Bokashi
What is Bokashi?
Bokashi is an alternative to the standard type of composting you are probably familiar with. The technique was invented in by Japan by Professor Terou Higa. Bokashi actually means 'fermented organic matter' in Japanese. Rather then composting you will actually be fermenting your kitchen waste. When you look at your fermented waste it won't appear to broken down like it would in compost. It will just look like it's been pickled.
The process uses wheat bran mixed inoculated with a EM (Effective Microorganisms) to break down kitchen waste. The EM is a mixture of three types of microbes - yeast, phototrophic and lactic acid bacteria. Here's a way to make your own self-sufficient EM for use with newspaper instead of bran. Below concentrates on using the commercialy bought bran method.
One of the main advantages over traditional composting is that you can compost meat and dairy waste. It's also a much faster process.
How to do it
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Start by adding your waste to a bokashi bucket. Bokashi buckets are basically buckets with air tight lids. They also have a tap at the bottom for the draining of whats known as bokashi Juice. You can make your own if you are handy. It's a good idea to use two buckets. Once the first bucket is full you can start using the other one.
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Next sprinkle on some Bokashi culture mix. It's important that the mix completely covers the waste. This process is repeated until the bucket is full. Once full you leave for about 2 weeks. Keep the lid air tight at all times. Try not to sneak a peak at the bokashi. You'll be letting air into mix.
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Regularly drain off the bokashi juice. This juice is great for your plants. Just dilute it down 100:1 - it's strong stuff. If you don't drain this you can spoil the fermentation process.
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If the process was successful the bokashi should smell like sweet pickles. After 2 weeks it's time to bury the bokashi. Ideally it needs to be buried about 8 inches deep. Make sure to mix soil into bokashi before covering with more soil. This will help things break down quicker.
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If you dig through the soil in around a month everything should be broken down. You can dig this up and use on your vegetables and garden.
More Info
- Well fermented bokashi should look like it's been pickled. Often a white fuzz can be seen on the bokashi - this is a good sign that fermentation has been successful.
- If your bokashi smells badly or has gone a blue or black colour then the waste is most likely rotting as opposed to fermenting. This could be down to not using enough culture mix, high temperatures, not draining the juice or air getting in.
- Avoid putting bones in. They won't be broken down properly.
