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Crystal Vortex Brewer, Pig Pen Sizing, WCA/WCP for People

February 27, 2022 · by Drake Weinert

Drake fixed both sprayers this week: a Maruyama MS-75E for walking the garden with a long hose, and a tractor-mounted sprayer with a diaphragm pump. For a new garden bed he ridges the soil with a BCS power ridger, soaks biochar in fish amino acid, tops it with IMO4, waters in maintenance solution plus minerals, then adds a Jadam microbe solution before covering with black plastic.

He uses gemstones and crystals in a homemade vortex brewer: water loops through an air-lift tube and splashes down onto crystals for about 18 hours, pulling minerals into the water. He drinks the result and calls it bacterial mineral water; full build instructions are at naturalfarminghawaii.net.

Farrowing pig pens run 10x12 to 12x14 feet so sows raise piglets without a crate; double that size for finishing ten pigs to market weight, and bury conifer logs under the pen if that's what's on hand. Egg yolk oil, water-soluble calcium (WCA), and water-soluble calcium phosphate (WCP) work with duck or guinea fowl eggs, not just chicken. Both are shelf-stable outside the fridge unless made with a living vinegar mother, which needs pasteurizing. Drake drinks about a teaspoon of each a day in a lot of water, but says to check with a doctor first. A five-gallon HDPE bucket holds up fine for mixing a KOH wetting agent.

For sandy soil, pile wood chips and organic matter on top instead of tilling it in, inoculate the pile, and plant into it. Good IMO collection sites sit near bamboo or banana with deep leaf litter and soil that balls into aggregates, ideally 50 to 100 feet higher in altitude. Standard dilutions: protectors at 1:1000, fermented plant juice at 1:500. Brown sugar can be built from white sugar and blackstrap molasses; Drake's video "KNF Sugar vs Molasses" breaks down the ratios. For moss on fruit trees, paint on a slurry of IMO, seawater, and oatmeal.

Questions answered

  • 13:13 What sprayers does Drake use on the farm? — A Maruyama MS-75E backpack engine sprayer with a long hose, plus a tractor-mounted sprayer with a diaphragm pump.
  • 19:36 Anything specific to do when preparing a new grow space for KNF? — Ridge the bed, soak biochar in fish amino acid, add IMO4, water in maintenance solution plus minerals, then a Jadam microbe solution.
  • 22:46 What do you do with gemstones and crystals? — Put them in a bacterial mineral water vortex brewer that circulates water over crystals for about 18 hours.
  • 32:49 How big should a KNF farrowing pig pen be? — About 10x12 to 12x14 feet so the sow has room to raise piglets without a crate; double it for finishing ten pigs to market weight.
  • 34:29 Can I make egg yolk oil, WCA, and WCP with duck or guinea fowl eggs? — Yes, eggshells and yolks from any bird work, chicken eggs are just bigger.
  • 35:20 What can I use to make a wetting agent in a plain five-gallon bucket? — HDPE plastic buckets hold up fine, the KOH used to make it isn't hot enough to melt them.
  • 36:12 Can I store water-soluble calcium and calcium phosphate outside the fridge? — Yes, both are shelf-stable at room temperature unless made with a living vinegar mother, in which case pasteurize them first.
  • 37:51 How much WCA and WCP does Drake drink? — He said to consult a doctor first, but he personally drinks about a teaspoon of each per day diluted in a lot of water.
  • 39:32 How do you use weeds in natural farming? — Fill a barrel with pulled weeds and water, let it rot three days to a week, then spread the liquid as a cheap fertilizer.
  • 44:00 What do you look for when collecting IMO from the wild? — Healthy bamboo or banana stands with deep leaf litter, avoid pine needles, look for soil that balls into little aggregates, and collect from 50-100 feet higher altitude.
  • 45:23 How do I turn sandy soil into a growing medium? — Pile wood chips and organic matter on top of the sand, inoculate it, and plant into the pile so nutrients leach down instead of tilling everything in.
  • 47:46 What dilution ratio should I use for spraying microgreens? — Dilute protectors 1:1000 and fermented plant juice 1:500, the standard recipe ratios.
  • 56:13 Can I make brown sugar by mixing white sugar with blackstrap molasses? — Yes, that's basically how commercial brown sugar is made; Drake has a video, KNF Sugar vs Molasses, explaining the ratios.
  • 1:05:27 Does water temperature matter when making IMO? — Use warm water around 70-80 degrees, cold water slows microbe growth and anything over 100 degrees risks cooking them.
  • 1:06:05 How do you use KNF to control moss on fruit trees? — Paint a slurry of IMO, seawater, and oatmeal onto the mossy bark to ease sunburn and help it heal.

Topics: imo, wca, wcp, biochar, fish amino acid, jadam, vortex brewer, pig farrowing, brown sugar, sandy soil, microgreens, moss

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. 1:33 I Ching reading: Hwan, Desertion/Dissolution
  3. 5:27 Sprayers Drake uses
  4. 10:05 Dried bananas and cassava flour for sale
  5. 11:15 Preparing a grow space for KNF
  6. 14:43 Gemstones, crystals, and bacterial mineral water
  7. 15:35 Building a vortex brewer
  8. 22:36 Pure KNF Foundation and knfsupport.com
  9. 24:00 Pea shoot plant juice for microgreens
  10. 24:44 Pig pen size for farrowing
  11. 26:05 Eggshells for egg yolk oil, WCA, and WCP
  12. 27:12 Making a wetting agent in a 5-gallon bucket
  13. 28:00 Storing WCA and WCP outside the fridge
  14. 29:20 Human consumption of WCA and WCP
  15. 30:37 Fermenting egg yolk with brown sugar
  16. 30:53 Using weeds in natural farming
  17. 31:41 Natural farming in Florida
  18. 32:22 Teaching classes by demand
  19. 34:08 Where to buy the book
  20. 35:06 Where to collect IMO
  21. 37:01 Turning sandy soil into growing medium
  22. 39:06 Microgreens spray dilution and the recipe book

Transcript

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

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