Making Bokashi – The Saga Continues
Finally decided to get my rear in gear today with the bokashi experiment. It has been almost 1 month since I made my bokashi mix, so it’s definitely time to take the next step – drying out the bokashi!
I was quite worried about this stage to be totally honest. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as smell goes, nor was I sure where I might spread out this mixture so as not to offend my wife or attract the attention of my curious cats. I ended up finding a solution I’m very happy with. I just happened to have some decent sized pieces of press-board that were left behind by the previous owner of the house. I’ve been meaning to throw a bunch of this stuff out, but I’m really glad I’ve found a great use for it!
I put a garbage bag down on top of it then dumped out the contents of my ziploc bags. Next I spread the material out as evenly (and as far out) as possible to help with the drying process. I then moved some tubs from the top shelf of a free-standing shelving unit I have in my basement, and placed the tray on top. Aside from being out of the way, this location has the added advantage of being quite close to a ceiling air vent so that should really help speed up the drying time. I felt the material a few minutes ago (only a couple hours after spreading it out) and was amazed by how dry it is already, although I will certainly need to continue moving it around so that the lower materials are able to dry as well.
Now on to the smell… 😆
Yeah, it is certainly strong! I won’t say it is an overly unpleasant odour – it is actually quite a sweet scent, but almost sickly sweet. I’ll certainly be able to tolerate it, and my fingers are crossed that my wife won’t mind either (she works out in the basement, so we shall see!).
I’m actually REALLY happy I made the quantity I did – it has worked out to be the perfect amount in every way and should still provide me with enough to last a decent amount of time (hopefully long enough for me to create another batch).
Anyway, thats all for now. Shouldn’t be too long now before I’m able to start creating a bokashi bucket!
[tags]bokashi, friendly microorganisms, effective microorganisms, em, bokashi bucket, composting[/tags]
Written by Compost Guy on February 1st, 2008 with
4 comments.
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Compost Guy
#1. February 3rd, 2008, at 10:06 PM.
You’re gonna love having a functioning bokashi bucket. You should throw a compost party on bokashi inauguration day. Although I have no idea what a compost party is, exactly, think of the possibilities!
Next time I make bokashi, I’m making it in ziplock bags like you did. It’s smart, and I’m sure, very handy. One big bag is kind of a pain in the patootie. I’m guessing it might cook faster in little bags, too.