Bokashi for beginners: what is it, and what can it do for me?

[mad librettist]

go for it.

mango pits break down pretty fast

 

[GoneRooty]

Thanks Mad, I didn't see any reason why it wouldn't be ok, just figured I would ask.

 

[Corpsey]

crazy i was just thinking yesterday how well an avocado pit would do. its much thicker then a mango pit, but im going for it anyways and i'll find out.

 

[CC_2U]

DP

 

[mad librettist]

Bokashi for beginners: what is it, and what can it do for me?

crazy i was just thinking yesterday how well an avocado pit would do. its much thicker then a mango pit, but im going for it anyways and i'll find out.

avocado pits turn to crumbly nothing within a month or so in my bin.

avocado peels, on the other hand, may take a decade or so.

 

[Corpsey]

reeaaaalllly. maybe we can make some avocado leather shoes?

i'v already have like 3 peels in there. i'll just pull em out later if they dont make it past the compost stage.

 

[mad librettist]

it's uncanny I tell ya

 

[DARC MIND]

opinions on some bran i just fired up
recipe:
3/4 of a 5 gal bucket of wheat bran
1 TBS sea salt & a handful of rockdust

then moistened & mixed that together with
1 gal water
2 tbsp AEM
2 tbps molasses
then compressed the above a little more then halfway down the 5 gal bucket,with a trash bag,stepped on it a few times,weighed dwn w/ a few stones and put the lid on..
cali should be worming up sometime soon so i think this stuff will be ready in hopefully a few weeks..

honesty dont no why i took so long on giving this a shot,this is my first crack at bokashi, bran & all..

 

[mad librettist]

Bokashi for beginners: what is it, and what can it do for me?

looks good Darc!

I am now Making small batches and using
it fresh instead of dry.


you can start using it as soon as it is done.

 

[Scrappy4]

opinions on some bran i just fired up
recipe:
3/4 of a 5 gal bucket of wheat bran
1 TBS sea salt & a handful of rockdust

then moistened & mixed that together with
1 gal water
2 tbsp AEM
2 tbps molasses
then compressed the above a little more then halfway down the 5 gal bucket,with a trash bag,stepped on it a few times,weighed dwn w/ a few stones and put the lid on..
cali should be worming up sometime soon so i think this stuff will be ready in hopefully a few weeks..

honesty dont no why i took so long on giving this a shot,this is my first crack at bokashi, bran & all..

Darc, i'm doing something simular only I'm using newpaper instead of bran. ( I soak the paper in large zip lock bags and let it sit for three or four weeks, then it dry on a line in my shed) I gift wrap my veggie waste then pack into the bakashi bucket. So far it seems to work, but it's too early to declare victory. I also did a little experiment using that same newspaper on weeds in the garden, and that looks like it will work a s well.

I'm sure you already know how much worms like bakashi, but it really shines as a compost accelerator. It heats up those old leaves in no time. I start the "fire" with bakashi then fuel it with alfalfa meal. I also fuel it with bakashi juice and any old nutrient bottles I might have and want to pitch. good luck........scrappy

 

[GoneRooty]

I gift wrap my veggie waste then pack into the bakashi bucket.

This sounds like a great idea to me, and is my plan when I have to start making my bokashi "bran". I think the idea of completely covering the food waste with bokashi should make the fermentation go even quicker. And it's a great way to use up old newspaper.

 

[mad librettist]

sometimes bokashi can grow quite a bit of mold, especially if you keep it in the bucket while it waits to be fed to worms.

sorry these look blue. the blue is actually white, because I forgot to do the white balance. The bin looks like a Hungarian wine cellar.

of course this mass of fungus went into the worm bin. dear Jesus I will need an umbrella for the gnats.

 

[GoneRooty]

Did you mix up the bokashi and fungus before you through it in the bin, or just toss it in like it is?

 

[mad librettist]

here is how I feed bokashi to worms these days:

I make a hole in the bedding, drop in the bokashi, and cover it up. No more mixing it with the bedding.

Now when it gets red-hot, the worms can escape it.

So I just took a scoop of bokashi along with the mass of mold, and did the usual. No odor once it is covered.

 

[Corpsey]

so funny enough i got blue mold this past week in my bokashi bucket. at first it was white and everything was looking good, but then it turned blue after about 4 weeks. seems to be a bit of it too.

can it be chucked into my compost bin? or do i have to just suck it up and trash it/ start over?

 

[tuinman]

can it be chucked into my compost bin? or do i have to just suck it up and trash it/ start over?

I had the same in a 6 week old bucket I just threw into the compost pile, it didn't seem to make much of a difference. The pile is steaming where I buried it and doesn't seem different than any other batch I've tossed in.

 

[stinkyigloo]

Great thread librettist, just read it through. Im interested in setting one of these up, i was just wondering how many of ye use old newspaper now to make the EM carriers?

 

[stinkyigloo]

I was reading more on the subject of creating your own BIM. Here's an article thats worth a read, by Gil A. Carandang - Indigenous Microorganisms: Grow Your Own
Beneficial Indigenous Microorganisms and Bionutrients
In Natural Farming

http://www.permaculture.org/nm/images/uploads/Indigenous_Microorganisms.pdf

 

[supermanlives]

i found some online for 10 dollars for 2 lbs . think i am gonna try some .aint even interested in trying to make my own . too many other things going on and a new pup that dont sleep long .

 

[mad librettist]

the bokashi bran in the little coffee containers is working great. no drying.