Questions & Answers
413 questions from farmers and gardeners since 2018, with 831 written answers. Search here and you also get the moment it was answered live on Office Hours.
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47 questions about “mold”
Black mold in IMO1
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional I operate on the 80/20 rule. If 80% of it looks good, I go with it.White mold on Ferment Fruit Juice (mango)
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional White mold growing on top is a sign it is done. I hope you poured it off. If mold is growing after you pour it off, most likely you need to supersaturate it.White mold on FAA
dagoofman a lil white mold is fine as long as theres not a rotting smell or black or green mold... a lot of fermentations get a bit of white mold its mostly yeast from what i am to understand and id guess they r feeding on the oils floating on top iv noticed if i put a…LAB mold on surface
dagoofman LAB should be super saturated with brown sugar for storage just the whey and sugar ....it looks as if you have added the lab and molasses to water by doing this you are activating the solution for its ready to use state and it does not last long before other…Ferment chicken feed with leaf mold or IMO2?
cristthomas365 L3 · provisional If you have a solid IMO2 collection then I don't see much of an issue with using a small finger full of that into the amount of water you are adding to the feed especially if you are adding Cleanser(vinegar), Medicine(OHN), Food(FPJ) and Protectors(LAB). If…Fish hydrolisate has mold on top
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Water should not be added to this mixture. Just equal weight of sugar and fish is sufficient.IMO 2 Question
dagoofman i would guess that the rice may have been overcooked in those batches and the sugar pulled out to much water causing the separation (IMO2 should be like a thick paste or putty when finished) ....i would use them up first cause they do risk mold with the high…Ferment chicken feed with IMO 2?
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Yes, it is possible to do with Seed IMO, but of course making Propagated IMO or Activated IMO is better, but if you do not have time to make those solutions, go with what you got. One of the best things to add to the feeds is KNF Protectors! The lactic acid…Papaya Fermented Fruit Juice
suze Great question! I love the appearance of mold because it is a sure sign that the fermentation step is complete. White mold tends to be bacillus subtilis and is nothing to worry about. Black and brown mold... I have no idea. However, I wouldn't worry about it.…LAB gone bad
dagoofman iv had some green & white molds but never like a black mold would recommend carefully removing the curd from the whey then smell the whey ....is it rotten ..bad juju ...does it smell fine .. should be ok trust your nose it will tell u if its bad or not the…IMO
dagoofman check out this vid for indoor IMO collecting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kpjd9Sv7cY ..... IMOs should be stored with a breathable lid in a cool dark place KNF is intended to be shelf stable and IMOs dont really have a expiration date Happy ExperimentingSeaweed FPJ
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Layers of mold can grow on top of KNF Food made by fermenting plant material and sometimes if they are not super saturated with sugar after the extraction of juice, they will continue to ferment and may grow a mold on top. This is a sign that the solution is…Troubleshooting less than desired IMO culturing results
sef5224 I didn’t get the desired activity I was after until I started using worm castings from my woods next to some rotting wood, and I also used 3 times as many potatoes as the JADAM book recommends, like Chris Trump recommends in his YouTube video. Hope this helpsLAB problems
jay.buhrt Rainbow, Did you add 10x the milk to the volume of rice water you let ferment 7 days before? What kind of milk did you use. Did you leave it ferment in a cool/dark place? What is the temp in the room you let your culture sit?looks like mould forming on the surface of my banana fruit vinegar......
From the KNF library The library's banana vinegar chart calls for 2 parts water to 1 part banana FPJ. (Cho's Solutions, p. 8) Equal parts water and serum is less water than that. (Cho's Solutions, p. 8) Drake's cleanser recipe uses the same ratio: one part finished fruit food to…Pig Feeds
From the KNF library The library gives feed types and a rough timeline, not a week-by-week plan. • Ferment purchased feed first. The microbes make heat and colonize the food. (Office Hours Ep. 2, 11:01) • Add green grass and cut the purchased feed. Cho counts 1 kg of green grass…Brewing JMS ??
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Young-san Cho does not recommend aerating JMS. From what I understand his reasoning is that this is supposed to be drenched into the soil in vast quantities, which will lead to anaerobic conditions. However in the brewing process of 16-72 hours, it is not a…A doubt on how to ferment for FPJ
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional The sugar cap is not necessary for fermenting plant juice to make KNF Food. The sugar cap is used when fermenting fruit juice because fruit tends to have a higher concentration of sugars and moisture, so it needs the additional sugars to create osmotic…Banana vinegar
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional To make a substitute for Brown Rice Vinegar, which is traditionally used in Korea, we have been using banana fruit with the skin on. If you think about the banana, it is like a HUGE rice plant, and the fruits are analogous to brown rice. In the tropics, I'm…Imo?
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Whitish mold will grow on all kinds of things. I have forgotten rice in a rice cooker for a week and come back to a nice bloom! Is this IMO, yes, it is indigenous micro organisms!Is this the KNF Microbes we are looking for to enhance our soil? NO. These…IMO 4
From the KNF library Cho's collection recipe says red and blue molds may appear in several spots on the collection box. (Cho, Recipe, p. 12) That means anaerobic microbes were collected too. (Cho, Recipe, p. 12) Anaerobic microbes are indigenous too. But if they are in the…FPJ
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional if super saturated properly, they store well at room temperature. a fridge is ideal, but not always affordable. without supersaturation, they store for a few weeks before turning to vinegar or alcohol at room temperature. in the fridge this will be much…Tasting fpj
dagoofman There would be many factors to look into id think comparing your diet and what nutrients u might be lacking to the plant u r fermenting and what nutrients it may hold the added microbial activity is always a plus Dr. Park says "3% of r total body weight is…which temperature need for using JMS, brown Sugar or maybe salt
dagoofman How to culture microorganisms in winter: If the temperature of the water drops below 18℃ (64.4℉), you need to use heating and insulation. Pick a spot less affected by wind – inside a greenhouse is excellent – and be sure to wrap the container tightly with…Where to find IMO's in city
dagoofman you are looking for old growth trees with very little human interference and lots of old fallen leaves...if you have to travel a bit to find it and have the means to do so theres a few options, one would be to make a few IMO baskets put them out in different…Can you overdose with fpj?
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Overdosing with KNF Food is similar to overeating.Blue mould on ginger and tumeric while making OHN
dagoofman In making OHN molds will be killed off with the alcohol ...i would think its ok to scrape off the mold and continue the OHN process as the amount of alcohol that will go into it should kill off any spores that are present ...if we where just making a FPJ then…root-drowned fruit tree
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional A lot of good questions here! As far as I know, Master Cho has given a prescription to solve the issue of drowning roots by spreading IMO4 and watering with the appropriate soil treatment solution around the drip line extending out 2-4 feet in a donut shape.…KNF Potting soil recipe?
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Han-Kyu Cho was talking about potting soil when he was in Papaikou. It is somewhere buried in this lecture. I remember distinctly that I was in the back of the building talking with Zach Mermel while he was going over this material. As best as I can remember…Banana vinegar dregs floating to top
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional When I am making banana vinegar following this recipe, often times material will float to the surface. The material will grow in to what is called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast), often also called the 'mother' of vinegar. These SCOBY take…Collecting IMO in southern california
tom5436 I just had the pleasure to go to one of Drake's workshops and asked him a very similar question. When collecting in a desert it helps to apply the maintenance solution on and around the collection area 3 days before you begin the IMO collection. Water the…FAA
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional There is no need to continually sprinkle sugar on the top unless you are getting odor. If you are getting odor, the first thing to do is to try to submerge the fish under the liquid, sometimes with a large stone. If the odor still persists, then add more…FAA half full bucket no ohn or imo
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional 2/3 is the sweet spot in KNF for various reasons. One of the main reasons is 2/3 is a close approximation to the golden ratio which is the key to all life as we know it. The closer you get to this ratio, the more easily energy will emerge out of the infinite…IMO collection during drought.
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional KNF Microbes can be collected in drought and in desert like conditions with ease, and it makes sense to do so, because you will be collecting drought tolerant microbes that will have added benefit to your region and changing climate conditions. The key to…Banana FPJ smells like miso
From the KNF library The library says nothing about a miso or jerky smell in banana FPJ, so these sources can't confirm yours is good. Judge it by the finish signs. Cho says fermentation is over when the fibers float, the color moves from green to yellow-green, and a sweet smell…IMO collection in winter old growth forest or use indoor soils?
From the KNF library Drake says you can collect IMO in winter. Do it indoors, not in the frozen piles. Bring the forest indoors. Put leaf litter and dirt in a box, moisten it, and cover it with paper and straw. (Office Hours Nov 2025, 46:54) Master Lee runs an indoor IMO setup so…Beef blood poured on top of my soil.
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional Those are definitely Indigenous Micro Organisms becoming active from a large food source, but probably not the IMO you want to collect Seed IMO from as they are probably not that well suited for soil life.I found dark green/black on top of my lab. It is in its second phase with the milk added to rice wash. Its 36 hrs since milk was add.
gurkan.yeniceri Chuck it. Mucor mold or pencillium roqueforti started to grow.BRV ingredients
dagoofman Chris Trump has talked about making vinegar from FPJ there is a how to vid also in his FPJ vid on banana flowers he talks of making vinegar from it, its kinda a FFJ also so id think either would work fineFPJ + Vinegar + OHN
suze "Slight yellowing" you say? ... Sounds like you need to add calcium phosphate (knfStructure) to your spray cocktail. Similar to how the present day patriarchal Christianity forgets the fourth element (Mother Mary) so too some forget calcium phosphate in the…What should FPJ smell like ?
jay.buhrt Gagardner84, Once you make FPJ and ferment it with brown sugar (my favorite is broadleaf plantain and dandelions) it will keep for 1 year, even longer sometimes. If you see mold, add more brown sugar. Store in a cool 65-70F place or keep in your fridge, with…Chitin
dagoofman theres a Jadam recipe page 211 for crabshell JLF 1 part shell powder 10 parts water (by weight) add some grass and a handful of leaf mold soil let set longer then 3 months use at 50-500Xs dilutionBRV substitute
dagoofman yes ACV is fine if u r using it in a spray solution i do advice getting a live vinegar but its not necessary if u r making WCA or WCAP use a pasteurized vinegar u can even use white vin in WCA & WCAP ....all ratios r the sameFPJ WITH THE BAMBOO SHOOTS
dagoofman You can use all parts of the bamboo ...KNF Growth Food (FPJ) is made with 1 type of plant at a time this is cause the microbes that live on the plant are the ones you are looking for to break down that type of plant ...sugar ratios are the same when making…Greenish IMO4 // trichoderma // pig pen
Drake Weinert L4 · provisional It sounds like you may not have made the IMO correctly. It is essential, especially when it comes to animals, that the IMO does not exceed 50 celsius during the fermenting process. It should smell like a rich forest floor when done properly.JMS
dagoofman It is best to only use the worker microbes that is when the JMS is at its peak and the best to be used in our gardens to spread the right microbes into the soil ( :waving hand: these are the droids you are looking for ) the fertilizer microbes are more the…Said on Office Hours
Dr. Drake on “mold” during the live show. Each link opens the episode at that moment.
