Have you tried composting? It is hard getting the right ratio of browns and greens and then having to turn it all the time to incorporate oxygen. Or were you never able to try traditional backyard composting because you live in an urban environment? What if I told you that there was a compact composting method that did not require any occasional turning and that it worked anaerobically, without oxygen? Bokashi is a Japanese compost method that works by fermenting your food scraps.
Benefits of bokashi:
Compact. It is great for apartments, balcony gardens
It is faster than regular compost
You can add dairy, meat, and bones
Bokashi. It means to blur in Japanese. I first learned about bokashi from my Japanese mother. When I started gardening, bokashi came naturally to me. All the food scraps disappear into the soil, and the lines get blurred because it is no longer what it was. As it returns to the earth, it turns into high powered nutrients and fertilizes your plants, participating in the full cycle of your garden.
Dr. Teruo Higa from Japan discovered EM, or effective microorganisms. That is the secret of bokashi. EM includes lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and phototrophic bacteria. Bokashi bran is inoculated with EM, and that will be used to ferment your food scraps. Microorganisms is an essential part of our eco system and by introducing this to your garden, you can have better results than relying on chemical fertilizers. As any good gardener knows, having better soil is what keeps the plants happy and strong. Think of them as like vitamins for your garden. With bokashi, we are feeding the microorganisms in the soil and in turn, boosting your plants growth.
How to Bokashi:
1. Put food scraps in your bokashi bucket. It would be best if your food scraps are cut up in smaller pieces.
2. Add bokashi bran in the bucket and evenly and coat the food waste with the bokashi bran.
3. Put the lid on and seal tightly.
4. Every day, add food scraps.
5. White mold is a true sign that your bokashi is working. It looks like white fluffy clouds. Your food should look like food, nothing breaks down in the bucket.
6. Check to see if you have any bokashi tea coming out of the spigot. Once you do, drain the liquid every day every day or every other day, you do not want the liquid to accumulate too much in the bucket and run the risk of ruining your bokashi. Save the bokashi tea in a bottle. Use one tablespoon of bokashi tea and dilute with one gallon of water to use as fertilizer. Never use the bokashi tea directly, it is too acidic. Alternatively, you could dump it in your sink as all-natural drain cleaner. Just dump it in the sink before you go to sleep and let it sit overnight.
7. After your bokashi bucket fills up, you will want to wait 2 weeks. During the 2 weeks, do not open the lid, but continue to drain the bokashi tea. Once it has been 2 weeks and your bucket has properly fermented, make sure you drain the spigot one more time before you open the lid. You can dig a hole/trench in your raised bed and bury it in your soil.
Trouble shooting:
If your bokashi smells bad, something went wrong. You can bury this in your garden as it and it may take a little longer to compost. Alternatively, you can dump it in your outdoor compost bin and add browns to go with it.
If you see any green mold, you can try to save it by adding more bokashi bran. What you do not want to see is a lot of green mold, because it will overtake the good mold in your bokashi bucket.
