February 20, 2024
Mountain Microorganisms: MM Soild and Liquid
Today Glen gave us a lesson on MM (Mountain Microorganisms) Solid. We have been curious to learn about this because it is the basis for of all of the fertilizers on the farm such as the Bokashi.
One day, Glen realized that the boys had mistaken the MM Solid for Bokashi fertilizer, and they had used it all up. Glen sat all of the boys down to have a serious talk with them about labeling the barrels well and being aware of which barrel is MM Solid. Glen told the boys, "the farm is nothing without MM Solid," and on that day we all realized the importance of MM Solid!
The process of making MM Solid all begins by collecting microorganisms from a mountain or forest where the land had not been burnt or fertilized with chemicals. This needs to be collected in the wet season and from a diverse, shaded forest area. The microorganisms should be collected from a spongy area. They first move away the top layer of litter to find white fungi roots or mycelium below. They collect about 2 pounds of this.
Then when back at CAO, they feed these 2 pounds of mountain microorganisms so that they multiply and grow. They put the two pounds of MM in a 5 gallon bucket, mix it with 1 or ½ liter of molasses, 1 gallon of water, ½ sack of corn meal, ¼ sack of rice hulls. This makes the seed of MM.
As the MM is further multiplies, it is always a 10 to 1 ratio. So, they feed the 2 pounds of MM with 20 pounds of “food.” The food for the microorganisms is carbohydrates, sugars, and fiber. The recipe for the MM solid is:
2 sacks of ground cornmeal
1 sack of rice hulls
3 gallons of molasses
15 gallons of water
These are the measurements per barrel. When they use the electric mixer, they can do three barrels at a time so they triple the recipe measurements. First, they mix the corn meal and the rice hulls together. And then when it’s mixed, they start adding the molasses to give it the sugar. Then we add the water. After mixing these materials together, you know it is wet enough when you can squeeze it into a ball, and it does not fall apart. They then transfer this material into the barrels, and someone walks on top of the barrel to pack it down to get all the air out because this is an anaerobic process.
This is what the MM Solid Finished product looks like. It actually smells delicious from all of the molasses and cornmeal
The MM solid is then used to make Bokashi and MM liquid. MM liquid is like a tea. A porous bag of MM Solid is left to soak in a barrel with water, molasses, and kefir. This liquid MM is added to plants to feed and restore the natural microorganisms that the soil needs to provide nutrition to plants. It is what Ismael sprays on the plants with his spray pump. At CAO they call this MM liquid or MM simple but on other farms they call it biol in Spanish.
And with that we finally solved the puzzle. That is MM solid!
February 8, 2024
Liquid Mountain Microorganism Fertilizer
In the afternoon, Ismael, the oldest and most experienced student at CAO, taught me about the organic fertilizers they produce and apply at the farm. Ismael can often be found with a fertilizer pump that he uses to add liquid fertilizer to the plants, so I asked him what was in it.
Ismael preparing and applying the organic liquid fertilizer
He brought the ingredients of the organic fertilizer to show me.
The first ingredient is MM liquid (Pictured in one of the Pepsi bottles above)
The second is kefir (3 tablespoons) (* Kiefer is like yogurt on steroids. Yogurt typically has 5 to 9 different strains of beneficial live bacteria whereas Kiefer typically has 30 to 50). (Pictured in the other Pepsi bottle above).
The third ingredient is water
This type of fertilizer is applied to the leaves or foliage of the plants to make the plants stronger and more resilient.
February 21, 2024
Learning By Doing: Experimenting with Biochar
Another project Glen has recently started working on is making biochar, which is a great soil additive and is also great for growing more microorganisms. The students experimented with making a batch of biochar on the farm. Glen bought a large pot, and we filled it with sawdust. The pot was placed inside a barrel cut in half where a fire could be contained. The students kept a fire going underneath the pot and we waited for biochar to be made!
The attempt to make biochar
However, the tin pot was not strong enough for this experiment and a hole burned through the bottom. Because too much oxygen was let in, the sawdust turned into ashes rather than biochar! Glen laughed and said next time he will buy a stronger pot. Glen's philosophy is learning by doing and all of these experiments are a hands-on way to learn. This is a refreshing way to learn and be able to laugh and improve from mistakes.
They will try again with a stronger pot in order to add to their mountain microorganisms and bokashis.
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