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Powdered Milk LAB, FAA Storage, and Bokashi Balls for Ponds

February 20, 2022 · by Drake Weinert

Thomas, a first-time visitor who just finished a week of teacher training at the farm, joins Dr. Drake for this office hours. The I Ching reading is Ting, the Cauldron, on humility and receiving guidance. Most of the hour covers LAB (lactic acid bacteria serum): powdered milk works fine for making it since lactobacillus just needs lactose, though the curds can turn out grainy or foamy and are best thrown out. LAB is Drake's pick for the easiest KNF solution to start with, useful to drink as a probiotic, spray on soil, or clean with.

They cover FAA (fish amino acid, also called knfFuel): after three months a thick sugar layer on the bottom is normal, no need to stir it, and it doesn't need extra saturation before storing because it's already supersaturated, which keeps the lactobacillus dormant until diluted. For FPJ/knfFood, use only one plant per batch so its own leaf microbes ferment cleanly. Match the plant to the goal: flowers for flowering, aggressive young growers like Japanese knotweed for acceleration, comfrey as an all-purpose dynamic accumulator, arugula for leafy greens. Standard FPJ dilution is 1:500; go thinner, closer to 1:1000, if combining more than three FPJs in one application.

Other questions: turning LAB into clay bokashi balls, diluted around 1:1000, that sink and clean pond muck; spraying LAB or scattering IMO3/4 on animal bedding and cement pig floors to cut smell and speed manure breakdown; keeping 4 to 6 inches of dried grass clippings for chickens even on a raised floor; and using JMS prep on soil right away while waiting on slower KNF solutions to finish.

Questions answered

  • 22:40 Can powdered milk be used to make LAB? — Yes, lactobacillus just needs lactose to work, though the curds can taste off and fillers in cheap powdered milk can throw off the ferment.
  • 25:53 Can powdered goat's milk make LAB? — Yes, but goat's milk sells for more than cow's milk, so it's usually cheaper to buy cow's milk powder and sell the goat's milk instead.
  • 29:11 Which KNF solution should I start with? — LAB — it's easy to access with rice, milk, a jar, and water, fast to make, and versatile: drink it, clean with it, or spray it on plants and soil.
  • 32:14 What benefit does drinking LAB give after surgery or antibiotics? — After six weeks on IV antibiotics, drinking LAB stopped Drake's bloating, cut constant food cravings, and improved his general well-being.
  • 41:46 FAA has a thick sugar layer on the bottom after 3 months — stir it or leave it? — No need to stir; if there's no smell and the fish heads aren't floating, pour off the liquid and let the rest keep fermenting.
  • 46:09 Does FAA need to be supersaturated before storing? — No — it's already supersaturated with sugar, which is what keeps the lactobacillus dormant and safe to store.
  • 50:59 How do I choose which plants to use for FPJ or knfFood? — Match the plant to the goal: flowers for flowering, aggressive young growers for acceleration, fruit for fruiting, and never mix more than one plant per ferment.
  • 54:49 How can I make LAB into a pellet that sinks into my pond? — Mix diluted LAB into clay and roll it on a tarp to form bokashi balls that sink and release microbes into the muck.
  • 1:00:14 Can I spray LAB on animal bedding to control smell? — Yes — spraying LAB on bedding speeds manure breakdown and eliminates odor by restoring microbial balance.
  • 1:03:16 What nutrients does FPJ actually give my plants? — Think of FPJ like NPK — deep-taprooted plants bring more minerals, fast growers bring more growth hormones.
  • 1:04:52 Can I make an arugula FPJ for leafy greens? — Yes — arugula's vigorous growth makes it a strong all-purpose FPJ for leafy greens like lettuce.
  • 1:05:36 My chicken coop has a raised wood floor — can I still do deep litter? — Yes, just 4 to 6 inches of dried grass clippings works even on a raised floor; long straw mats down instead of turning.
  • 1:07:11 How do I cut the smell from a cement pig pen? — Scatter IMO3 or IMO4 after hosing the floor down, then spray LAB to activate it and crowd out odor-causing microbes.
  • 1:08:37 Can I make FPJ from couch grass roots? — Yes if you shake the dirt off first, though roots hold nutrients tighter, so a KNF-medicine style alcohol extract pulls out more.
  • 1:15:37 Is it safe to use JMS prep on soil while waiting on other KNF solutions to finish? — Yes — apply it right away, it builds a living soil base that later IMO applications will thrive on.

Topics: lab, fpj, faa, fish amino acid, imo, bokashi balls, jms, comfrey, arugula, chicken bedding, pig pen, powdered milk

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 welcome
  2. 1:16 I Ching reading — Ting, The Cauldron
  3. 8:04 Seed IMO/IMO1: cool to the touch, wait an extra day
  4. 9:07 Making LAB from powdered milk
  5. 15:00 Best KNF solution to start with: LAB
  6. 17:16 LAB for human health after surgery
  7. 20:43 Bill Mollison and Jeff Lowenfels' Teeming With books
  8. 24:34 Failed or slow LAB batches, cold temps, and natto competition
  9. 27:05 FAA (fish amino acid): sugar layer, should I stir?
  10. 32:08 FAA: does it need to be supersaturated to store?
  11. 36:36 Choosing plants for FPJ or knfFood
  12. 37:55 Japanese knotweed and comfrey for knfFood
  13. 40:48 Bokashi balls: LAB pellets for cleaning ponds
  14. 43:07 One plant per knfFood ferment
  15. 46:13 Spraying LAB on animal bedding
  16. 49:31 FPJ as NPK plus trace minerals and hormones
  17. 50:29 Arugula FPJ for leafy greens
  18. 53:03 Cleaning pig pens with IMO3/4
  19. 58:27 Why call it Korean Natural Farming?
  20. 1:05:15 Closing: inoculate the world

Transcript

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

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