why? — Check that you're turning the pile and hitting 65% moisture; cold weather and small piles stall it too.
  • 28:27 Why did my IMO3 and IMO5 both stay cold at 65°F? — Ratio: 50 lbs mill run, 5 gal water, 1 cup seed IMO, 20ml LAB, 125ml maintenance solution, 20g sea salt; also checked seed IMO source and one-week ferment.
  • 30:40 What's the minimum pile size for IMO? — At least 50 pounds — smaller piles struggle to hit critical temperature.
  • 31:14 My IMO pile is only 10 kilos — is that too small? — Yes, double it to 20-25 kilos so it can heat up properly.
  • 32:37 Should foundation IMO (IMO4) use three different kinds of soil? — Yes, and add biochar and wood chips too for carbon.
  • 36:46 My IMO4 has dry clay clumps and cools within a day — what's wrong? — Get moisture up to 60-65% — that's the crucial first step.
  • 40:16 Can I use homemade grape vinegar instead of store-bought BRV, and when do I flip the pile? — Yes, homemade grape vinegar beats store-bought BRV; let the pile pass 110°F before the first flip.
  • 40:59 Is unripe apple fermented fruit juice good for lawns? — Yes — any fermented fruit juice works, though comfrey is Drake's top pick.
  • 41:43 Anyone doing hot compost at scale with a tractor and big windrows? — Drake prefers smaller piles since they're easier to flip and manage if one goes wrong.
  • 43:06 What's Master Cho's ratio for potting mix? — From memory, around 10% IMO.
  • 46:03 How do you feed bees without giving them sugar water? — Spray fermented plant juice about 20 feet from the hive so bees fly out, exercise, and feed on it, and put LAB in troughs at the hive base.

Topics: imo, imo3, imo4, moisture content, lab, fpj, bees, compost, brv, potting mix, seed imo, pile size

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 Welcome and I Ching reading
  2. 5:47 KNF Support site back online
  3. 7:16 New phone and building an IMO box
  4. 9:57 RAG chatbot project for Master Cho's teachings
  5. 13:52 Meeting with Mike DuPont, Hilo natural farming
  6. 15:24 Chicken flock update, hen died
  7. 19:23 History of the natural farming meetings
  8. 21:51 Thoughts on food, famine, and the world
  9. 25:28 IMO3 timing and temperature troubleshooting
  10. 28:27 Diagnosing a cold IMO3 and IMO5 batch
  11. 30:40 Minimum pile size for IMO
  12. 32:37 Foundation IMO: three soils, biochar, wood chips
  13. 36:46 Fixing an IMO4 that cools too fast
  14. 38:16 Possible January course in Hawaii
  15. 40:16 Grape vinegar vs BRV, when to flip the pile
  16. 41:43 Hot compost at scale vs smaller piles
  17. 44:31 Korea trip: chicken farm visit
  18. 46:03 Feeding bees FPJ instead of sugar water
  19. 50:27 Korean tabletop barbecue culture
  20. 51:57 Remembering Master Cho and old friends

Transcript

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

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