Soil
Hello
i was wondering if I could use bagged soil to use for IMO 4 ? I live in a desert poor soil and hard to find any ?
Thank you
Top answer
is there no dirt in your yard even if its mostly sand or clay any place where weeds or grass grows or thats not a pure sandbox i ask cause IMO4 is about using your native dirt to teach the microbes to live in it to acclimate them even if its poor dirt u r adding what it needs for it to go from dead dirt to living soil so that when u add it to your yard or gardens its got a head start on living in that environment and transforming the poor dirt into amazing soil if your yard is a pure sandbox wherever u r collecting IMOs maybe u could grab a few buckets of dirt and make your IMO4 out of that to add to whatever above ground beds u r using ....and if nothing else works and u just have to buy bags of dirt id say get the cheap top soil but this is not recommended and would be a last resort plan Z type thing any kind of native dirt would be better remember that about 50% of IMO4 is IMO3 so u r adding organic matter and microbes to dirt to make acclimated soil
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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3 sources
Office hours describe the red dirt in IMO4 as poor, nutrient-less mineral soil, like clay or granite fines. (Office Hours Ep. 29, 44:16) It is mixed with field soil. That mix lets the microbes learn to convert the poor soil while gaining local biology. (Office Hours Ep. 29, 44:16)
Poor soil is the target, not the obstacle. Cho's approach reintroduces IMO into nutrient depleted soil to enhance microbial activity and fertility. (Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF, p. 55)
For desert collection, the office hours archive has covered it before. Search the office hours search bar at knfsupport.com. (Office Hours Ep. 35, 55:35)
The library does not say whether bagged soil can stand in for field soil.
Sources
- 44:16 Office Hours Ep. 29 (May 2022) — Red Dirt for IMO4, Storing IMO3/IMO4, Spotting Bad KNF Ferments · “It's poor, nutrient-less mineral soil like clay or granite fines, mixed with field soil so microbes learn to convert it while gaining local biology.”
- 55:35 Office Hours Ep. 35 (Jun 2022) — Gray IMO, Protector Overuse, Chicken Feed Ratios · “Search old office hours at knfsupport.com under the office hours search bar, where desert IMO collection has been covered before.”
- p. 55 Unravelling the Mysteries of KNF · “reintroducing them into nutrient depleted soil, thus enhancing soil microbial activity and fertility”