Bokashi experiences - what's yours?

dannahaz

newleaf wrote: »

I got loads of liquid out of the first bin load, but I haven't had any since My bins came with a 'squashing plate' for pushing stuff down,.

Oooh, I've never seen one with a squashing plate! That would be such a good idea.

Are you sure it's a squashing plate and not the filter thingummy that sits at the bottom of the bin? The filter thingummy lifts all the waste up so that the liquid can collect at the bottom.

julbags

My OH made me a "bokashi basher" which is basically a piece of flat wood with a block of wood screwed to it as a handle. He made it small enough so it could be used right at the bottom of the bin and has rounded corners. It works pretty well, the only complaint is that it was made out of an old rough piece of wood and things can sometimes stick to it. I keep it by the back door and put stuff in it outside, we put some fish scraps in it on Sunday, not looking forward to opening it again.

We've still not filled our first bin as we do not have as much food waste as I thought and the basher really compresses everything down. Have had about 500ml of liquid of it already which I've put down the sink, will eventually try it diluted as plant food.

BeefyGrowler

julbags wrote: »

My OH made me a "bokashi basher" which is basically a piece of flat wood with a block of wood screwed to it as a handle. He made it small enough so it could be used right at the bottom of the bin and has rounded corners. It works pretty well, the only complaint is that it was made out of an old rough piece of wood and things can sometimes stick to it. I keep it by the back door and put stuff in it outside, we put some fish scraps in it on Sunday, not looking forward to opening it again.

We've still not filled our first bin as we do not have as much food waste as I thought and the basher really compresses everything down. Have had about 500ml of liquid of it already which I've put down the sink, will eventually try it diluted as plant food.

To solve your sticking problem you could cover the basher with cling film or be even greener and use an old plastic bag - no need to clean the basher :T

newleaf

dannahaz wrote: »

Oooh, I've never seen one with a squashing plate! That would be such a good idea.

Are you sure it's a squashing plate and not the filter thingummy that sits at the bottom of the bin? The filter thingummy lifts all the waste up so that the liquid can collect at the bottom.

Yes, quite sure. It's a solid black rectangle of plastic, about 6'' x 3'', with a handle.
I also have the filter thingummy, which is larger, orange, and full of holes.

nodwah

I emptied my first one into the compost bin and was very surprised to see almost everything looked just like it did the day it went in the bokashi. There were bit of toast crust quite obvious for example. I had put one lot of chicken skin and bones in but I didn't delve too much to see if it was still there.

Someone reassure me that it's all going to compost. It did all have big patches of white fungus growing over it so at least there was something going on.

newleaf

Yes, it will disappear quickly once it goes into your main bin

minimoneyme

Hi,
This is a really great thread, I've been thinking about bokashi for months but have always been put off by the initial costs.
Also I have a large family and we have a lot of waste, will I fill up the bins too quickly and not have enough 'resting' time? or can I decant the 'resting' bin into another container in the mean time?
I've been searching Google and the bins seem to be in the £50 - £60 range anybody know where I can get them cheaper?

thanks for any help.

BeefyGrowler

http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/in_your_area/in_your_area.html
Enter your postcode in the box and then follow to 'additional bins'

I picked a pair with bokashi bran for £22

ChasingButterflies

Hi there,

I was wondering if I could ask a (daft!) question!!!

Is this better to be stored inside? - I take it if I kept it in the garage (on a sheving unit)I might attract more that the resident field mouse?! I say resident - I haven't seen him/her just the remains of the bbq cover/kids foam balls etc!

Also the liquid that is produced - that can be diluted and used as plant food? does anybody know if there is anything it shouldn't be put on?

I was looking at these last month and the only thing that stopped me was the price - £60 was a bit steep £25 I can handle!!

Interesting to see that there are people with more than 1 compost bin - we were trying to avoid that but that may be on the cards too!

Our current problem is that we have a compost tumbler - which is supposed to run on a 3 week cycle - so I have a black bin full of apple cores etc in the back garden just now with a makeshift lid ready to go in when the next lot of compost is ready... we are well into wk3 and it is not there yet!

Thanks for a great thread - hubby will be so pleased :rotfl:

minimoneyme

BeefyGrowler wrote: »

http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/in_your_area/in_your_area.html
Enter your postcode in the box and then follow to 'additional bins'

I picked a pair with bokashi bran for £22

Thanks for this, unfortunately my council isn't taking part
However, encouraged by the enthusiasm in this thread I've taken the plunge and ordered a set thru Blackwall for £50 + £5 p+p plus a free gift of either a vented kithen caddy or a tap adapter that somehow saves water.

They said that the bins should be plenty big enough even for a large family and if need be I can empty them earlier thatn the two weeks resting time - so we'll see.
I can't wait now till they get here! :j