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Liquid IMO Tea, LAB for Powdery Mildew, Storing Seawater

Drake opens with a look at fermenting algae and spirulina with LAB to make a fermented plant extract (FPE), and culturing spirulina and purple non-sulfur bacteria at home in a bottle or bag with a bubbler. He walks through liquid IMO4: the teabag-in-maintenance-solution method takes about five days unaerated at room temperature, or roughly three days with aeration, and bubbling is a sign the biology is active.

He shares a fish-waste experiment comparing barrels with and without IMO: the untreated barrel reeked and swarmed with black soldier fly maggots, while the IMO barrel stayed near odorless with far fewer flies. That ties into his no-smell pig pen, studied by Texas A&M entomologist Jeff Tomberlin's forensic decomposition lab. He also breaks down what to expect from ocean water (minerals), estuary water (sea life, gathered from the top quarter inch), and river water (tannins and washed-down nutrients).

On LAB: it starves out E. coli by eating its food supply, a mechanism used commercially to clean meat-packing facilities and tenderize meat. KNF Structure, made from bones, has helped Drake's own teeth and can be made from old sun-dried bones by burning them and dissolving the ash in vinegar. Seawater keeps well stored at a steady temperature, like a buried cistern, as long as it still smells like the sea.

For powdery mildew, he recommends spraying LAB early and often as new leaves emerge so every spot on the leaf surface is already occupied before mildew spores can land, with horsetail tea (for silica) and a JADAM sulfur recipe as backups. He also covers LAB plus vinegar and Simple Green against household black mold, fermenting spruce tips and dandelion, and horsetail's benefit for kidneys.

Questions answered

  • 6:47 Can LAB break down spirulina and kelp into something usable? — Yes, letting LAB and wild yeasts ferment algae makes a fermented plant extract (FPE), richer than a plain-pressed FPJ.
  • 11:30 What is purple non-sulfur bacteria and how do you grow it? — It is a key component of EM1 and EM5 that can be cultured at home in a bag with a bubbler, same as spirulina.
  • 17:36 Does adding IMO to a fish-waste bin change how it decomposes? — The IMO barrel stayed nearly odorless with far fewer black soldier fly maggots than the untreated barrel, which reeked and swarmed with grubs.
  • 21:50 Can KNF solutions be pumped through pond and sprinkler irrigation? — Flush lines afterward or run LAB last to avoid biofilm clogging sprinklers, and use OHN as a foliar rather than pumping it into a pond.
  • 25:40 Should liquid IMO be aerated? — Master Cho's teabag method skips aeration, but Drake finds aerating gives a stronger aerobic microbial response.
  • 27:56 Should I collect ocean, estuary, or river water for minerals and biology? — Ocean water is mineral-rich, the estuary's top quarter inch has the most sea life, and river water carries tannins and other washed-down nutrients.
  • 29:36 How does LAB keep E. coli at bay? — LAB eats up the food E. coli needs, effectively starving it out.
  • 30:42 Can KNF Structure help rebuild teeth? — It's made from bone and has helped Drake personally, though he's clear it isn't medical advice.
  • 33:34 How long does liquid IMO tea take, and how do you know it's done? — About five days unaerated or roughly three days aerated at 75°F, and bubbling is the sign it's active.
  • 38:34 Can old bones found in the ground be used for KNF Structure? — If they're fully sun-dried and weathered, burn them and dissolve the ash in vinegar to make KNF Structure.
  • 38:58 How long can stored seawater be kept? — Store it at a steady temperature, like a buried cistern, and it keeps well as long as it still smells like the sea, not rotten.
  • 41:18 Can yucca's medicinal compounds be extracted with JADAM techniques? — Probably not well, JADAM extraction is too harsh to preserve the saponin and surfactant qualities that make yucca useful.
  • 48:06 What's good against powdery mildew? — Spray LAB early and often as new leaves emerge so every spot on the leaf surface is occupied before mildew spores can land.
  • 53:46 Does horsetail tea help against powdery mildew? — Yes, horsetail concentrates silica, which forms a protective layer on leaves and helps light and water transfer.
  • 56:20 Can LAB be used against black mold in a house? — Drake wiped LAB plus vinegar and Simple Green on a moldy roof and it kept the mold away for about a year.

Topics: lab, imo, fpe, ohn, seawater, powdery mildew, horsetail, spirulina, knf structure, e. coli, black soldier fly, yucca

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. 1:28 I Ching: Development, gradual progress
  3. 6:47 LAB breaks down algae and spirulina; FPE
  4. 11:30 Purple non-sulfur bacteria
  5. 13:56 Integrated animal farming, decomposition study
  6. 17:36 Fish waste, soldier fly maggots, IMO test
  7. 21:50 Pumping KNF solutions through irrigation
  8. 25:40 Liquid IMO aeration and Master Cho's BMW
  9. 27:56 Ocean vs. estuary vs. river water
  10. 29:36 LAB keeps E. coli at bay
  11. 30:42 KNF Structure and teeth
  12. 33:34 Liquid IMO tea: timing and doneness
  13. 38:34 Old bones for KNF Structure; storing seawater
  14. 40:08 KNF Food for mineral deficiencies
  15. 41:58 Plant juice, OHN, and a KNF drink bar
  16. 44:40 Spruce tip KNF Food and terpenes
  17. 48:06 Powdery mildew: LAB spray schedule
  18. 53:46 Horsetail tea for powdery mildew, silica
  19. 56:20 LAB against black mold in a house
  20. 57:39 Dandelion, bamboo, horsetail for kidneys

Transcript

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