Bokashi experiences - what's yours?

wasbrokegettingbetter

I have had a bokashi bin going for about two weeks now and have followed all the instructions but as yet have had no liquid out of the tap.
Am I being impatient?
Does it only come after longer fermentation.

Any ideas

Carnation

We gave up on Bokashi because both of our bins leaked around the spigots so we never got any liquid gold and the utility floor was a mess! Was this a design fault or were we unlucky? I am willing to try again this year so will report back on what happens. In Kirklees both the bins and extra bran are on reduced prices.

twinklystar

Treacle_Toes wrote: »

I am about to get my can o worms going again, and I'm also considering getting bokashi bins (£25 for 2 via Essex Council).

I don't have space for a compost bin so I was wondering if I could put the fermented bokashi into the wormery? Is there anything I shouldn't put in if I do this?

Thanks

TT

hi,
i have put every type of fermented dinner going in my wormery and they are thriving they prefer it to ordinary peelings and t bags you'll see what i mean when they get some.
i just break a clump of the fermented bokashi off and put it underneath the top cover they just scoff the lot. even garlic peel, onions ,raw fish they all have to be properly fermented in the bokashi bin though first.

HelsBells74

Carnation wrote: »

We gave up on Bokashi because both of our bins leaked around the spigots so we never got any liquid gold and the utility floor was a mess! Was this a design fault or were we unlucky? I am willing to try again this year so will report back on what happens. In Kirklees both the bins and extra bran are on reduced prices.

I had the same problem with leakage around the tap seal! It stank the kitchen out and has left a revolting looking stain on the floor. I gave up on bokashi after that, although I had been very pleased with the system otherwise. My Dad just gave me two new bins, so I'm about to give it another go with new taps.....fingers crossed. I will, however, be standing the things on some bin bags just in case! ;-)

Miss_Heligan

One of my old gardening colleagues swore by bokashi juice as a treatment for aphids - thought I'd mention it in case anyone fancies trying it and can bear the smell! We tried it last year but it was truly revolting :eek: The place I worked in did bokashi on a large scale and it seemed almost impossible to avoid the bad smells but I think you do need to fire in as much bran as you can afford and keep checking the bins - I had to clean out some bins that had been forgotten and gone off, and I have honestly never smelled anything so bad.

Having said that, the 'good' bokashi was dug into raised beds and got stonking results with veg and flowers (there was no animal products in that lot).

Good luck!

kate83

Miss_Heligan wrote: »

Having said that, the 'good' bokashi was dug into raised beds and got stonking results with veg and flowers (there was no animal products in that lot).

Good luck!

Why the problem with animal products in the bokashi and veg? - surely that's what in blood, fish and bone or bonemeal and that gets put on veg plants

kitaj

I won a kitchen composter in an eco-event at the weekend. That's the good news. The bad news is that it came with a bag of Bokashi which has to be sprinkled over the top of each lot of waste at the rate of '1 or 2 handfuls' each time. When I've used up the free 600g bag that came with it it costs £6.50 to replace with a 1kg bag, plus p+p of £5.00, making it completely uneconomical. :mad:
The Bokashi is apprently a blend of bran, molasses and 'effective Micro-organisms which I supect costs about 3p to produce. Does anyone know of a cheap and cheerful substitute which will effectively do the job of 'fermenting' (their term) the kitchen waste without having to spend my life savings in order to make compost? All ideas gratefully received.......

Penelope_Penguin

Is there anything of any help in the main Bokashi thread I'll add this question to that thread later.

Penny. x

skipton

Carnation wrote: »

We gave up on Bokashi because both of our bins leaked around the spigots so we never got any liquid gold and the utility floor was a mess! Was this a design fault or were we unlucky? I am willing to try again this year so will report back on what happens. In Kirklees both the bins and extra bran are on reduced prices.

Did you get your bins from Kirklees? Do you know if you can just buy the bran?

kyssyn

kitaj wrote: »

I won a kitchen composter in an eco-event at the weekend. That's the good news. The bad news is that it came with a bag of Bokashi which has to be sprinkled over the top of each lot of waste at the rate of '1 or 2 handfuls' each time. When I've used up the free 600g bag that came with it it costs £6.50 to replace with a 1kg bag, plus p+p of £5.00, making it completely uneconomical. :mad:
The Bokashi is apprently a blend of bran, molasses and 'effective Micro-organisms which I supect costs about 3p to produce. Does anyone know of a cheap and cheerful substitute which will effectively do the job of 'fermenting' (their term) the kitchen waste without having to spend my life savings in order to make compost? All ideas gratefully received.......

Search for bokashi on YouTube, there's a couple of videos about making it yourself but you'll still need the EM solution. I also came across a blog for making your own newspaper bokashi without buying EM but I haven't tried it so can't vouch for it. Here's the link if you're interested. Bokashi Composting.