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Soil Compaction, Seawater Drench, IMO3 Microscope

Dr. Drake opens with an I Ching reading, then works through emails and live chat questions. Evelyn asks about fermented plant juice (FPJ) from dry plants like mugwort: not every plant renders much juice, and adding up to 10% of the sugar weight as fine sea salt raises the osmotic pull. A quart jar yields less juice than a half-gallon or five-gallon batch, and mugwort can sit five days or more without much liquid showing.

Eva in North Kohala asks how to fix compacted soil on a no-till KNF farm. Drake's answer: drench with LAB (the KNF protectors), IMO, and Maintenance Formula, then add diluted seawater, which flocculates and breaks up compacted layers chemically. Broad forking is mostly wasted effort since the next hard rain recompacts loosened soil; shape beds once at the start, then build soil life with organic matter and deep-rooted crops like carrots, daikon, vetiver, and cassava.

Drake plays Post Up Media's IMO3-under-the-microscope video and points viewers to Elaine Ingham's microscope playlist on his channel. He covers water-soluble potassium versus phosphorus (ripe fruit Food gives potassium, unripe gives phosphorus), gypsum and dolomite as quick but short-lived soil amendments, and warns never to use JMS with livestock — LAB and IMO tea only. Other answers: buy KOH through BEI Hawaii on Oahu, IMO3 takes 7-14 days, ʻōhiʻa trees fighting Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death respond to LAB and Maintenance Solution (search ROD on his channel), apple cider vinegar can replace brown rice vinegar, and a 6-foot no-smell floor works for horses same as cattle.

He closes showing microcontroller builds — an ESP8266 soil-moisture sensor and a four-probe IMO temperature alarm — plus the Pure KNF Foundation newsletter on food tacos, before signing off.

Questions answered

  • 8:50 Can plants be too dry to make Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ)? — Not all plants render juice equally; add up to 10% of the sugar weight as fine salt to draw more juice out.
  • 11:48 Mugwort FPJ shows no juice after 5 days in a quart jar — normal? — Mugwort is a dry plant that yields little juice; salt helps, and small jars render less juice than large batches.
  • 14:58 How do you deal with compacted soil on a no-till KNF farm? — Start with LAB protectors, IMO, and Maintenance Formula, then drench with diluted seawater, which flocculates and breaks up compaction.
  • 19:58 Should I till once or broad fork before starting a no-till garden? — Shape and till beds once at the start, but broad forking is mostly wasted since rain recompacts loosened soil — build organic matter instead.
  • 24:01 What else helps break up compacted soil? — Deep-rooted plants like carrots, daikon, vetiver, and cassava break up compaction naturally as they grow.
  • 35:15 What produces water-soluble potassium and phosphorus in KNF? — Ripe fruit Food (FPJ) gives potassium, unripe fruit Food gives phosphorus; aim for balance before chasing specific deficiencies.
  • 39:50 Can I use JADAM microbe solution and KNF protectors for a no-smell chicken coop? — Use lactobacillus and IMO tea, but never JMS for livestock — it carries too many pathogens under the microscope.
  • 41:34 Where can I get KOH on Oahu now that Amazon stopped shipping there? — Check out BEI Hawaii (Brewer Environmental Industries), which brought in a 50-pound bag.
  • 42:30 What's the best microscope to buy? — Get a compound microscope with a moving stage and a trinocular head, not a digital-only scope; Drake uses an AmScope.
  • 45:47 How long does it take to make IMO3? — About 7 to 14 days, turning it to keep it from going above 120°F, until it drops below about 80°F.
  • 50:54 What treatment helps ʻōhiʻa trees resist Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death? — Spread LAB microbes and Maintenance Solution; search ROD on Drake's YouTube channel for the full protocol.
  • 53:23 Can apple cider vinegar replace brown rice vinegar in KNF recipes? — Yes, and making your own living vinegar works even better.
  • 53:55 Does a living no-smell floor work for horses? — Yes, build it about 6 feet deep like for cattle, with logs on the bottom and wood chips or sawdust on top.
  • 55:44 What's the optimal temperature for making IMO? — No single optimal temperature: hotter than 90°F finishes in about 3 days, 60-80°F takes about 5 days, cooler than 60°F can take 7-14 days.
  • 57:10 Can I give chickens milk kefir instead of LAB? — Yes, it will help them, though it carries a narrower range of bacteria than the traditional lactobacillus process.

Topics: lab, imo, imo3, fpj, seawater, compaction, rapid ohia death, chicken coop, microscope, koh, no-smell floor, milk kefir

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. 2:00 I Ching reading — Pushing Upward
  3. 5:28 KNF recipe book translated to Spanish
  4. 8:50 Dry plants and FPJ — adding salt to draw juice
  5. 11:48 Making FPJ from mugwort — jar size and timing
  6. 14:58 Compacted soil — LAB, IMO, seawater
  7. 16:40 Seawater flocculation — drench method
  8. 19:58 Till vs no-till — broad forking
  9. 25:35 IMO3 under the microscope video
  10. 35:15 Water-soluble potassium vs phosphorus
  11. 39:50 KNF chicken coop — LAB, not JMS
  12. 42:30 Choosing a microscope
  13. 45:47 How long to make IMO3
  14. 50:54 Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death treatment
  15. 53:55 No-smell floor for horses
  16. 55:44 Optimal IMO temperature
  17. 57:10 Milk kefir for chickens
  18. 59:58 Newsletter — food tacos
  19. 1:09:04 Sign-off

Transcript

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