IMO rice substitutes
I want to collect my first imo this year and I’m wondering what other food sources could you use other then rice. My thought process is if you want to collect native microorganisms then I want a food source then grown locally with the endophytes that are native to my area Southwestern Ontario Canada
Top answer
From the KNF library
Drake describes IMO collection as gathering wild microbes off rice or any starch from your local ground. (Office Hours Ep. 158, 29:50) Cho's manual says the process varies farm to farm with local materials and supplies, but the principle stays the same. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 56)
Cho's materials list calls for hard-cooked rice, which has less moisture, to collect aerobic microbes. (Cho, Theory, p. 49)
Southwestern Ontario is cold. For a cold-climate asker, Drake said to mimic cold-climate Korea. Gather leaf-duff soil indoors, moisten it, and layer it with cooked rice and fresh hay bacillus in a box. (Office Hours Ep. 141, 13:52) Cho says rice freezes in winter, so bring the leaf mould into a greenhouse. (Cho, Theory, p. 51) Winter collection takes more than 10 days. (Cho, Recipe, p. 12)
The library does not name a local grain to swap for rice. It also says nothing about endophytes in the food itself.
Sources
- 13:52 Office Hours Ep. 141 (Sep 2024) — Eucalyptus & IMO Microbes, JADAM Fish Fertilizer, Calfos Ratios · “Mimic cold-climate Korea: gather leaf-duff soil indoors, moisten it, layer it with cooked rice and fresh hay bacillus in a box, and let it ferment like IMO1.”
- 29:50 Office Hours Ep. 158 (Jan 2025) — Seed IMO Collection, Dry-Area Microbes, IMO Turning Machine · “Collect wild microbes off rice or any starch from your local ground, bring it back, mix with water and nutrients.”
- p. 56 Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF · “the process of collecting and culturing microorganisms may vary farm to farm due to locality and availability of materials and supplies. However, the principle remains the same.”
- p. 51 Cho, Theory · “In the winter the rice freezes. To prevent freezing, bring the leaf moulds into the green house”
- p. 49 Cho, Theory · “Hard-cooked rice (less moisture to collect aerobic microbes)”
- p. 12 Cho, Recipe · “It takes more than 10 days to collect IMO in winter.”
