Kefir vs LAB
I hear people like Matt Powers talk about how great kefir is and how it's a super digestor ect, I consume it almost daily for it's probiotic benefits, how does kefir do as a protector instead of LAB? Can it replace it or supplement it?
If not, does it have any other uses in gardening / soil restoration / KNF?
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
I just looked up kefir on wikipedia, and it says that "The kefir grains initiating the fermentation are initially created by auto-aggregations of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens and Kazachstania turicensis, where multiple biofilm producers cause the surfaces to adhere which form a three dimensional microcolony."
So, it looks like kefir has lacto in it, albeit maybe a more narrow family than the KNF recipe would culture?
Further down the wikipedia article it says "A complex and highly variable symbiotic community can be found in these grains, which can include acetic acid bacteria (such as A. aceti and A. rasens), yeasts (such as Candida kefyr and S. cerevisiae) and a number of Lactobacillus species, such as L. parakefiri, L. kefiranofaciens (and subsp. kefirgranum[20]), L. kefiri,[21] etc.[9] While some microbes predominate, Lactobacillus species are always present."
Which sort of validates what I was saying, but then with kefir it looks like you are also getting KNF Cleanser (acetic acid), yeasts, and perhaps more, which are all useful and used in KNF.
Overall, I'd say that kefir is great and should be used in a way very similar to the KNF Protectors. It's worth reading the whole article on wikipedia, because it has a lot more information and can help you understand how it fits into KNF better than this brief answer.
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
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Sep 2026
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4 sources
Drake says to use kefir like a KNF protector. It carries lactobacillus plus acetic acid bacteria and yeast. (Office Hours Ep. 117, 15:21)
Protectors work by colonizing first, so bad microbes have to fight through trillions of good ones to get in. (Office Hours Ep. 21, 53:40) Sprayed into the canopy, protectors eat out the disease. The plant grows through bunchy top symptom-free, though the virus is still present. (Office Hours Ep. 30, 13:31)
For reference, the standard LAB is mixed with water at 1:1000. (Student's Manual, Basic Course, p. 18)
The library gives no kefir dilution. It does not say whether kefir replaces or adds to LAB, and it lists no other garden or soil uses for kefir.
Sources
- 53:40 Office Hours Ep. 21 (Mar 2022) — Water-Soluble Calcium, Wood Ash, Filtering FAA · “they colonize you first so bad microbes have to fight through trillions of good ones to reach you.”
- 15:21 Office Hours Ep. 117 (Mar 2024) — Kefir vs LAB, Maltose for Old Seeds, Jadam Sulfur for Rice · “Kefir carries lactobacillus plus acetic acid bacteria and yeast, so use it like a KNF protector.”
- 13:31 Office Hours Ep. 30 (May 2022) — The 9 KNF Solutions, Good vs Bad Microbes, IMO Indoor Collection · “Sprayed into the canopy, the protectors eat out the disease so the plant grows through the bunchy top symptom-free, though the virus is still present.”
- p. 18 Student's Manual, Basic Course · “LAB is mixed with water at a ratio of 1:1000.”
