IMO 3 substrate instead of Rice Bran
Top answer
From the KNF library
Drake says to use what you have, but crack the grain so you get the fats and oils, not just starch. (Office Hours Ep. 113, 32:39) Mill run gives the right balance of fats, oils, and carbs. (Office Hours Ep. 31, 31:49) Where you can't get it, Drake says to use whatever microbes will eat, corn included, and check it under a microscope. (Office Hours Ep. 23, 16:03)
Corn has a catch. Ground corn alone gets too dense and gelatinizes, so blend it with wood chips or another bulking material. (Office Hours Ep. 37, 56:45) Drake's standard IMO3 substrate is equal parts wheat mill run and wood chips by volume, moistened to 60%. (Cho's Solutions, p. 18)
Drake reads smell, sight, and temperature on batches he knows, but he still checks new substrates. (Office Hours Ep. 4, 17:19) Treat corn as a new substrate. Look at your first batch under a microscope.
The library talks about ground corn, not cobs. It gives no corn-to-wood-chip ratio.
Sources
- 56:45 Office Hours Ep. 37 (Jul 2022) — New KNF Vocabulary, Seawater Ratios, Sandy Soil Fixes · “Not by itself, it gets too dense and gelatinizes, so blend it with wood chips or another bulking material.”
- 31:49 Office Hours Ep. 31 (May 2022) — Cucumber Beetle Armor, No-Smell Chicken Coop, Biochar for Dry Soil · “gives the right balance of fats, oils, and carbs; dog food works as a substitute.”
- 16:03 Office Hours Ep. 23 (Mar 2022) — IMO4 Pig Feed, LAB Without Milk, Disgustingly Cheap Microbes · “Use whatever microbes will eat, such as ground wheat berries, corn, or coffee grounds, and check it under a microscope.”
- 17:19 Office Hours Ep. 4 (Oct 2021) — IMO1-4 Explained, Pig Pen Roof Design, Mold on IMO2 · “No, after years of practice Drake reads smell, sight, and temperature instead, though he still checks new substrates.”
- 32:39 Office Hours Ep. 113 (Feb 2024) — Substituting Grains in IMO, JADAM Pest Kit, Seed IMO Timing · “use what you have, but crack the grain so you get the fats and oils, not just starch.”
- p. 18 Cho's Solutions · “1 part wheat mill run 1 part wood chips optional 5% biochar Moisten to 60% moisture content”
Also discussed on Office Hours
IMO1-4 Explained, Pig Pen Roof Design, Mold on IMO2
- 22:22 …talking about, which is like an IMO3 or an IMO4 process, which is just taking that the substrate…
- 37:20 …And the IMO1 is what I call seed IMO. And actually in my vocabulary that if you checked out last week's office hour, I was talking about how, or maybe it's two weeks ago, I was talking about how I kind of have redefined these terms to be simple and into our understanding instead of esoteric like IMO1234.…