Thanks for the insight into Bokashi. I prefer to use a back yard digesting cone. It allows the food waste to be naturally digested and doesn’t require any powder/mix. I’ve had one for years and have never had to empty it.

By way of intro, we have been composting in outdoor wooden slat bins since last fall. We haven’t done a whole lot by way of maintenance beyond layering kitchen waste (minus meat, and other typical no-no’s) with crumbled dry leaves. We had a very snowy winter here in PA, and a very wet early spring so far. When we went up to see the condition the compost was in, we realized we’d gotten a stinky, steaming, disgusting mess. We hadn’t done a good job of aerating the bins. So, I started searching for solutions for speeding up the process of breaking down the products, and came upon Bokashi. I’ve ordered a Bokashi micro cyclette kit and expect it to arrive soon.

Now my questions: Can I use Bokashi powder in my outdoor bins as a way to deal with the stinking mess we currently have? If so, how would I go about doing this? Further, would it be a good idea to transfer the the fermented contents of my Bokashi collection pails into my outdoor composters and continuing the composting cycle there rather than burying it in soil? Our intention is eventually to use the compost in our garden, but we’d like to use the outdoor composters as an intermediary step.

Thanks in advance!

Patty

I purchased a 2.2 lb bag of bokash for $12 (~$5.50/lb)
I made a 28 lb batch for approximately $19 (~$0.67/lb) and I believe it to be a fresher, superior product. If I add my labor ($20/hr) for 1 hour it comes to 28lbs/$39= ($1.39/lb)

I’m looking into the effectiveness of “indigenous bokashi” using locally harvested microorganisms, and a “filler material” of newspaper, coffee grounds or peat moss. This would be free but more labor.
One difficulty is quantifying the quality of the product.
I would love to hear more about people’s experiences…

B.

You sure did a nice job summing up the bokashi stuff. It seems like people are starting to understand it. I would like to add that “bokashi” can be made with just about any high carbon material. This can include any dried plant material (leaves, grass, etc.). You can also use bokashi as a mulch and soil conditioner. When making it, you can add in mineral powders, fish meal, etc to add some nutrients to the mix.

You might want to look into many of the application of EM1 itself. Getting the product into Canada is tricky though because of importation restrictions!

Regards,
Eric
Exec. VP EM America

Bentley, the “Compostman” Christie

http://thegreenfingeredphotographer.blogspot.com/2007/11/bokashihelping-you-to-recycle-more.html

I have not yet ordered any bokashi, but have actually been meaning to send you an email!

Thanks again for a link. You have summed up the issues pretty well.

I can offer two responses to your Cons:

1) You’ll need to have a constant supply of Bokashi mix on-hand

You don’t need much. A 1kg bag can last 2 – 4 months. I encourage people to use as little as necessary to make the process work. If it smells rotten or putrefying – add more bokashi.

4) Even though it can be done on a small-scale, the end product needs to be put somewhere (ie. potential winter limitations).

As it is in a sealed container there is no smell, so you can store the bucket inside until the world is ready [warm enough] to receive it. It is probably possible process it inside in a large enough container with some soil and material from your worm bins [including worms].

Worms absolutely love bokashi compost material and breed like crazy in my compost bins.

You wrote the post in October [I don't know why I didn't see this before now:-)]. Do you have your bokashi yet?