Bokashi experiences - what's yours?

Fred_Bear_2

I recently bought two more bins from Tesco Direct and noticed that the thread on the taps was very short. (I didn't notice this on the first two bins I bought last year). To enable the nut to get enough grip I removed the inside washer because it isn't needed - the outside washer provides the seal.

oliveoyl

There's a very good offer on these at Green Gardener... I've just ordered 2 bins + 3kg of bran for £49 inc. delivery.

http://www.greengardener.co.uk/product.asp?id_pc=27&cat=67

penguine

Fred_Bear wrote: »

I recently bought two more bins from Tesco Direct and noticed that the thread on the taps was very short. (I didn't notice this on the first two bins I bought last year). To enable the nut to get enough grip I removed the inside washer because it isn't needed - the outside washer provides the seal.

Thanks for that tip, I'm going to leave off the inside washer next time.

I emptied my first container of bokashi food scraps into the compost bin yesterday, prepared for a hideous smell but it wasn't that bad really. A bit vinegary that's all. I had it very well packed in so it came out in sort of a solid block but I was able to mix it into the rest of the compost pretty easily.

I haven't got any liquid out of either of my bokashi bins yet. I haven't put anything too juicy in them -- it's mostly veg trimmings and the bread crusts that my daughter refuses to eat. So I would say that anyone who doesn't care that much about the liquid fertiliser could just use a couple of regular compost buckets for bokashi if they've got a nice tight-fitting lid.

a11waysindebt

I always add the liquid to my compost bin and have noticed it gets the job done quicker. Once the original Bokashi bin is full I transfer it to 2 buckets for around a month which sit inside each other.

The top air tight bucket with lid has holes in the bottom which allows any surplus fluid to drain off in to the bottom one.

M0rph3u5

Just taken delivery of my 2 bins and bran along with a wormery so will keep you posted of my endeavours.

Firstly made the mistake of emptying my green bin into Bokashi 1 instead of layering! so emptied and layered "less haste more speed".

Have now read 4 pages of google searches on Bokashi FAQs and now think I know what I am doing LOL. Just taken my tea bags out of the oven after cooking fish fingers to make sure they are dried out - how sad is that!

penguine

I've been composting with bokashi for a few months now so thought I would post an update. I'm really pleased so far, first because we have got our rubbish down to one bag a week by composting our food scraps, second because it's making us more aware of what food we throw out so I think we're wasting less, and third because the compost in the bin at my allotment is now breaking down really fast. I take the bokashi bin there once every two weeks. It goes in layered and still recognisable, but by my next visit it has almost entirely broken down.

I don't notice any smell in the kitchen from the bokashi bin. I think the trick is to keep it well compressed, not scrimp too much on the bokashi bran, and not open the bokashi bin too often. We now keep a large lidded crock on the counter for our scraps and it goes into the bokashi bin every day or two. I then mash down the scraps really well with the plunger I got with my bins (see photo at the bottom of this page) and put about a scoopful of bran on top -- sometimes a scoop and a half.

We aren't getting any liquid out of the bottom of our bins but apparently this is nothing to worry about.

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

Hi all, So our third bin is almost ready to stand for a couple of weeks now.

My question is... we buried our first bin under the compost bin. Our second bin has been standing for about two months now because we've not been able to bury it due to bad weather etc. We really need to do something with that now because we'll need it soon.

The garden is just too water logged to dig and I don't think we have enough in our compost to bury it in so what can we do with it?

Also, just a note re Penguine's suggestion of using buckets without taps if you don't want the liquid. I don't think that's such a good idea. It takes us a couple of months to fill each bucket and we start to get liquid from about week three. If we don't empty the liquid regualrly when it starts, the bin really, really stinks. In fact when we open the lid to put food in you can smell when there is liquid in there, and that's when it's fresh, it's horrible when it's a few days old, let alone weeks old! I guess, if like Penguine you fill the buckets very quickly it may be acceptable but if, like us it takes months then it isn't an option.

By the way, I know I keep going on about it but my orchids are getting ready to flower for the third time in a row, and one of them has flowers that are as big as my hand! I could never, ever get my orchids to flower before let alone so successfully. They absolutely love the bokahi liquid!

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

penguine wrote: »

I've been composting with bokashi for a few months now so thought I would post an update. I'm really pleased so far, first because we have got our rubbish down to one bag a week by composting our food scraps, second because it's making us more aware of what food we throw out so I think we're wasting less,

Completely agree! We now have less than half a carrier bag of rubbish a week. In fact, our proper kitchen bin is now used as the recycling bin and we have a small container that is used as a proper bin. No smells as there is no food waste in either. It does make me rant when I see our neighbours overflowing bins though!

Like you, we have two small containers which sit on top of the boksahi, one for compostable waste, the other for bokashi waste. We are very, very aware of what we put in them which means we are getting quite good at using left overs. Our fridge looks sad and empty though because it's no longer full of food which will end up being thrown out. I really can't get used to not having a fridge full of food.:rotfl:

We're saving a fortune though, on food and bin bags!

As for the lack of liquid you have Penguine, it depends on what you put in. You said there was a lot of bread, that will absorb a lot of the juice from the fruit. We sometimes get loads of liquid and don't know what to do with it, at other times we get barely enough to feed the plants. It also depends I think on how long you leave it. You;ve said previously that it doesn't take very long to fill your buckets, as I said in my last post it takes a few weeks for our bins to start producing liquid. One tip if you do get liquid is to make sure you use the same container to catch it because it does make the container smell, no matter how hard you clean it!

Glad you're having good results with it too.

topicalcat

I would not worry about the smell, as long as it's the correct pickled type smell. I do shows on behalf of my local council and find the that the smell is only offensive to some people (including Mrs Composter at home), the smell does not bother me. So could be that the smell you worry about is just because you are sensitive to 'pickled' smells rather than any problem with the process.

So when some people say they have no problem with the smell from their bin this could just mean that they are not sensitive to the smell. Someone else with exactly the same bin might say the bin smells. So remember the smell is very subjective.

Also as its an anaerobic process do not worry too much about the volume of liquid (unless you put a lot of gravy & wet stuff in). Its not like a worm bin where you not only want the liquid but have to drain the stuff to stop the worms drowning. If in doubt tip the liquid into the compost bin where it will be a good activater (or down the drain as a drain cleaner if you have drain smells).

Also no need to bury the bokashi under the compost bin. Just tip the contents into the bin and cover, it will get lost in the heap in a short time and pretty soon loose its smell once aerobic activity takes over.

The_Ubiquitous_Mrs_Smith

Thanks Topcalcat,

So I can just dump the stuff in the compost bin and put the lid on? I was under the impression that I had to bury it.

The smell of the bins don't bother me, at worst they smell like pickled onions. The smell of the liquid bothers me though! When it gets left in the bin it makes the bin reak. Once we get rid of the liquid the bin is fine again though so easil;y solved.