← Back to Office Hours
Office Hours

IMO Pile Temperature Probes, Sawdust IMO3, Why Not to Bury Microbes

November 21, 2021 · by Drake Weinert

Drake opens with news from the Hawaii Farmers Union United convention, then shows a temperature probe and buzzer device he built to warn when an IMO4 pile overheats. He covers Mineral A (close to seawater), why fermented plant juice (FPJ) equals root exudates and belongs in IMO3, and the two-thirds solids, one-third airspace rule for storage boxes like cedar bins.

On texture and feed, sawdust makes good IMO3 structure but lacks fats and oils, so Drake blends in about 10 to 15 percent instant mashed potato flakes. He shows a BCS mini tractor with a power ridger attachment for turning piles, and gives a container soil recipe: turn your potting mix into 10 percent IMO4, dust it on top, then water with soil solution. He also breaks down KNF Farm class pricing, $2,500 for a private cottage or $4,000 shared, covering lodging, food, and level 1 through 3 certification.

Later questions cover storing bones in calcium phosphate, using palm or coconut sugar instead of cane sugar (but not beet sugar), and why KNF microbes should never be buried deep, since they are aerobic and will rot and breed pathogens without oxygen. Drake shares a rice cultivation trick using a basket flipped over freshly cut rice stalks, and closes on IMO baths, judged safe by smell, not by expertise.

He wraps with listener questions on blending farming methods: mixing IMO4 into Elaine's compost or a Johnson-Su bioreactor as a fermented mixed compost, sharing IMO4 with neighbors in the same climate, and stacking up to three FPJs into a maintenance solution without changing the dilution ratio.

Questions answered

  • 11:37 Made first batch of FPJ from wildflowers and felt an unusually great mood. Why? — Fermented plant juice gets broken down by microbes from the plant's surface, making it more bioavailable than fresh juice.
  • 14:10 Slacking on making IMO because there's no time to babysit the pile — Drake built temperature probes with a buzzer alarm so the pile signals when it's time to turn before it overheats.
  • 19:53 Should FPJ go into IMO3, and why? — FPJ is the equivalent of root exudates, which is exactly what soil biology in the IMO pile is used to eating.
  • 21:09 Does a cedar storage box need to stay filled to exactly two-thirds? — Hard to keep exact once you're using material, so keep it mostly full or move to a smaller container rather than let a nearly empty one rot.
  • 25:46 Can sawmill sawdust be used to make IMO3? — Sawdust has good texture but lacks fats and oils, so blend in about 10 to 15 percent instant mashed potato flakes.
  • 28:56 Is there a good soil recipe for KNF in containers? — Turn your potting soil blend into 10 percent IMO4, dust it on the surface, then water in with soil solution.
  • 31:37 Can you break down what the KNF Farm class costs actually include? — Prices from $2,500 to $4,000 cover lodging, food, and level 1, 2, and 3 certification training.
  • 49:21 Is it okay to leave bones sitting in calcium phosphate? — Fine as long as no scobies are growing on top; otherwise pour it off and bury the bones under a plant.
  • 50:06 Why cane sugar and not palm or coconut sugar for FPJ? — Palm or coconut sugar work fine since they grow above ground; avoid beet sugar since it grows underground.
  • 51:14 Why shouldn't KNF microbes be buried deep in the soil? — KNF microbes are aerobic, so buried without oxygen they rot and breed pathogens instead of building soil.
  • 54:15 Should IMO baths only be done by someone experienced? — If the pile smells like good soil or baking bread, not wet asphalt, it's fine to get in.
  • 58:58 Where to learn about IMO methods for rice cultivation? — Use forest IMO1, or flip a basket over freshly cut rice stalks for three to five days to grow rice-specific bacillus.
  • 1:01:08 Can you mix IMO4 with Elaine's compost or a Johnson-Su bioreactor? — Yes, make a fermented mixed compost by adding about 10 percent IMO4 into the other composting method.
  • 1:04:16 Can different batches of IMO4, or a friend's IMO4, be mixed together? — Yes, as long as it's from the same climate region, IMO4 moves fine between farms and neighbors.
  • 1:05:30 Can more than one FPJ go into the maintenance solution? — Yes, up to three FPJs at the same dilution the recipe calls for; beyond three, cut the amount of each.

Topics: imo, imo3, imo4, fpj, mineral a, soil solution, calcium phosphate, rice cultivation, fermented mixed compost, sawdust, container gardening, burying microbes

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 Welcome and introduction
  2. 1:40 I Ching: Preponderance of the Great
  3. 6:23 HFUU pre-convention talk
  4. 11:37 FPJ and enhanced mood
  5. 14:10 IMO4 temperature monitor device
  6. 17:03 Mineral A and mineral water
  7. 19:53 FPJ into IMO3 as root exudates
  8. 21:09 Cedar box storage, two-thirds rule
  9. 25:46 Sawdust for IMO3
  10. 28:56 Soil recipe for containers
  11. 31:37 Class costs and certification levels
  12. 42:28 Leaf mold, mulch, and pile technique
  13. 44:58 IMO collecting chamber
  14. 49:21 Bones in calcium phosphate
  15. 50:06 Palm and coconut sugar vs beet sugar
  16. 51:14 Why not to bury KNF microbes
  17. 54:15 IMO bath and Dr. Park video
  18. 58:58 KNF for rice cultivation
  19. 1:01:08 Compete or collaborate on methods
  20. 1:05:30 Mixing multiple FPJs

Transcript

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

Share