Composting with Bokashi

GreenFriend, Surya shares her knowledge of Bokashi Composting. She reveals some of her tried and tested top tips and offers a step-by-step guide on how to make your very own Bokashi fermentation system at home.

Bokashi will feed your plants nutrients and micro-organisms which all benefit your plants. If growing vegetables it also strengthens the plants’ immune system against diseases and improves yield.

Until recently Bokashi bins to me sounded like an exclusive “composting system”. It was firstly interesting to discover it is different to wormeries and compost bins in that it FERMENTS and is actually the simplest system to set up.

When I moved house recently, I changed my composting routine as the compost bins were some way down the garden and the paths were slippery. So I easily set up a wormery and Bokashi bin fermentation system in the utility room in a small space. I bought my Bokashi bin online from a local Herefordshire company. It is simply a plastic container with a well fitting lid, drainage at the bottom with a tap to draw off excess Bokashi fluids. There is a second bin for when the first one is full and sitting in its rest period of two weeks.

Recycling with Bokashi is the opposite to composting in the sense that you ‘pickle’ your waste. Bokashi is a Japanese word for ferment, and essentially it works rather like probiotic yogurt. It’s friendly bacteria for your kitchen waste. You can add your waste as you produce it. Your Bokashi Bucket can deal with all sorts of waste — from vegetable peelings to cooked food and those peelings you can’t put into wormeries such as citrus, lemon peels and onion skins, as they are too acidic for the worms . Once the process is finished you end up with soil conditioner and a liquid feed that can be used to feed your plants and to clean your drains too.

There is no need to ‘reinvent the proverbial wheel’ as there are so many informative videos online to show the stages of Bokashi fermentation and trouble shooting. I will include the link to a site at the end for you.

On Blakemere Farm, where I buy the products, the wheat bran is inoculated with beneficial micro-organisms (lactic acid, bacteria, yeasts, photosynthetic organisms, actinomycetes and enzymatically active fungi) and then activated with molasses (sugar and water) to feed them. The whole lot goes into a silage bag and the air is sucked out, and it is left for about 3–4 weeks or so. Then the wet Bokashi is spread out onto a grain dryer floor and allowed to dry and stabilise before bagging.

TOP TIP- Buy some activated Bokashi bran and keep some by. Then add the activated bran to cheaper shop bought bran to increase your supply.

This my simple step by step method for making Bokashi:

1. Add a few inches of kitchen waste evenly to the bin, cut small to give more surface area which is beneficial to the fermentation process.

2. Sprinkle a few handfuls of the bran to activate the Bokashi.

3. Squash down, as you do not want air in the mix. You need to exclude as much as possible to create anaerobic conditions.

4. Keep adding peelings and bran in layers.

5. Undo tap to let off access fluid to dilute and add to your watering system.

6. When full, leave the bin with sealed lid on to let the anaerobic process continue. The aim is to keep the air out to allow the micro-organisms to continue to work efficiently.

TOP TIP: If in doubt add MORE Bokashi not less. On average I use one kilogram bag per 16 litre bokashi tub overall.

After two weeks of fermenting in the airtight container, the Bokashi compost retains all the important nutrients, especially nitrogen which would of been lost. Fermented bio-waste is a basic component for a first-class compost. Add to your compost bins to activate them or put straight into the soil or around the plant roots. Avoid the plant stems and leaves to bring the nutrients and microorganisms direct to the plants.

The fluid drawn off is natural decomposing waste without the unpleasant odours of decay, although once smelt Bokashi fluid with its strong astringent smell is unforgettable. As the waste decomposes it retains all its vitamins and minerals. Some pesticides and other harmful substances are processed in environmentally friendly elements too and eliminated. When watering your plants with the bokashi fluid use a dilution of one part Bokashi fluid to 30 parts water for an excellent fertilizer.

TOP TIP: Use the Bokashi juice as soon as you collect as it does not store well

Here is a reminder of what you can put in your bin:

Fruit and vegetables

Citrus and banana peels

Prepared food

Cooked and raw meat

Cheese

Fish

Yogurt

Eggs

Smaller bones

Coffee grounds

Tea bags

Faded flowers

A small amount of tissues

(Although this is the official list, I do not put in meat products and very little cooked food as rats are known to smell out and cause problems where there is food. Coffee grinds: they can be added, but as they are often not organic and full of chemicals, I chose not to add them to Bokashi.)

DO NOT ADD:

Fluids- vinegar, milk, oil, water

Big bones, ashes and animal faeces

It’s great fun and satisfying, recycling your waste in this way. Recently, when I demonstrated on a Get Growing course, it created much interest and conversation and many questions of course.

It occurred to me, writing this blog, if you wanted to have a go with little investment and even in the smallest of kitchens, you could seal up one small plastic container used for keeping products fresh such as tupperware with the bran and keep closed for 4 weeks, you could drain when open, use the fluid as described and the fermented waste in the soil or compost bins as described earlier.

Reminder LAST TOP TIP: if you have excess Bokashi fluid, pour down drains and septic tanks to keep clean and FREE from harmful bacteria by implementing the beneficial bacteria.

Good luck with your Bokashi bin adventures and here is a useful link:

https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/collections/bokashi-composting

There are some useful Blogs here too and videos to watch.

Happy fermenting!!!

Surya and GreenFriends