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IMO4 Liquid vs Top Dress, Chicken Coop Plans, KNF Barn Design

Drake opens with the I Ching hexagram Before Completion, then talks censorship, exponential growth, and the difference between industrial and financial capital before getting to farming.

On inputs: bubbling plain JMS (potato, water, salt) with IMO4 does nothing. Put IMO4 into the maintenance solution first, then bubble it, to get liquid IMO. Top dress is better than liquid IMO if you only have a small bed. Liquid IMO makes sense when you have a little IMO4 and a lot of acreage — a 5-gallon vortex brew dilutes to 50 to 200 gallons. He also looks up the DJI T40 ag drone, 50 kilos of payload, about $26,000, that can spread seeds, feed, and microbes.

For a 40-50 hen coop, Drake points to natural farming hawaii.net and his Hubble Bubble build videos rather than a fixed blueprint. Give each bird two square feet, and run about one rooster per 12 hens. On chicks: feed bamboo leaves from day 3 to 21 because they're tough to digest and build gut strength. Comfrey is too soft to substitute. He also says selling KNF inputs and classes at a markup does not violate KNF ethics, as long as you're honest about how you made it.

The back half covers Master Cho's livestock barn slides: symbiosis, respect, and welfare as the three barn principles; scouting a site for a year before building; facing the barn south, within 30 degrees east or 20 degrees west; and using an uninsulated metal split roof so heat draws air up and out while side curtains control airflow and temperature.

Questions answered

  • 30:48 Is bubbling disgustingly cheap JMS (potato, water, salt) with IMO4 in it any good? — No — put the IMO4 into the maintenance solution (food, medicine, cleanser, structure) first, then bubble that.
  • 31:31 When should you make liquid IMO instead of just top dressing with IMO4? — Top dress is better for a small bed; make liquid IMO only when you have a little IMO4 and want to cover a lot of acreage.
  • 32:57 Where can I find dimensions or plans for a KNF chicken coop for 40-50 hens? — Drake has no fixed blueprint, but points to natural farming hawaii.net's poultry pages and his channel's Hubble Bubble build videos.
  • 33:34 How many roosters do you need for 50 laying hens? — About one rooster per 12 hens, so roughly four roosters for 50 hens keeps good social order.
  • 36:48 How much floor space does each chicken need? — About two square feet per bird.
  • 37:57 Is a vortex brewer good for brewing IMO? — Yes — a 5-gallon vortex brew makes a concentrate you can dilute to 50 to 200 gallons.
  • 38:30 What can the DJI T40 ag drone do for spreading microbes? — It carries 50 kilos of payload and can spray seeds, fertilizer, feed, and microbes, but it costs about $26,000.
  • 46:00 Does selling KNF inputs violate the ethics of natural farming? — No — sell it, mark it up, and just be honest about how you made it.
  • 49:28 Can comfrey replace bamboo leaves for chicks after the first five days? — No — bamboo runs day 3 to 21 because it's tough to digest and that's what strengthens the chicks' intestines; comfrey is too soft.
  • 56:22 What are the core principles of a natural farming livestock barn? — Harmony, respect, and welfare — design the pen around the animals' natural urges, not around your own convenience.
  • 1:00:35 How do you pick the right spot to build a KNF livestock barn? — Observe the land for at least a year, then build on firm, well-drained ground with good airflow and sunlight.
  • 1:02:24 Which direction should a KNF livestock barn face? — South, within about 30 degrees to the east or 20 degrees to the west.
  • 1:04:45 How does airflow move through a proper KNF livestock barn? — An uninsulated metal split roof heats up and sucks air out the top, drawing fresh air in through side openings.

Topics: imo4, jms, liquid imo, top dress, vortex brewer, chicken coop, chicks, comfrey, bamboo, dji t40 drone, livestock barn, master cho presentations

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 Countdown & Intro
  2. 4:46 I Ching: Before Completion
  3. 7:25 Spam, Censorship & "Freedom Is Slavery"
  4. 15:30 Ecology & Economy
  5. 19:40 Exponential Growth Theory
  6. 23:23 Communism vs Capitalism
  7. 26:15 The Real Solution
  8. 30:48 IMO4: Liquid vs Top Dress
  9. 32:57 KNF Chicken Coop Plans
  10. 37:57 Vortex Brewers
  11. 38:30 DJI T40 Ag Drone
  12. 43:03 Piggy Bank & Hawaiʻi Training Dates
  13. 46:00 Does Selling KNF Violate Ethics?
  14. 49:28 Comfrey vs Bamboo for Chicks
  15. 53:56 Master Cho's Presentations
  16. 56:22 Livestock Barn Principles
  17. 1:00:35 Choosing a Barn Location
  18. 1:02:24 Barn Direction & Layout
  19. 1:04:45 Barn Convection Airflow
  20. 1:08:05 Barn Characteristics Recap

Transcript

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

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