Bokashi: Fighting Smelly Compost and Dirty Water with Microbes

4 by Becky Striepe on March 2, 2010

Bokashi is full of beneficial microoorganisms.

The more I read about bokashi, the more amazing it sounds! Often used in kitchen composters, this mixture of bran, molasses, and microorganisms is stellar at breaking down food scraps. The key ingredients are effective microorganisms (EM). These hungry little guys are awesome at turning your food waste into beautiful, nutritious compost for the garden, and they help minimize odor from the compost bin at the same time.

Bokashi composters usually involve a two-part situation. On top, you add your food scraps and sprinkle each layer with bokashi. The process creates quite a bit of liquid, so the compost sits on top of a filter which allows the excess liquid to collect underneath. This watery stuff is called "compost tea," but it's not tea for people. Compost tea is a fantastic, nitrogen-rich fertilizer for your garden!

Family making bokashi balls to treat algae blooms in their pond.

Not only is bokashi a useful composting additive, but it's great for bio-rehabilitation in septic tanks and polluted ponds and waterways!

Rather than sprinkling the mixture into mucky water, you make balls of clay to act as a carrier, so the microbes can sink down into the sludge. There, the EM gets to work breaking down pollution and attacking problems like algae blooms.

It's simple and fun to make your own bokashi balls at home! In fact, you can even make your own bokashi mixture. Here's a video that shows you how:

So, have any of you experimented with bokashi? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Image Credits:
Bokashi. Creative Commons photo by jaydot
Making Bokashi Balls. Creative Commons photo by podchef

http://arcticcirclecartoons.com/blog alex hallatt

I live in a small flat with a miniscule patch of earth outside. I use the bokashi bin to ferment the kitchen waste and then put this in a tiny compost box on the earth where the worms do the rest – they LOVE bokashi.

It does smell, but not much and it is a sweeter smell than normal anaerobic breakdown.

I have found that I can put in cooked food, bread etc, but I avoid meat, as it still attracts flies and rodents once in the compost bin.
Mónica

En la universidad EARTH de Costa Rica, se elaboraba un bokashi con estiércol que producían las vacas. Los resultados eran formidables, ya que se reducía la cantidad de agua de lavado de la lechería, reducción de las moscas que visitaban el sitio, producción de un excelente fertilizante para los potreros y las pasturas.
http://www.todae.com.au/Products/bokashi/ Roel Bokashi

I use Bokashi and I’m really happy with it. It has no bad odor at all and it feels good to use my kitchen scraps for something useful, instead of sending it to landfill.
http://www.bustarhymesringtones.com Brian Hardage

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