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Soil pH Biology, Sea Salt Dilution Ratios, Bacterial Mineral Water

The show opens with the I Ching hexagram for Peace, then Master Cho's basics: three heats (sun, earth, and the heat microbes make when they reproduce), four types of water sorted by dissolved oxygen, and the need for airflow around plants. Drake ties this to balancing above and below ground, and gives quick answers on stinging nettle plant juice and on keeping an IMO pile's temperature in range by stacking it higher when cold or spreading it thinner when hot.

James asks why his soil, at pH 7.5, isn't working for bananas and vanilla. Drake says stop trying to change field pH directly — get IMO and biology into the root zone and let microbes solubilize nutrients where it counts, backed by biochar and organic matter. He walks through knfvideo.com's biochar playlist, then covers sea salt math: 30 grams per liter reconstitutes 3% seawater, and diluting further to 1:10 or 1:30 gets you the 0.3% to 0.1% range for the field. For KNF Minerals near harvest, he gives 1:20 two weeks out, 1:15 one week out, and 1:10 two days out, with 1:30 as the standard soil treatment. LAB (KNF protectors) go into vermicompost at 1:1000.

Behind the scenes, Drake explains a bot attack on the knfsupport server that spiked email bounce rates and created 160,000 unclaimed accounts, plus a separate incident where Earl's Facebook account was hacked and used to kick group members. On IMO questions, he recommends half field soil and half red soil for IMO4, warns that a pile "finishing" in a day usually means it never hit 60% moisture, and repeats the rule to never add water once an IMO pile is started. He also tells new farmers to start small on one area before scaling up.

The back half covers Master Cho's bacterial mineral water: water dropped three meters onto rocks like granite, limestone, basalt, and coral, with an IMO4 bag hanging in the tank, pulling dissolved oxygen up to 7–14% and minerals out of the rock. Drake shows his own trash-can airlift BMW with lava rock, coral, elvin rock, jade, and crystals, and closes on shungite (which he keeps mixing up with shilajit) and thanks for tuning in on Easter.

Questions answered

  • 10:36 Are stinging nettles good for making plant juice (FPJ)? — Yes, harvest abundant vital weeds like nettles for FPJ; the hormones and enzymes from a thriving plant transfer to whatever you spray it on.
  • 12:42 How do you manage the heat of an IMO pile? — Watch it with a thermometer; stack it higher if it runs too cold, spread it thinner if it runs too hot.
  • 13:40 Soil pH reads 7.5 and bananas and vanilla aren't doing well, what should I do? — Forget macro-managing field pH; put IMO and good biology in so microbes solubilize nutrients right in the root zone.
  • 24:14 How do you make seawater from sea salt, and what's the right dilution? — Add 30 grams of sea salt per liter to reconstitute 3% seawater, then dilute that 1:10 for 0.3% or 1:30 for 0.1% for field use.
  • 30:07 When do you apply KNF Minerals before harvest, and for regular soil treatment? — Two weeks before harvest use 1:20, one week before 1:15, two days before 1:10; typical soil treatment is 1:30, or 1:15 with heavy rain.
  • 32:05 Is it worth adding KNF protectors (LAB) to vermicompost? — Yes, dilute it 1:1000; it's compatible with the worms and speeds the breakdown.
  • 36:37 Why is the knfsupport website acting up? — A bot attacked the server for months, spiking bounce rates and creating 160,000 unclaimed accounts, and Drake is fixing it live.
  • 42:34 What kind of soil do you use for making IMO4? — Half field soil for the nematodes and protozoans already living there, half red soil for its high mineral, low nutrient content.
  • 49:20 My IMO3 pile with clay finished (dried out) in a day, what happened? — It probably wasn't brought up to 60% moisture content at the start, so add more water next time.
  • 51:42 Can you add more water to an IMO pile after it's started? — No, get it to 60% moisture at the start and don't add more moisture after that.
  • 52:19 How does Master Cho's bacterial mineral water (BMW) system work? — Water drops three meters onto rocks like granite, limestone, basalt, and coral while an IMO4 bag hangs in the tank, pulling minerals and dissolved oxygen up to 7-14%.
  • 1:05:40 What does Drake's own home BMW setup look like? — A trash-can airlift pump system with lava rock, coral, elvin rock, jade, and crystals like quartz and amethyst, with an IMO4 bag dangled inside.
  • 1:08:28 What happened with Korean Natural Farming Facebook accounts getting hacked? — Earl's account got hacked and used to kick people from the group; Drake undid most of it and is looking for more moderators.
  • 1:09:15 What about putting shungite in BMW water? — Good idea, shungite is mineral-rich black rock from the earth, though Drake admits he keeps confusing it with shilajit.

Topics: soil ph, imo, lab, fpj, knf minerals, seawater, sea salt, bmw, biochar, vermicompost, pigs, bananas

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 Intro and Countdown
  2. 3:29 I Ching Reading: Hexagram 11, Peace
  3. 5:13 Master Cho's Basics: Sun, Wind, Water
  4. 9:02 Balancing Above and Below Ground
  5. 10:36 Stinging Nettle Plant Juice
  6. 12:42 Managing Heat in an IMO Pile
  7. 13:40 Soil pH Advice
  8. 20:39 Biochar Videos on knfvideo.com
  9. 24:14 Making Seawater From Sea Salt
  10. 26:46 KNF Minerals (Seawater) Explained
  11. 30:07 Applying KNF Minerals for Harvest and Soil
  12. 32:05 Adding LAB to Vermicompost
  13. 36:37 Bots Attacking KNF Support Webserver
  14. 42:34 Soil Mix for Making IMO4
  15. 45:11 Clarifying KNF Minerals Ratios in the Book
  16. 49:20 IMO Pile That Dried Out in a Day
  17. 52:19 Master Cho's Bacterial Mineral Water (BMW)
  18. 1:05:40 Drake's Own BMW Setup
  19. 1:08:28 Accounts Getting Hacked
  20. 1:12:25 Closing and Happy Easter

Transcript

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

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