Bokashi experiences - what's yours?

yoycetobe

Hi

I've got my bokashi bucket as we're in a flat at the moment but we're moving to a house and I wanted to to get started in composting. Ours is under the sink and so far it's not smelling nasty or putting me off.

(I got mine because I couldn't believe how much stuff I was putting in the bin that could be composted!!!!) :j

twinklystar

hello again all, i decided to make my own bokashi bran with em-1 and molasses hopefully its turned out ok i darn't open it yet as theres still 2 more weeks to go but if it works i'll be chuffed, if it doesn't then i'm doomed,i've also tried sawdust and oats.
the bokashi bins the council sent me were the blackwall ones with the black lids there is a plastic paddle inside that looks like a plastering tool easy enough to make with old lids i'd just use a empty bottle bottom and squash it to get the air out.
hanging baskets ,pots , even woven plastic bags can be filled with soil to grow stuff in. i have a old baby bath with herbs growing in it.
i love experimenting.

rubberdubber

Hi
Im using a bokashi system that I bought from bokashibucket and have started to add it to my wormcity wormery (in small handfuls) you are all right though, the worms seem to love it. Not sure how it works though, as I thought worms don't like acid - onions or citrus, and my bokashi bucket has all of these items.
My worms have buried right into the middle. I hope it doesn't heat up too much

rubberdubber

Hi not sure if this helps - I bought 10kg of bokashi bran from bokashibucket.co.uk and it was £57.85 delivered = £5.78 per kg which is pretty cheap.
I know it carries a flat rate of £7.95 so the more you buy then the cheaper the postage come.

lorien

Bought my bins after Christmas, first one was awful, smell was vile made me wretch every time I opened it, but I put it in the compost heap and when I looked in recently, smell gone and rotting down well.

Second two buckets proving more successful, chopping everything small, making sure I push the contents down well and keeping the lid on. Also put a layer of bran in the bottom on a piece of kitchen towel. When the bin is open it doesn't really smell (there's fish and raw chicken scraps in there!) but the fluid that drains off is a bit pongy.

One definite tip is to make sure the tap is firmly tightened as mine fell out when the bucket was 1/2 full. Used a cork to block the hole until the bin was emptied. It worked OK but was a bit difficult to remove each time I went to drain the bin. Also I always wear rubber gloves to drain the bin because I found if the liquid got on my skin, the smell lingered....

twinklyrach

I really like mine! I cope with the smell ok (maybe I just have a strong stomach) and the liquid is a good drain cleaner.

My only issue is that the instructions recommended to break it all up to go in the compost bin... but mine comes out in one great big soggy compacted lump that's really hard to break up - even when I've been using the tap to drain off the liquid. Any ideas? It doesn't seem to rot down all that quickly either

takadi

Hi, I'm glad I found this forum to talk about Bokashi, I've been thinking about it, but I have alot of questions and there isn't much discussion going on out there.

So first things first

Making your own bokashi wheat bran calls for buying the starter culture called "EM" separately, but is there a way you can inoculate your own culture? From my instincts, I feel that the process is similar to making compost tea.

Can you keep adding fresh food waste to the bin or do you have to let the whole thing ferment completely before you add new stuff? Also, do you have to keep adding new bokashi wheat bran culture to the pile or can the previous fermented material be used to continue the culture (sort of like yogurt)?


Also, I've been inspired by the bokashi bucket to make a compost bin where I can drain all the "drippings" from a spigot and have ready made compost tea. So far for materials, I have a large circular plastic trash bin and a spigot I could install at the bottom, but what could I used as the filter thing at the bottom to drain away the liquid similar to the bokashi bucket? Hell, while I'm this adventurous, I'm wondering if I could just build my own bokashi bucket complete with spigot and filter as well.

Btw, all the Bokashi equipment in the US is so expensive, it really !!!!es me off that they would sell a plastic bucket for 100 dollars

nodwah

Hi tadaki,
I can't answer most of your questions, but as for filling the bucket, just add your kitchen waste every day or as you have it with some bran and keep squashing it down until the bucket is full. Then leave it to mature for 2 weeks and meanwhile start another one going.

I'm having a bit of trouble with mine as I think the bran has gone off and also the lid of the buckets is so tight that I can't actually get it on. I was going to try cling film!

Solomon_Broad

Here are my tips for successful bokashi:

1. Use enough bran. It's nigh on impossible to use too much, and if in doubt, add a little extra. If you add meat/fish/dairy, use some extra then too.
2. Don't put big lumps in. If you put a whole cabbage in there, obviously that will take longer to rot down than a sprout. Chop things up where necessary to make sure that there is a large enough surface area for the bacteria to work on.
3. Squash it down well. I use an old Pot Noodle pot for the squashing - it's wide enough to have an effect, tall enough so that you don't get bran all over your fingers, and small enough to use at the bottom. I did use an old jam jar, but figured it wasn't a good idea to put pressure on glass like that.
4. Keep the lid sealed tight. Any air in the system will prevent it from working properly. If you want to go all out, fill a large carrier bag with rice, or something similar to that, and put that on top of the layer of bran on the top of the contents.
5. Drain it regularly. Depending on what you put in, you might get hardly any or loads of liquid. It's best to check it every couple of days, because allowing the liquid to build up will really increase the smell. Pour it down the drain to use it to clean them, or dilute it and use it as plant feed. Don't try to store it though.
6. Keep the bin(s) at room temperature. If it gets too cold, it will slow the bacteria down, and start to rot, as opposed to pickle.
7. The smell should be vinegary/fruity. It's strong, but not unpleasant. If it smells bad or rotten, throw the contents away and start again, and use more bran.
8. You can add anything organic to the bin - meat, fish, dairy, eggshells, etc. But denser stuff like eggshells and bones will take a very long time to rot down. The meat on the bones will vanish long before the bones will.
9. You can add the resultant "compost" to a compost bin, or dig it into the garden. Either way, buy it deep, as the smell will attract vermin. It rots down really quickly, once it's in the environment, but until it does, try to keep it as covered as possible.

Hope this helps a few people.

natspencer

I have been using the Bokashi, and have perservered as I believe in the ethos. I am now giving up with Bokashi as it is not pleasant.
I have found that the tie to break the food waste down is much longer than advertised, everything is still easily recognisable after 6 weeks. I have to empty out bin one before it has broken down because bin 2 is full, and it stinks!

Bokashi, great in theory, rubbish in practice. Not for the weak stomached!