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LAB for Dog Ear Infections, No-Smell Pigs, Acidic Vinegar

Drake opens with the I Ching hexagram on nourishment, then answers a question about a dog's fungal ear infection: lactobacillus (LAB) works on mammals in general, but sulfur is stronger for a severe fungal case. He also explains how to make a more acidic vinegar — make a regular fruit vinegar, then cook it down to concentrate it.

Most of the episode is photos from a Korea trip. A grape farmer loads his soil with biochar and IMOs, lets clover and fallen leaves rot on the ground, and still grows clean, seeded grapes under a double-layer greenhouse. A commercial pig farm runs a deep litter system of rice hulls about four feet deep for roughly 1,000 pigs, with only light odor. A university pepper trial uses Jadam sulfur and wetting agent through a water softener, since the soap needs soft water, and slightly overdoses it, causing tip burn.

Other stops: the Gokseong KNF Learning Center's BMW (bacterial mineral water) system, IMO and preparation stations, and a tracked sprayer vehicle with rotating mist nozzles and a roughly 1,000-liter tank.

Drake also points to a 7-day KNF training in Hawaii for November 2023 and January 2024, the Elaine Ingham microscope/Soil Food Web playlist on his YouTube channel, and invites listeners to email drake@pureknf.org for an interview.

Questions answered

  • 20:37 Dog has a fungal ear infection in wet New Zealand weather. What helps? — Lactobacillus (LAB) works well on mammals; for a severe fungal case use sulfur instead.
  • 26:52 How do I find past office hours on a specific topic? — Go to knfSupport and use the table of contents Suze built, which lists the minute each topic comes up.
  • 28:10 When is the next KNF training in Hawaii? — A 7-day intensive at canifarm.com runs November 2023, with January 2024 still open for signups.
  • 29:23 Where can I learn to use a microscope for soil analysis? — Watch the Elaine Ingham Soil Food Web playlist on Drake's YouTube channel, where she IDs nematodes and protozoa on camera.
  • 39:30 How do you make a more acidic vinegar? — Make a regular fruit vinegar, such as grape, then cook it down to concentrate it and raise the acidity.
  • 41:00 What does the Korean grape farm do differently? — He loads the soil with biochar and IMOs, lets leaves and clover decompose on the ground, and still gets clean, disease-free grapes.
  • 47:44 How does the no-smell pig farm control odor? — Deep litter of rice hulls about four feet deep; high stocking density still gave a little urine smell but nothing bad.
  • 52:10 How does the pepper farm avoid disease with Jadam sulfur? — Jadam sulfur and wetting agent run through a water softener, since the soap needs soft water; he ran it a bit strong and got tip burn.
  • 1:06:10 What's that mist-spraying vehicle at the KNF Learning Center? — A tracked sprayer with a rotating fan, misting nozzles, a generator and pump, and a roughly 1,000-liter tank for covering a whole field.
  • 1:08:42 Can I get interviewed on Office Hours about my KNF experience? — Yes, email drake@pureknf.org to set up a video call and share your story on the show.

Topics: lab, sulfur, jadam wetting agent, biochar, imo, vinegar, pig farming, deep litter, grapes, peppers, microscope, soil food web

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 Count Down
  2. 3:46 Intro and Welcome
  3. 5:03 I Ching Reading: The Corners of the Mouth (Nourishment)
  4. 21:00 Dog Ear Infection: LAB or Sulfur
  5. 22:21 Drake on Master Cho's Presentation, Weeks Reviewed
  6. 26:52 How to Search knfSupport for Topics
  7. 28:10 7-Day KNF Training in Hawaii, Nov 2023 & Jan 2024
  8. 29:23 Microscope Playlist with Elaine Ingham
  9. 34:19 Invitation to Join Office Hour Live
  10. 36:14 Korea Trip Photos Begin
  11. 39:30 How to Make Vinegar More Acidic
  12. 41:00 Korea Trip: Grape Farm with Biochar and IMOs
  13. 46:46 Korea Trip: Three-Course Meal
  14. 47:44 Korea Trip: No-Smell Pig Farm
  15. 52:10 Korea Trip: Pepper Farm and Jadam Sulfur
  16. 54:25 Korea Trip: Institute of Horticulture and Herbal Science
  17. 55:32 Korea Trip: Konkuk University Ag Symposium
  18. 1:00:22 Korea Trip: Gokseong and the KNF Learning Center
  19. 1:06:10 Korea Trip: Sprayer Vehicle
  20. 1:08:42 Interview Invite - Email drake@pureknf.org

Transcript

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

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