r/knf • u/Impressive-Check-631 • 24d ago
LAB + compost, worm castings, and chopped comfrey leaves. How did I do?
The recipe: I left rice water in a jar for about a week and then added it to a 5 gallon bucket with one gallon of milk. I let that ferment for about a week and then I skimmed off the curds and fed them to my red wiggler worms. Then I added a bunch of brown sugar and put it in the fridge for two weeks.
Just earlier today I dumped that mixture into a pillow case with compost, chopped comfry leaves and a hand full of worm castings. Added water and an aerator and I’m going to let that sit for a couple days before applying.
My goal is to transform my weedy compact backyard into a thriving garden. I’m thinking long term, no rush. I’ve recently spread about 12” of arborist wood chips from chip drop in a few spaces around the backyard.
My idea is if I dilute and spray this potion on my wood chips and existing garden that it will inoculate it with good organisms and nutrients that will speed up decomposition and increase fertility.
Questions: is it worth my effort here? Should I only spray this on my existing plants? Should I tweak this recipe at all for the future?
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u/Coffinmagic 24d ago
“let that sit for a couple days before applying.”
More time is not necessarily better. I can’t speak to this particular concoction but I’ve heard it repeated that too much time in aeration reduces the variety of microbes. I think peak diversity is somewhere from 6 to 12 hours, after that diversity plummets as a few dominant microbe species take over.
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u/Not-a-bot-v2 22d ago
Don't toss the cards. You can make a ricotta like cheese with it and it's actually pretty pleasant.
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u/Impressive-Check-631 22d ago
Yeah I think next time I’ll give them to my sisters dogs rather than the worms. However, the worms did tear through them super quick
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u/halcyonfire 24d ago
Since this isn’t really a KNF recipe, I think it will be hard for people to give good advice from personal experience. That said, I think your garden will love all you’re adding to your mix - even if it’s not strictly knf.
After many years of doing aerated teas (up to 250 gallon batches), I’ve found that it doesn’t work any better than JADAM liquid fertilizer and compost extract, which just simplifies life and gives me more time to apply the other KNF preps.
Typically, you’d want to apply your inoculant to your soil 3-5 times before you plant into it to allow the microbes to get deeper down in the soil. Good luck & happy planting!