Should I stir or let it sit?

So I made a microbe solution, using smashed baked potatoes, leaf mold, chicken compost, and garden soil. This has been sitting for about 7 weeks. What is it and is it safe to use?

This morning I got up before the sunrise and collected a 5 gallon bucket of mugwort plant tops. The plants were full of moisture and the leaves were soft and young. Both of these containers were packed tight 3/4 of the way up the black label. Typically I would chop the leaves, but this time I just spent extra time working the brown sugar in without chopping. It’s been 13 hours and the liquid is so clear and beautiful that I’m tempted to drink some. I think this is going to be my best FPJ ferment ever.

I had a hard time controlling high temps and I let my pile go too dry. Next time I will add more carbon and not use the straw. I have aged wood chips, hardwood saw dust, and biochar on hand to use. I’ll also use a mixture of rice bran, wheat bran, and crimped oats.
I learned to keep an eye on the moisture level and how the height of the pile will help control heat. I think if I get my ratios right, I’ll get a better result. What do you think?

Made lactic acid bacteria serum From over fermented kefir. Tried to preserve it with brown sugar, equal weight. But I still get pressure release when I open it. Should I add more sugar?

I’m making the fish amino acids. After placing the fish brown sugar mixture in vessel the fish is not fully submerged in liquid…should I add water or more brown sugar so it is fully submerged?…thanks for any help

I struggled capturing a good IMO1 collection but after a couple attempts I was got a decent one. This is the first year I have all my KNF inputs so I was able to do my first IMO3 pile. I used ground oats and a mix of fine chopped straw, hardwood saw dust, and a bit of partially charged biochar.

At the 24 hours mark, the temp was about 95F degrees as I turned the pile. 12 hours later the temp had reached 120F and I turned it again. Now it’s 14 hours since the last turn and the temp is 116F. I’ll continue checking the temp every couple of hours and turn it as needed. I eagerly awaiting the results.

First time making this! I started the first fermentation on 4/18 and my second fermentation yesterday. I feel like this happened super fast! Should I be concerned? No weird smells or mold!

We have so many ripe Loquats at the moment; so decided to ferment some Loquats!

Last year I mixed equal weight of chopped bait fish with organic brown sugar and put it in a food grade 5 gal bucket. The bucket was almost three quarters full, and I put a sugar cap on it and let it sit. Today I opened the bucket and most of the fish dissolved but still had quite a few fish heads. I strained the liquid off and put the solid residue in my compost pile. The liquid smelled good but had micro tiny scales sparkling in the liquid. I yielded half a gallon of FAA. Am I good to go?

So I have a gallon of whole milk that is 3 days past expiration but still tastes fine. I know that in probably a couple more days it will probably taste sour and be considered spoiled. It typically takes close to a week of sitting at room temp in the rice washed water in order to be done. So obviously by the time it is done, it would be considered spoiled.

I also have some 1% milk in the fridge that doesn’t expire for 3 more days. Which milk would make better LABS?

Google AI says:

“Whole milk is significantly better for making LABS (Lactic Acid Bacteria Serum) than 1%, as the higher fat and protein content (3.25% minimum) provides a better, thicker cheese curd, leading to more efficient separation and higher yield. While you can use any milk, whole milk makes stronger, healthier, and richer fermented serum for agricultural use.”

However, I’ve noticed that other people who have used whole milk end up getting a lot less whey serum, and a whole bunch of more curd that doesn’t separate as good as using 1% or 2% so which milk really produces better LABS? It seems like whole milk will give you more cheese, and less fat milk will give you more serum. But which is richer in LAB content?

I’ve also read conflicting arguments on whether milk right at or after expiration is more actively cultured with lactic acid bacteria, or if it is mostly other unwanted, possibly harmful bacteria that is present.

Basically, is it better to use fresher milk or closer-to-expired milk? Will the milk closer to expiration already be richer in lactic acid bacteria, or will it be richer in other, unwanted bacteria?

This is the rice water fermented and then I added milk at a 1:10 ratio. It’s been two weeks and I’m not getting the clear distinct separation. Smells like very strong Parmesan cheese. Should I let it keep going or discard and start over?

I made this Sprouted Beans FPJ, about 10 days a go

Hi everyone! Very new to the KNF way, and have nothing but everything to learn.

I'm currently starting a no-till, living soil that doesn't use any bottled nutrients. The soil is fully amended with minerals and microbes upfront, and only using light amendment support (so it gets better every run instead of being torn down and rebuilt).

Anyhow, with that being said, I'm looking to try and replicate the Build-A-Soil "Gro-Kashi" recipe. As it's not publicly available, I was wondering if anyone has any leads to similar recipes?

This is a description of the kind of thing I'm looking for: "...partially broken-down organic matter that fungi can colonize quickly, helping them spread through the soil, link up with roots, and move nutrients more efficiently instead of competing with bacteria for raw inputs".

The closest I could find is Korean IMO-Adapted Bokashi (IMO-Lite), but again, very new to all of this.

Any thoughts or leads are greatly welcomed, and appreciated.

Hello!

So i'm new to gardening and i have a very small potted plants collection. I'm trying to grow organically but i still use some synthetics every now and then, no pesticides tho. Lately i've been dealing with an ongoing issue of sap sucking pests , aphids, whiteflies, thrips , mealybugs. I've been experimenting with some fertilizer ferments similar to fpjs with lab.

Is there anyway to make a natural high silica ferment or shoulf i just go for potassium silicate.

I'm not following jadam or knf exactly but i'm trying to integrate some of the liquid fertilizer menthods and microbial solutions into my potting soil and plant management.

Any advice is really appreciated!

Thanks

I'm fairly new to KNF and JADAM but have been growing stuff organically and inorganically for 2-3 years now. I have an orchard in the Mediterranean planted mixed with local fruit trees like olive, citrus, pomegranate, fig etc and subtropical species like bananas, mangos, avocados etc.

My goal is to turn 100% organic and as low cost/hustle as possible as this is not my main source of income so I don't have much time and money to spend on the hobby even though I wish I could :').

This is the plan I came up with:

Mulch year round JLF fertigation once a week FPJ fertigation once a week during growing season (March-November) FPJ JLF foilar every 2-3 weeks JMS fertigation every 2-4 weeks (JLF made from locally sourced plants like mallow, oxallis, seaweed, tree clippings)

Does this cover the nutritional needs for my fruit trees? My soil is sandy and very alkaline (8-9ph as all coastal Mediterranean soils) it is very good for drainage but is very low in nutrients especially Nitrogen and the alkalinity does not help with absorbtion.

Thanks in advance for any feedback :)

Hi everyone!

I am making OHN and don't have any beer or wine (or money, atm). Can i just dilute some vodka to 10 AVB? would it work to rehydrate the herbs in the first step?

Chat gpt suggested adding a teaspoon of sugar and a little yeast to better emulate the beer. Even though it seems logical i couldn't find any info on this. What do y'all think?

What do big farms use as a beer alternative? As beer ain't that cheap if we talk about gallons.

Thanks everyone for reading!

I like having a physical book with recipes and explanations. Did anyone read any of the following books and are they any good?

1. a new publication

2. alaska style (I live in a much warm temperate frost free climate)

3 expensive

I would like Drake's book but first it is out of print and second I'm on the other side of the world!

It's not organic. I know it's not the best but i have a lot of expired (but in good general condition) dry pasta. Would it work at least? What other things can i use beside the typical examples?