bokashi

[ChocClare]

Some teabags contain plastic bits which don't compost as I've heard people complaining that they still have bits left when they turn out their bins / wormeries but the ones I get seem fine and are one of my worms favourite treats.

Well, quite

I shall continue to bung the teabags in. All this anaerobic stuff is all very well but it does all get bunged on the compost heap at the end of the day, after all

[BarleySugar]

How are people doing with this? My first bucket finished its fermentation today. It was covered with white mould as the instructions said, and I'd been draining the liquid. I know it isn't meant to look like compost, but everything is totally recognisable. I buried it into the garden. I was hoping that it would form the base of my bean trench, but I felt I was polluting the garden. It smelled very acid. Could someone who has more experience let me know how this has gone for them.

[PCGreenthumb]

Anything special about the bokashi containers?

Would it be possible to use any bucket with a drain and just buy the bran, saving about �40?

[BarleySugar]

Mine have a perforated platform, which keeps the waste up, and lets the liquid drain through. I suppose you could make something like it, but it must have an airtight lid because it is an anaerobic process. The price for 2 buckets from Recycle Now was around �25, so by the time you get buckets with lids, something for the plaform, and the taps, then make them, I don't know how much you'd save?

[lainey lou]

How are people doing with this? My first bucket finished its fermentation today. It was covered with white mould as the instructions said, and I'd been draining the liquid. I know it isn't meant to look like compost, but everything is totally recognisable. I buried it into the garden. I was hoping that it would form the base of my bean trench, but I felt I was polluting the garden. It smelled very acid. Could someone who has more experience let me know how this has gone for them.

Barley sugar it sounds fine, it's supposed to look pickled rather than decomposed and it does have a bit of a strange smell to it sort of cider ish.
You could use it in a bean trench but make sure you cover it with soil it'll break down really quickly, approx 8 weeks or so, there is some footage on you tube demonstrating this will see if I can find it.

[lainey lou]

can't work out how to create link, sorry, thickoid alert!
Just go onto you tube and search for bokashi there are loads of useful videos, hope that helps!

[hawthorns]

i did notice that it makes your compost bin quite wet so ive had shredded paper. ran out of bran now so have to order some

[armadillo]

I got one of these a couple of months ago, I used about half the amount of bran I was supposed to for the time it took to fill the bin (3 weeks or so- it seemed to compact down amazingly well, was very surprised at how much went in before it filled up).

After leaving the full bin for a couple of weeks there's white mould like there's supposed to be.Haven't done anything with the contents yet, but will have to tomorrow as my other one's just filled up.

Got plenty of juice too, which has seemed to be responsible for the complete recovery of my weak lemon balm (just removed mildewed leaves, added juice & it's double in size already!)

Quite impressed with the system so far, interesting to see how it deals with smells/flies when things warm up a bit . . .

[mrs dog]

Can't you just buy a 70p bag of bran from the dreaded tesco's does it have to have anything else in it why do you have to send away for something that is so easy to get in the shops? Confused! Mind it doesn't take much! Jan

[PCGreenthumb]

Can only get the �25 pound containers from recycle now if you live in a particular area, typically not Hampshire by the looks of it!

[armadillo]

The bran it uses has some kind of special bacteria in it, apparently. But if you didn't mind waiting longer for useable compost, should it not be possible to only use a very small amount of bran, or even some of the previous batch of compost, as the bacteria will multiply all by itself? (my dad- who's science-minded- seems to think so)

[PCGreenthumb]

Link for instructions on making bokashi bran on U-Tube

YouTube - How to Make Bokashi

Haven't watched it all yet but claims to show how its made!

[PCGreenthumb]

The following website has instructions on making bokashi and sells the effective microorganisms as well. I don't think it will work out much cheaper though! I think Armadillo's idea sounds worth some research.
Bokashi - EM Compost

[david_m_thomas]

We're filling our bins too fast!

We have a family of 5 and are filling up each bokashi bin every 4-6 days! We're getting through the bran about twice as fast as they suggest and it also means that the full bin does not have enough time to fully ferment/rot so I am just emptying the "oldest" one into the compost bin at our allotment when we have 2 full bins.

Any suggestions? We're considering using the bokashi bins for cooked food and a standard compost caddy for fruit & veg peelings, etc.

Will the bokashi waste continue to ferment/rot in a compost bin/heap?

[JennieAtkinson]

Hi David - I get the work bokashi bin which fills up pretty quickly and I just put it in my compost bin. I did put it straight into the soil last year for beans, but I just got alot of leaf!

I have found it works well in the compost bin and acts as a sort of accellorator, which is what I need up here, not having the heat.