Okay fellow KNF nerds, I’d like a little assist, if you please:
This morning, I unburied my IMO-1 (hard cooked white rice substrate), and found it to be sufficiently colonized.
The rice and various fungi/molds were mixed at a 1:2 ratio of jaggery to substrate; it was dry in appearance when mixed.
8 hours later, 80-90% of the rice was submerged in a clear, watery liquid.
So my question is very simple: is that normal?
My first IMO-1 attempt, I used molasses, and I used WAY too much, so I have no frame if reference for what this should be doing, and Cho doesn’t really describe it in the KNF methodology book.
My first LABS attempt - boiled up a pound of pasta and made a casserole yesterday, then I continued simmering the leftover water until there was under a quart left. Is there anything else I need to do right now other than wait ~5 days? Then it needs to be mixed with milk, I know; I’m planning about 3 quarts, since the most convenient jar I have is a gallon.
I have no idea what to actually ferment once I get it made, other than bananas, which are for flowering. What can I use for veg, other than cannabis leaves or nettles? Does any of this look worthwhile? Most of my other plants haven’t started growing new leaves yet. I still haven’t walked down to the river, I guess I could do that today. Nettles are supposed to grow near rivers.
Its been a long long time since ive separated feeds for flower and veg. Same feed the whole way through. Since basically what your feeding now is gonna be for the next cycle anyways. Organic soil isnt so much about force feeding plants but rather feeding the microbes in the soil.
Oh, so this is more similar to a compost tea and top-dressing than a bottled organic fertilizer, to the extent such exist… gotcha. So basically, my issue here is I need to standardize my top-dressing rather than trying to time it for whether I’m vegging or flowering, because all I’m doing by timing it is ensuring that there’s plenty of nitrogen in flower and plenty of P/K for the next grow’s veg. Whether the microbes & bacteria come from fermenting dandelions and vetch/nettles or a bag of mixed amendments from a company is pretty much irrelevant to the plants, what’s going wrong here is me. That said, I might order some vetch seeds so I can plant a patch in the backyard for years to come. I can’t grow what I want to out there, but I can at least grow something to cut down the costs a little further… amendments could definitely get expensive, otherwise.
Exactly. Knf is high on the foliar feedings aswell. If you check out any courses they dont usualy go over soil drenching with knf. But it can still be beneficial.
A good example of feeding for specific times iss say you topdress kelp for veg. Itll take 70 days to break down and become available. The 70 days your vegging then the kelp is ready for flower🤣 so to topdress for veg really you wanna be doing it in flower of the last harvest.
But i just feed my soil everything it needs all the time and let the plant and microbes work out the feeding schedule
Where’d you get that list? I’d love to get a copy. I don’t have ink in my printer so a link would be great. I guess I could always grab a screen shot, but it’ll probably get lost in the photos.
First time trying IMO.
Here is how it’s looking.
Cooked rice in with gathered rotting wood.
How much longer should I let it grow before mixing with brown sugar?
That should be sufficient!
Once there’s visible fungal growth, there’s plenty of life to culture.
Edit: just a reminder that, unlike many KNF preparations, IMO calls for a 2:1 ratio of substrate to unrefined sugar instead of the 1:1 most often utilized.
The colonized rice is the 2, the sugar is 1, by mass/weight.
Sugar has the ability to cure/dehydrate/sterilize just like salt, in large quantities. You may be fine; I just know that first IMO failed, and it was either because I used molasses, or because I used too much (I eyeballed it, AND thought the ratio was 1:1).
KNF is pretty forgiving, so I’ll keep an eye out for an update in a few days!
Yep, I stand corrected!
I created a workbook where I hand copied recipes from the handbook, and it looks like I made a typo.
I will say that my IMO with a 2/1 ratio came out BEAUTIFULLY, so more evidence for how forgiving KNF can be @BeanBush sorry for the misinformation
That said, I might order some vetch seeds so I can plant a patch in the backyard for years to come. I can’t grow what I want to out there, but I can at least grow something to cut down the costs a little further… amendments could definitely get expensive, otherwise.
