This is draft for speech in 2nd Lactic Acid Bacteria Conference at Leyte State University.
Note: LAB is Lactic Acid Bacteria or Lacto bachilli
Introduction
Let me introduce myself first.
My name is Kotaro Nishiki and I just happened to live just 5km from here.
I have a small piggery and poultry.
I'm retired and Hobby farmer.
I was a businessman and no scientific or agricultural back ground.
I moved here on 1996 since then I raise pig and chicken.
Just like any body dream of, after retiring, In country side, raise animals and plow field and plant vegetables, every thing self sufficient.
So far only piggery and poultry are successful.
Vegetables are defeated by insects. I need to build some thing like green house.
There are thousand way of farming, that means
there is no royal road for farming.
As a hobby farmer, farming should be enjoyable.
If it make pollution and too hard work, that not for me.
So I look for a way which will meet my selfish demand.
So far, my finding is "Control Bacteria".
With controlling Bacteria You can grow healthy pig and chicken without smell and flies.
When I talk about bacteria that include mold and yeast
which work similar way.
Through fermentation process, Bacteria doing a great job.
How to Use LAB on Piggery and Poultry
I make LAB myself for my use. its not making, I just catch LAB from the air.
Catching LAB on your spot is very important, because LAB you catch are
strongest LAB in your area, it is already localized and domesticated.
If Scientist they should know name of LAB which they are using and must segregate from other bacteria.
But for us, it is OK with no name or mixed as far as it going to work.
Difficult part of study LAB, when we catch particular LAB, while incubations it will take over by other stronger bacteria, so you should very careful when incubate.
But for us, if take over by stronger LAB, it is better, because it become more stronger. As far as it is LAB, we don't mind.
How to Catch LAB
There are many way to catch LAB.
Way I make is boils 200 grams of soybeans until the grains become very soft.
While still very hot, blended it well and add one tablespoon of sugar.
While the soybean is being blending, LAB from the air will already get into the soybean.
After blending (still hot) put the material in a heat resistant container.
Fill the container totally and seal it. The idea is to have no space at all for air to get inside.
Under such anaerobic condition, only the LAB will thrive.
Set aside the jar containing the blend material under ordinary room temperature until it cools.
When it is already cool, put the same inside the refrigerator for one week.
After that period the liquid and the solid portions would have separated.
The liquid will be at the bottom while the solids will be on top.
The liquid at the bottom, is the LAB!!.
The liquid is now the seed of the LAB. This is strained through a cheesecloth to harvest the LAB.
To multiply this, put 200 ml of the lactobacilli in a liters of fresh milk (skimmilk will also do), and put in plastic containers such as Tupperware and seal.
Let this stand under ordinary room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
After that, pass the material through a cheesecloth or "katsa" to strain it.
The liquid obtained is almost pure LAB,
You can multiply the lactobacilli indefinitely by repeating the procedure.
Process of fermentation
Most of bacteria's life span are only around 30 minuets!
When environment fit to certain micro organism, they grow and multiply explosively.
Otherwise they stay dormant or just stay silent. Form of dormant are all different.
LAB dormant with form of egg like hard shell(there is a scientific name),that why they are resistant to high temperature and harsh environment.
In natural environment, fermentation process happening here and there only where environment fit to each organism, so usually take long time, some times longer than our life.
To make it simple, I like to explain process of fermentation using a case when we make organic fertilizer.
When we make organic fertilizer, we should make as short as possible ,so we have to organize fermentation process.
We use organic materials like rice husk rice straw, sow dust, anything organic.
Those materials are covered by hard fiber(lignin, cellulose) so we need some thing to penetrate those hard wall of cell first.
Step 1.
Most of fermentation process start by a group of mold(fungi) to dismantle hard outside cell wall of organic materials with their mycelium.
They eat sugar of material and change to glucose and other form of sugar.
Activate a mold is rather easy, keep moisture around 40% with neutral to little acidic condition.
Many mold(spore) are floating in the air so hardly fail, but if moisture more than 60%, bad mold grow and will fail.
Once mold start to active, materials temperature go up to around 50 degree Celsius.
Step 2.
Now cell wall broken, then group of bacteria start to active to digest inside cell wall.
Especially rice straw, rice husk contain very strong bacteria called bacillus Natto and many others.
Bacteria works hard so temperature go up to around 60 degree Celsius and decline to little alkali condition.
Those bacteria are aerobic, to aerate, we mix material and keep down temperature less than 60 degree Celsius and add water to maintain moisture 60%.
If temperature too high and no air, it will lose all nutrient and fail.
Mixing is very important on this stage.
Bacteria eat sugar and protein then change to glucose and amino acid and also can digest cell wall so shape of material going to decompose.
Step 3.
Material temperature maintain hot then mold, bacteria start die down and heat resistant lacto bachilli start to active.
They also eat sugar, protein and produce glucose, organic acid, amino acid and lactic acid which make condition acidic that will kill all bad bacteria.
LBA is cleaning agent in nature.
This is the most critical point of fermentation because if not enough temperature and lacto bachilli doesn't start active, bad bacteria grow and it will rotten.
It is very useful to add LBA on this stage.
Most of organic fertilizer on the market here are processed up to this stage.
Some are just add LBA to organic material without these process.
Step 4.
When LAB digest their food, temperature going down, then group of Yeast start to grow.
Yeast can grow on acidic condition. On non aerobic condition yeast produce alcohol but in aerobic condition they produce organic mineral compositions, amino acid, vitamin, enzyme, organic acid, all very useful to vitalize plant.
Materials become dry and powder like and most of micro organism become dormant.
Whole process takes at least 2 month.
That product, I call complete organic fertilizer.
Fermentation process is complicated, but it is happening in nature.
Part of Great Circle of life and Micro Cosmos.
Interesting ?
That process make very important materials for plants, animals, especially for human.
Because human can not make some amino acid by their selves which essential for life.
So We should eat more fermented food.
Here in Visaya, I heard there were many fermented food before but I hardly see people eating now.
I think that is one of the reason why many people get sick here.