Joe Lorusso

I think lactose only exists in milk from mammals.  Use human milk if you don’t want a cow or goat to get milked.  Also, i’m pretty sure bones come from animals too.

I was taught to use the highest grade sugar you can afford or what’s available to you.  The best is muscavato / Demerara the worst is white sugar.  “Dark” brown sugar has more molasses put back in than light brown.  Follow the stirring and extraction steps diligently!

Lime would kill your biology, but it isn’t necessary because at 1:500, FPJ should barely effect your pH reading. Something else might be going on.

Thank you! I’ll try the bucket with holes method after a 1 day JMS soak. My 7 year old son can’t wait to pee in the bucket, he’s very inspired by these natural farming methods.

I’d like to add that excessive heat will greatly shorten shelf life, so keep your inputs out of hot garden sheds and greenhouses.

Did you let the rice wash water develop the “sweet” change in the smell?

In master Cho’s book it does state that a small amount of “bad guys” will be outcompeted by the “good guys”. You will know when you get to the IMO 3 stage for sure.

I remember master Cho stressing that a true FPJ is from new growth from live plants only. This insures you are getting plant growth hormones and active enzymes. If you are trying to capture the minerals from the sea, you could probably add some wild harvested sea weed to an IMO 4 pile to replace the SEA water you are lacking.

As long as the areas aren’t under water for a period of time you should try it. Otherwise go up in elevation if you can to avoid anaerobic conditions. You can also collect from any other undisturbed area so you will have diversity in your collections.

You still might want to add sugar so you do not end up with alcohol.