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Water-Soluble Calcium Taste Test, Cold Tolerance, Volcanic Ash

October 31, 2021 · by Drake Weinert

Drake opens with a reading from the I Ching, then works through soil and tree questions: drilling holes around root zones and filling them with IMO4, cinder, biochar, and compost to get oxygen to roots, and planting trees on a shallow pyramid instead of in a deep pit. He argues pH matters less than people think — feed the soil organic matter and let microbes set the pH themselves. On Promix mycorrhiza products for terpenes, he says a boost helps early but won't persist like IMOs do.

Reactivating supersaturated LAB (KNF Protectors) just takes water, diluted 1:1000, with a few hours' rest making it stronger. For KNF Food and KNF Medicine, he recommends the most vigorous local weeds, comfrey (fermented with a third its weight in brown sugar, 3–5 days), banana shoots, and horsetail for silica. Fermentation breaks down most toxins, so even city weeds are usable with judgment. He also breaks down oxygen content by water source: well water near 0%, stream water about 3%, rainwater about 8%, and a vortex brewer pushing 12–16%.

For cold snaps, he sprays KNF Medicine (OHN) diluted 1:1000 foliarly and keeps IMOs active, since microbial activity generates warmth. After volcanic ash, he leads with KNF Protectors to help plants handle the sudden change. Rice in IMO collection works with just enough resident fungus working symbiotically with bacteria, though the exact mechanism isn't fully studied. In bioponics, all nine solutions work but need more dilution than soil use. He demonstrates tasting water-soluble calcium (KNF Structure) for doneness — sweet bone-wine smell, chalky taste, no vinegar bite — then covers feminizing seeds with pre-ovulation urine and using the maltose recipe during flowering changeover to reduce seed set, as done in Korean vineyards. He closes with KNF Farm training dates: January 10–16 and February 14–20, 2022.

Questions answered

  • 6:05 How do you get more oxygen to tree roots stuck in a dug hole? — Drill holes around the root zone and fill them with IMO4, cinder, biochar, and compost to build an aerobic soil column.
  • 9:02 JMS is pH neutral to slightly alkaline, IMO is acidic — does that matter? — Don't chase macro pH; get organic matter and microbes into the soil and let the microbes set pH where they need it.
  • 12:13 Has anyone tried Promix Connect mycorrhiza on herb crops for more terpenes? — A boosted transplant mix helps early on but won't persist long-term; IMOs bring lasting balance and real terpene production.
  • 17:25 How do you reactivate LAB that's been supersaturated? — Mix it with water at 1:1000; letting it sit a few hours first makes it even stronger.
  • 23:23 What plants work best for KNF Food and KNF Medicine? — Use your most vigorous local weeds for KNF Food; KNF Medicine traditionally uses garlic, ginger, licorice, and angelica.
  • 29:19 What about comfrey for KNF solutions? — Comfrey is a nutrient accumulator; ferment it with a third its weight in brown sugar for 3–5 days for a strong KNF Food.
  • 34:00 Any plant recommendation for cold-climate KNF Food? — Horsetail aggregates silica and grows well in mainland climates like Alaska.
  • 36:20 What if the plants I'm gathering are from a questionable or urban source? — Fermentation breaks down most toxins, so city weeds like purslane and dandelion are usable if you consider the source.
  • 43:06 Does the water source affect oxygen content for plants? — Well water has near 0% oxygen, stream water about 3%, rainwater about 8%, and a vortex brewer can push it to 12–16%.
  • 48:00 What are the best recommendations for building cold tolerance in plants? — Spray KNF Medicine (OHN) diluted 1:1000 foliarly before a cold snap, and keep IMOs active since their activity generates heat.
  • 50:18 How do you deal with volcanic ash landing on crops? — Apply KNF Protectors right away since they help plants handle sudden environmental change; rinse leaves and spray KNF solutions.
  • 51:58 How does rice attract fungi if it's mainly a bacterial food in IMO collection? — Just enough resident fungus works symbiotically with the bacteria on contact with soil, though the exact mechanism isn't fully studied.
  • 54:12 How well does KNF work in bioponics? — All the solutions work, but dilute more than 1:1000, and start with KNF Protectors to help solubilize calcium and phosphate.
  • 58:49 What's the proper smell and taste for finished water-soluble calcium (KNF Structure)? — It should smell like sweet bone wine and taste chalky with no vinegar bite once the acid has fully reacted.
  • 1:02:50 Can maltose keep a pollinated plant from setting seed? — Applying the maltose recipe during the flowering changeover, as used in Korean grape vineyards, can reduce seed set.

Topics: imo, lab, ohn, fpj, ffj, wca, comfrey, horsetail, maltose, bioponics, cold tolerance, volcanic ash

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 I Ching reading
  2. 6:05 Screwing the soil; planting trees on a pyramid
  3. 9:02 JMS vs IMO — pH follows the microbes
  4. 12:13 Pro-mix mycorrhiza vs IMOs for terpenes
  5. 17:25 Reactivating LAB (KNF Protectors)
  6. 23:23 Best plants for OHN and FPJ/FFJ
  7. 29:19 Comfrey for KNF Food
  8. 31:20 Banana shoots and batch sizes
  9. 34:00 Horsetail for silica
  10. 36:20 Fermentation neutralizes toxins
  11. 43:06 Oxygen in water and the vortex brewer
  12. 45:08 Applying KNF solutions in pots
  13. 48:00 Cold tolerance with KNF medicine and IMO
  14. 50:18 Volcanic ash response
  15. 51:58 Rice and fungi in IMO collection
  16. 54:12 KNF in bioponics
  17. 55:12 Soil web microscopy — Elaine Ingham
  18. 58:49 Water-soluble calcium smell and taste test
  19. 1:02:50 Seed soak, feminizing seeds, and maltose
  20. 1:06:30 KNF Farm training dates

Transcript

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

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