What makes fermentation "wild"?

[StrongUnionBreath]

What makes fermentation wild?

Is is that the micro organisms from your surroundings are used the fermentation process? (instead of a culture starter)
or
Is it a (fairly) uncontrolled fermenting process? (like open crock)
or
both

Personally I really like the first definition of wild, but I do not believe in the whole "bloom" thing. If there is mold on top of the brine then there is mold underneath. The anaerobic environment of the brine, does not prevent a mold from accessing the content underneath; the mold hyphae transports oxygen and nutrients from/to the top.
Maybe the acidity/salinity of the brine protects the contents from mold, but then the mold would not be growing on top.
The sauerkraut survivor research seems to back my theory.

Maybe mold in the fermented product is not so bad, it may even work therapeutic on your immune system. For me mold means the batch of whatever is spoiled...

I just started fermenting in a fido jar because that seems to be very effective at keeping the fermentation environment strictly anaerobic. Is this still considered "wild"? What if I inoculate with brine from (my own) sauerkraut?
I am not fishing for approval, just wondering

[Christopher Weeks]

I suspect that you're overly cautious about mold, but I don't honestly think this is a known thing. That said, I read the notion of wild fermentation as being the use of wild organisms. So, using your local flora in a sealed Fido is wild. Doing that same thing with a culture from your last batch is a little less wild -- but it's a designation with shades of grey. I've made meads in which I let it sit in an open crock for a couple weeks with not much fizzing (but some) before I pitched in some commercial yeast. I think of that as not very wild, but not the perfectly sanitized process that is typically depicted.

[WWFSM]

I like the first definition too. I don't see why mold would be needed to make it wild.

I really like Katz style of what wild is, where you take advantage of the invisible world around you, and invite them to create a delicious ferment...with unpredictable results.

In contrast would be a non-wild or controlled ferment, like one where the ingredients are sterilized prior to adding a specific culture.

Or in between where the ingredients contain wild invisible beasties, but a starter culture is added that overpowers (or is sometimes overpowered) the local bacteria/yeast/whatever.

But back to mold - I can see how some kinds of mold (I don't think all of them do - but I can't cite my source on that, so I may be wrong) seep into a ferment even when it only looks to be on the surface. But for me, it's not something to seek out or avoid. Mold comes or it doesn't. If it's black or smells bad, I toss it. If not, I taste it. Sometimes it's yummy, but mostly not so in vegi ferments. Most mold is benign to humans, some is harmful and some is extremely helpful. Oh, and some is delicious, I guess I seek those out, but I buy them, like koji, not catch them from the wild. Or blue cheese...mmmm...cheeeeeesssseeeee.

I've tried all sorts of different vessels from fancy airlocks to open vats where I forgot to put a towel over it. I've only had mold grow on two occasions.

The first time I got surface mold was while making miso - which includes koji mold as an ingredient, so I'm sure that's why it also grew on the surface as well as on the inside.

The second time was actually a series of airlock ferments - different contents, different jars, all clean jars (ie, soapy water, clean water, bleach wash, boiling water - because I didn't know what was in the jars before, I wanted to make sure they didn't have any undesirables), all put up in the same week or so but on different days. Most of them, about 8 out of every 10, got surface mould before the end of week two. I also put up some open vats with the leftover ingredients that didn't fit in the airlocks, no mold grew on them.

I've never gotten surface mold in an open vat ferment (yet). I read of other people who do get it... but I wonder maybe they don't use as much salt as me, or maybe their water is different, or their method is different, or temperature... or something else?

My usual vegi ferment is pretty wild. I chop veg, layer with salt and maybe spices, weigh it down, cover it with a cloth and leave it overnight or for a few days or until I remember it. Usually the salt makes the vegi cry so there is some liquid in there. Then I add any needed water to make certain the contents are covered, then taste it when I remember, usually a week or 12 later. I don't usually need to add extra water as I go along, because I put so much in near the beginning. I'm also pretty heavy handed with the salt in vegi ferments, as I know I can always rinse or soak it in clear water before eating it if it tastes too salty. Can't tell you why this method doesn't grow mold, but it doesn't for me. Some of my fermentes I keep going 8 months or more, though most last less than 4.