Bokashi Bin composting is one way you can use your kitchen waste to provide your soil with nutrients and improve soil texture without requiring a large amount of compost. This also can provide an additional boost to the microorganisms in your compost. What can you compost? One of the benefits of Bokashi composting is that you can compost all kitchen waste, although it is probably best to avoid large bones and excessive amounts of liquids. This can include fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, cooked and uncooked meats, dairy, eggs, bread, coffee grinds, tea bags, wilted flowers and tissues. Constructing My Bokashi Bin My Bokashi bin was constructed by using 2 black 5 gallon buckets, 1 tight fitted lid and a drill with a ¼ drill bit.
Composting with the Bokashi Bin The Bokashi bin relies on an inoculant to break down the food waste. There are several products available for purchase, or if you are adventurous you can create your own. Since this is my first time using a Bokashi bin I purchased Bokashi Plus through Amazon. Bokashi plus is a food grade wheat bran that has been inoculated with EM(effective Microorganisms), molasses, structured water, trace minerals, sea salt and ceramic powder. By adding the Bokashi Plus each time you add food scraps you create a soil amendment which adds nutrients and improves soil texture. The process is much different from most composting systems in that it does not decompose the organic matter, instead it ferments it. The first thing I did was place a paper towel on the bottom and then sprinkled ½ cup Bokashi Plus over the paper towel. I then added about 10 cups of vegetable scraps then ½ cup of Bokashi Plus then 12 cups of chopped old potatoes then another ½ cup of Bokashi Plus. I then did one more topping of fish bones and spent flowers with a final topping of Bokashi Plus. I then left it to ferment for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I checked it and It has been suggested to add more Bokashi Plus when adding high protein foods such as meat, cheese and eggs and the fish still looked the same. I have chosen to wait since the last layer was less than 2 weeks. I added more Bokashi Plus to aid in the fermenting process. Bokashi Bin Process and Finished Product Once the bin was full of food waste that had been layered with the Bokashi Plus. You can choose another form of inoculant to feed the bin. It s]was left for approximately 3 weeks. The bin can be left for as little as 10 days to 3 weeks. The bucket needed to be air tight so that the microorganisms in the Bokashi Plus could do their job of fermentation and prevent it from putrefying. It does not break down at this stage. Visibly it will and does look mostly unchanged , but chemically and physically there is a huge difference. It should have a sweet pickly smell. It kind of reminds me of fermenting apples. It is possible to see a white mold, but not necessary. Once it reaches this stage it is ready to bury into the garden or to be added to the compost pile. I chose to add my bin contents to my compost bin. Now that oxygen is being introduced to the microorganisms it should accelerate the breakdown, supplying the compost pile with added nutrients and life. Bokashi Bin issues and how to solve them
Bad Odor
Mold is forming The type of mold can determine if there is an issue. If it is white your Bokashi bin is ok. The white mold means that the good bacteria is working. If the mold is black or blue, and smells bad it has turned and needs to be thrown out. By following the steps given under Bad Odor, you should be able to prevent black or blue mold. https://bokashiliving.com/troubleshooting-what-to-do-if-you-bokashi-bin-goes-bad/ https://yuzumag.com/bokashi-composting If you are looking for ways to improve your garden soil, a Bokashi bin may be a great solution, especially if you find yourself lacking the area for a large compost bin. It can also be a great additive to boosting your compost bin. Either way it is definitely something worth trying. Happy gardening!
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In organic gardening, one of the most important concepts is that we need to feed the soil, more accurately we need to feed the soil dwelling organisms. Healthy plants are a result of healthy soil. Our main focus in gardening is to provide organic matter to the soil and provide the correct amount of water to keep the organisms thriving. One of the best ways to feed the soil organisms is by adding compost. However, a few cups of compost can only provide for a small part of the garden, a tea or extract from the same quantity of soil can feed the entire garden. Compost tea or extracts are great when there is not enough compost available, or where the compost or environment does not contain enough of the microbes required. Compost tea is a liquid that has been “brewed” with oxygenation and nutrients. It is a microbial inoculant, which means beneficial microorganisms are created and applied for the purpose of increasing the biodiversity of the soil and plant surface. Although, it is not a cure-all, the results show it does have multiple benefits:
Compost extract is more of a liquid fertilizer. Instead of feeding and increasing the micro-organism, the microbes are extracted off of the compost. Since no additional foods are fed to the organisms, no additional microbes are bred, you are just extracting what is already there. The extract is full of all the necessary nutrients the soil needs and it improves plant growth, health and soil fertility equal to or better than tea. Compost extract can be made in 2 - 4 hours. It has a longer shelf-life and some say it can last up to 2 weeks. If it smells bad don’t use it, it means it has gone anaerobic and will harm rather than help your soil. With these comparisons, why would you want to go through the trouble of making a compost tea over compost extract? Elain Ingham of Soil Foodweb offers an explanation. “ If you are using the tea or extract for foliar application the tea sticks better, the microbes are active and growing and produce a substance that allows the liquid to stick and coat the vegetation protecting it from environmental disease and pests. While extracts are less metabolically active, and do not adhere the same way. Extracts have a higher biodiversity, and teas have a higher microbial count. Here are a couple of definitions that explain the difference between the two: Microorganisms play the foremost role in soil formation and soil ecology because they as 'natural soil engineers' regulate the flux of nutrients to plants and prop up nitrogen fixation, and ultimately promote detoxification of naturally occurring inorganic and organic pollutants in soil. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-6480-8_2 Soil biodiversity is the variety of life that exists within the soil,Soil biodiversity reflects the mix of living organisms in the soil. ... These organisms improve the entry and storage of water, resistance to erosion, plant nutrition, and break down of organic matter. https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/land-and-soil/soil-degradation/soil-biodiversity Making Compost Tea and Extract
Here are a few things to remember to make a good Compost tea or extract:
Compost extract Basic Recipe - (19L)5 gallon bucket
For use: you can dilute at a ratio 2-4 part water to 1 part extract, depending on the condition of the soil. The more nutrients required the less dilution. You can apply using a watering can to soak the soil/root zone, or use a sprayer for more control. Compost tea Basic Recipe - (19L) 5 gallon bucket
For use: A full-strength tea will possess the maximum active biological diversity and nutrition content. However, compost tea can be diluted at any ratio up to 10 parts water to 1 part tea. When using as a foliar spray make sure to cover both the front and back of the leaves for best results. You can apply 5 gallons as a root drench for up to ¼ acre, foliar spray or field spray up to 2 acres. Combined, compost and the use of compost to make teas and extracts can help improve the conditions and life in the soil. Nothing can beat good quality compost, but when there is a lack of compost or the soil is in need of improvement, compost teas and extracts provide the necessary nutrition and biological diversity that your soil needs. Summer is around the corner. Whether you are just getting your garden going or you have a full garden there is plenty to do and enjoy! The soil has warmed and is teeming with organisms,it is full of life. Even if you live in a cooler climate June is a safe time for planting. So if you haven’t started planting, get planting. There is still time for plenty of crops. Refer to your seed packets for days required for harvest. Work backwards from First frost date and make sure to add a couple of weeks for a safety net. For example, Stringless green bush beans have a maturity date of 50-55 days. If your first frost date is Oct 19th, then you must sow your last beans by mid August. For some the vegetable garden has already been producing a variety of greens, peas, onions, carrots, radishes and beets. Many herbs have been growing for a while now and need some attention. Spring perennials are in need of deadheading and pruning. Now is the time before the summer heat kicks in to get your garden prepared. Here are a few things that can help keep your garden looking great through the summer:
Don’t forget the journey. The glory in gardening is feeling the sun on your face, the soil on your hands and the joy in your soul. Not only will you feel energized, but your garden will pay you back a hundredfold, with its beauty and bounty. |