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Bokashi for beginners: what is it, and what can it do for me?
- Thread starter mad librettist
- Start date
quit w/ the excuses slacker
lol
hey guys I just had a death in the family and I'm supposed to earn cash for the next 5 months in the next 4 weeks. On top of that, I have one full bucket, but it is not ready yet. I could write up what I do with it, but since pics are requested...
I'll be able to post from my phone, but I can't do any articles.
hey guys I just had a death in the family and I'm supposed to earn cash for the next 5 months in the next 4 weeks. On top of that, I have one full bucket, but it is not ready yet. I could write up what I do with it, but since pics are requested...
I'll be able to post from my phone, but I can't do any articles.
I'd actually be interested in the info, even without pics, I want to make those japanese pickles (nukazuke), so getting some culture going would help in a few different ways, plus my dog (shiba) has a pretty sensitive stomach (but I'll be damned if he won't eat anything he finds on the ground) so I'd like to know what exactly you feed him from the bokashi.
lol I just pick a piece of root veggie or whatever and give it to them. Cabbage leaf is a big hit.
Nukazuke is easy! Well it's easy to make, really tough to make well. There are cultures in Japan going back generations. You just need to be home all the time. Check out Elizabeth Andoh's book called "washoku".
You want bacteria from your hand for the nukazuke. Better yet, some bran from someone else's jar. I once put in unfiltered beer but it took over. If you need a recipe let me know. For now find a nice big jar. Because you will be turning it every day.
btw, how do you feed the dog? my little one, even without bokashi, seems to do better (judging by stomach noise/vomiting) with a structured feeding. He has to calm down and look at me before he eats, so he eats calm. The first dog to calm down and focus away from the food gets fed.
Nukazuke is easy! Well it's easy to make, really tough to make well. There are cultures in Japan going back generations. You just need to be home all the time. Check out Elizabeth Andoh's book called "washoku".
You want bacteria from your hand for the nukazuke. Better yet, some bran from someone else's jar. I once put in unfiltered beer but it took over. If you need a recipe let me know. For now find a nice big jar. Because you will be turning it every day.
btw, how do you feed the dog? my little one, even without bokashi, seems to do better (judging by stomach noise/vomiting) with a structured feeding. He has to calm down and look at me before he eats, so he eats calm. The first dog to calm down and focus away from the food gets fed.
Actually, he eats like a cat. Meaning I fill up his bowl, and he eats a bit whenever he feels like it. His problem is anything he finds outdoors he'll send down the hatch. Something natural which will help him put his stomach back in order is what I'd like to find.
yeah that's how we used to do it.
but since the dog whisperer books I turned it all around. now feeding is a ritual we use to strengthen the bond. My wife was convinced they would never do it or it wouldn't be enough. But my jack russel is actually eating more now.
makes a big difference, especially in conjunction with EM in the water and occasional bokashi.
but since the dog whisperer books I turned it all around. now feeding is a ritual we use to strengthen the bond. My wife was convinced they would never do it or it wouldn't be enough. But my jack russel is actually eating more now.
makes a big difference, especially in conjunction with EM in the water and occasional bokashi.
Later on, I will add pics to this and paste it earlier in the thread
Ok, let's see, where were we.... ah yes,
Part 4: using bokashi compost
So I've let the full bokashi bucket sit for 3 weeks. I have drained off the liquid, and It smells like a strange brew. The compost smells similar but not quite the same, like a stinky old beer can on the corner opposite a bakery. It's all shades of sour. Some items are identical to the day they went in, some are bloated and weird. You could leave it longer, but you want to put it to work.
So what do you do with bokashi compost once it is fully fermented? As far as I know there are three options: turning it to humus (regular compost) via the normal methods, applying it directly to the garden, or feeding it to animals.
Direct Application
If you are a digger, it's that easy. Dig a good trench or hole, dump in the compost, cover it, and that's it. Most people report it takes around 2 months to become one with the earth. Remember this stuff is hot, so treat it like manure. Don't bury it too close to roots of crop plants. I would include cannabis in that, though I have not tried. I have also not tried no-dig approaches to finishing bokashi, but It seems to me it could be very handy in sheet composting or just buried under mulch.
If you are restricted to containers, there is a traditional way to break it down indoors. Just layer it with soil, and wait 2 months. I have not done this, but i read of it often. The only thing bokashi I will give living plants in a container is the bran. The worms love it.
Making Humus (regular compost, worm castings)
This is my preferred method. Compost piles get very excited about bokashi compost, as evidenced by real heat real fast with surprisingly little material. If you were not going to turn, I imagine bokashi at the center of the pile would prevent any methane makers from moving in, and of course the worm population would explode once the heat subsided. I treat the material like a "green", and compost normally.
Now worm castings is what I like to make out of bokashi. I like to think of worm castings made from my kitchen as elite humus (compost). It contains all the life energy and nutrients of veggie scraps, eggshells, small bones, bits of cheese, hair (from cutting a beard back for instance), sauces, casseroles, gravies, fruit, etc... Since it's all fit for worms after bokashi, we are talking an incredibly varied and rich diet.
To feed, I just lay the bokashi on top, sprinkle on some azomite and kelp meal (optional) and I cover it with some bedding or unfinished castings. Remember to be careful about heat. I actually use it to heat my bin in the winter by feeding a whole bunch at once, but you have to make sure the worms have a place to cool off. I once opened the lid to find them all in a perfect ring around the center along the edges. I knew I had overfed. On the other hand, the bin needed feeding awful fast after that.
Here I am feeding bokashi on the day after harvest, so I put down some bokashi, then fan leaves, then more bokashi, some leaf mold and leaves from outside, and finally more bokashi, some azomite, and some kelp meal. There is no secret, I'm just making a random composite. The worms sort it out.
You might be wondering where to keep the bokashi compost if you can't feed it all at once. I just leave it in the bin. I use a pair of tongs to grab some worm food, I tamp down the surface of the bokashi again, and I close it up. It just doesn't go bad, but I always check with my nose (hard not to). I can't say that bokashi eaten by worms makes better castings, but I can say it makes faster castings for me, and that it seems to support a denser population in my bins.
Feeding to animals
I have only fed my dogs bokashi (though I drink EM a bit), but I have read numerous reports claiming it reduces odor in pigs and chickens. My dogs see it as a treat, and they are always curious and watchful when I work with bokashi. I can report good stool consistency and a calmer stomach in my energetic dog. A quick check of ingredients on a bag of Canidae dog food touts lactobacillus. Bokashi bran is great for birds, so don't be shy about spreading it around in feeders and such or giving it to pet birds. As with dogs, treat it as a probiotic food.
If you aren't sure about an animal, just ask your vet. I told my vet about EM and bokashi for my dogs, and he thought it was neat. Also, a quick check of ingredients on a bag of Canidae dog food touts lactobacillus.
So that's the guide. Anything I missed, let me know. Thanks for all the kind words. I just felt a thread like this was missing, and so many people are now exploring this wonderful way to recycle waste into soil.
Ok, let's see, where were we.... ah yes,
Part 4: using bokashi compost
So I've let the full bokashi bucket sit for 3 weeks. I have drained off the liquid, and It smells like a strange brew. The compost smells similar but not quite the same, like a stinky old beer can on the corner opposite a bakery. It's all shades of sour. Some items are identical to the day they went in, some are bloated and weird. You could leave it longer, but you want to put it to work.
So what do you do with bokashi compost once it is fully fermented? As far as I know there are three options: turning it to humus (regular compost) via the normal methods, applying it directly to the garden, or feeding it to animals.
Direct Application
If you are a digger, it's that easy. Dig a good trench or hole, dump in the compost, cover it, and that's it. Most people report it takes around 2 months to become one with the earth. Remember this stuff is hot, so treat it like manure. Don't bury it too close to roots of crop plants. I would include cannabis in that, though I have not tried. I have also not tried no-dig approaches to finishing bokashi, but It seems to me it could be very handy in sheet composting or just buried under mulch.
If you are restricted to containers, there is a traditional way to break it down indoors. Just layer it with soil, and wait 2 months. I have not done this, but i read of it often. The only thing bokashi I will give living plants in a container is the bran. The worms love it.
Making Humus (regular compost, worm castings)
This is my preferred method. Compost piles get very excited about bokashi compost, as evidenced by real heat real fast with surprisingly little material. If you were not going to turn, I imagine bokashi at the center of the pile would prevent any methane makers from moving in, and of course the worm population would explode once the heat subsided. I treat the material like a "green", and compost normally.
Now worm castings is what I like to make out of bokashi. I like to think of worm castings made from my kitchen as elite humus (compost). It contains all the life energy and nutrients of veggie scraps, eggshells, small bones, bits of cheese, hair (from cutting a beard back for instance), sauces, casseroles, gravies, fruit, etc... Since it's all fit for worms after bokashi, we are talking an incredibly varied and rich diet.
To feed, I just lay the bokashi on top, sprinkle on some azomite and kelp meal (optional) and I cover it with some bedding or unfinished castings. Remember to be careful about heat. I actually use it to heat my bin in the winter by feeding a whole bunch at once, but you have to make sure the worms have a place to cool off. I once opened the lid to find them all in a perfect ring around the center along the edges. I knew I had overfed. On the other hand, the bin needed feeding awful fast after that.
Here I am feeding bokashi on the day after harvest, so I put down some bokashi, then fan leaves, then more bokashi, some leaf mold and leaves from outside, and finally more bokashi, some azomite, and some kelp meal. There is no secret, I'm just making a random composite. The worms sort it out.
You might be wondering where to keep the bokashi compost if you can't feed it all at once. I just leave it in the bin. I use a pair of tongs to grab some worm food, I tamp down the surface of the bokashi again, and I close it up. It just doesn't go bad, but I always check with my nose (hard not to). I can't say that bokashi eaten by worms makes better castings, but I can say it makes faster castings for me, and that it seems to support a denser population in my bins.
Feeding to animals
I have only fed my dogs bokashi (though I drink EM a bit), but I have read numerous reports claiming it reduces odor in pigs and chickens. My dogs see it as a treat, and they are always curious and watchful when I work with bokashi. I can report good stool consistency and a calmer stomach in my energetic dog. A quick check of ingredients on a bag of Canidae dog food touts lactobacillus. Bokashi bran is great for birds, so don't be shy about spreading it around in feeders and such or giving it to pet birds. As with dogs, treat it as a probiotic food.
If you aren't sure about an animal, just ask your vet. I told my vet about EM and bokashi for my dogs, and he thought it was neat. Also, a quick check of ingredients on a bag of Canidae dog food touts lactobacillus.
So that's the guide. Anything I missed, let me know. Thanks for all the kind words. I just felt a thread like this was missing, and so many people are now exploring this wonderful way to recycle waste into soil.
Last edited:
spaceghost22
Member
Very nice M.L. I had been reading for a while on bokashi but I did learn how to make the bran from you, thanks for that!
I'm trying it with oatmeal (even though it is hard to work with) I want to see if it can be done. Hopefully I'll post pics when it finishes. 1 week deep at the moment.
I'm trying it with oatmeal (even though it is hard to work with) I want to see if it can be done. Hopefully I'll post pics when it finishes. 1 week deep at the moment.
seems to me oatmeal bokashi could be handy, especially when fresh. You could also make cakes.
not sure how i would use them, but my first thought is "outside". Remember, oatmeal has lots of carbohydrate, unlike bran. So I'm not sure how necessary the molasses is.
not sure how i would use them, but my first thought is "outside". Remember, oatmeal has lots of carbohydrate, unlike bran. So I'm not sure how necessary the molasses is.
spaceghost22
I think that you will have better results if you used steel-cut oats (aka Irish Oats) as they're 'cut' (hence the name, eh?) as opposed to being flattened like oatmeal.
Mad L.'s caution about the high level of carbohydrates in oats still applies regardless of the form.
HTH
CC
oh yeah good idea CC.
steel cut oats don't stick together so much if I am not mistaken.
Let's hear some more questions guys. This is the beginner's thread. Anything at all you want to know, I'm here, and guys like CC are here to help. Let's get that kitchen trash out the landfill!
steel cut oats don't stick together so much if I am not mistaken.
Let's hear some more questions guys. This is the beginner's thread. Anything at all you want to know, I'm here, and guys like CC are here to help. Let's get that kitchen trash out the landfill!
Excellent! I added the URL to the appropriate section.
With a team effort we could really flesh this out.
With a team effort we could really flesh this out.
Matanuskan Flo
Member
sorry for such a silly question, but could u explain what you do with the juice a little more?? i may have missed the explanation you said you;d provide later. seems like that is the super concentrated stuff which would be great for foliar or supplemental ferts, i assume. any clarification would help.
also, another clarification. you mentioned living in small apartments & procuring your bokashi. when opening the lid, does the odor dissipate quickly or fill the surrounding area & linger?? my nose is like bloodhound on afrin & i could not bare too much odor. i live in a one story condo. i could keep it in my attic, which is warmer usually. but, we want warmer anyhow.
lastly, would a heat source help?? i know u said cold was no good.....thanks a great deal for the info man, preesh a lot. this is alllll new info to me. i love to learn.
also, another clarification. you mentioned living in small apartments & procuring your bokashi. when opening the lid, does the odor dissipate quickly or fill the surrounding area & linger?? my nose is like bloodhound on afrin & i could not bare too much odor. i live in a one story condo. i could keep it in my attic, which is warmer usually. but, we want warmer anyhow.
lastly, would a heat source help?? i know u said cold was no good.....thanks a great deal for the info man, preesh a lot. this is alllll new info to me. i love to learn.
Well stink is subjective. I could smell the stuff all day. My wife... not so much.
I would say it is a strong smell that lingers, because that way you won't be mad at me. Remember, humans can't smell the same smell very long. It's physically impossible. Unlike dogs. As for how long it lingers, that is a ventilation question.
I pour the liquid down the drain. Especially a slow drain. For foliar, I use fresh EM that I use to make the bokashi bran.
I would say it is a strong smell that lingers, because that way you won't be mad at me. Remember, humans can't smell the same smell very long. It's physically impossible. Unlike dogs. As for how long it lingers, that is a ventilation question.
I pour the liquid down the drain. Especially a slow drain. For foliar, I use fresh EM that I use to make the bokashi bran.
the carbs are a bad thing?
