Soil repair
Top answer
From the KNF library
Drake's manual says the drench is meant to stay shallow. The water is applied so it saturates only the top 1/2-1 inch of soil (Pure KNF Manual, p. 14). The microbes then dive down and colonize the land (Pure KNF Manual, p. 14). The aim is a wet surface, not a soaked profile (Pure KNF Manual, p. 14).
For compaction, the library points to diluted seawater. Drake's notes list it for exhausted land, to relieve compaction (Cho's Solutions, p. 15). Mix it 1:30 with fresh water, or 1 gram of sea salt per liter (Cho's Solutions, p. 15). It flocculates the soil, adding airspace, water holding capacity and homes for microbes (Cho's Solutions, p. 15). The manual says drainage then takes place (Pure KNF Manual, p. 54).
Expect to repeat. Drake drenches his worst field until the ground recovers, and needs less over time (Office Hours Ep. 30, 47:45).
On tillage, the library leans the other way from the tilling advice above. Drake says tillage dries out and kills the soil microbiome (Office Hours Ep. 88, 21:31). The KNF guide says to cut weeds just above the surface (KNF Demystified, p. 12). It says to seed cover crops such as clover before removing weeds (KNF Demystified, p. 12). It says roots left in place let microbes work deeper than a plow or shovel could reach (KNF Demystified, p. 12).
The library says nothing about perc tests, slope or runoff.
Sources
- 21:31 Office Hours Ep. 88 (Aug 2023) — IMO Drone Army for Fire Prevention, FPJ Alcohol Smell, Biochar · “Tillage and chemical agriculture dry out and kill the soil microbiome, releasing carbon and drying the land.”
- 47:45 Office Hours Ep. 30 (May 2022) — The 9 KNF Solutions, Good vs Bad Microbes, IMO Indoor Collection · “Drake drenches his worst field with soil formula through a 250-gallon tote until the ground recovers, needing less over time.”
- p. 14 Pure KNF Manual · “the water is applied so that it saturates the top 1/2-1 inch of soil”
- p. 15 Cho's Solutions · “Add diluted seawater to exhausted land.”
- p. 12 KNF Demystified · “weeds can be cut just above the surface”
- p. 54 Pure KNF Manual · “Drainage now takes place. Oxygen flows.”