Bokashi Composting
What is Bokashi?
Bokashi is a composting method that is easier and less odorous than the common method of collecting kitchen scraps in a smelly pile. How is it easier? It involves little more than a bucket with a lid and some bokashi cultural mix, and you can collect all the solid organic waste from your kitchen, even meat and dairy scraps. How is it less odorous? The bokashi composting method produces less unpleasant odor because of its fermentation process, making it an excellent choice for kitchen composting.
Why Choose Bokashi Composting?
First, convenience. All you need is a bokashi bucket and some cultural mix and you can start making rich bokashi compost that will enrich your garden soil. Second, odor. Bokashi composting does not have the rotten smell you would expect when collecting kitchen waste in a sealed container. The bokashi method is anaerobic, meaning no oxygen, but the inoculant is a cultural mix of bacterias that works to breakdown the waste quickly. It gives off a mild yeasty and not unpleasant smell. Third, cost. Because you need so little to make bokashi compost, you will not spend much to get started.
Get Started with Bokashi
You will need a bokashi bucket, also called a bokashi bin. This is simply a good-sized bucket. 5-gallon is a popular size, with a lid that seals tightly. You can choose a snap on lid or, for more convenience, a lid that twists on. The bokashi bucket will collect all the solid organic waste from your kitchen, including meat and dairy waste. After you put waste into your bucket, you'll sprinkle a small handful of bokashi mix on it and seal the bucket back up.
Using the Bokashi Method
Once the bucket is full, it's good to let it remain sealed for a while and continue fermenting, so it is good to have more than one bokashi bucket for rotating. A good system is two buckets and when the second one is full, the first one is ready to be mixed with soil. Bokashi compost can be considered a sort of "pre-compost" because it is too acidic to mix immediately into your garden. You will want to mix it with soil that doesn't have contact with plant roots. Some gardeners mix it into a regular compost pile and this is also a great idea.
Bokashi and Compost Tea
Your bokashi kitchen
composter will create a liquid that needs to be drained off for best results. You'll make your life a lot easier if
you use a bokashi composter that has a spigot on the bottom. The good news is that the liquid you are draining off
is a sort of compost tea full of nutrients for your garden. Dilute it a bit, and used it right away to water your
plants. They'll thank you for it by growing bigger and stronger.
Bokashi composting is a simple, convenient, and inexpensive way to boost your garden soil and grow big happy plants. Get started today with your own bokashi bucket!
