Bokashi Composting
Traditionally, when composting you are limited to what you can use. You aren’t suppose to compost oils, meats and many cooked foods. But with Bokashi composting, you can use almost all of it!
Bokashi is a new and revolutionary way of fermenting (pickling) your kitchen waste. The method was developed in Japan and when done properly, breaks down the scrap material with many micro-organisms (lactobacilli, yeasts and phototropic microbes) all working together. It’s easy to do once you have the right equipment.
Bokashi fermenting – the next big thing?
Bokashi Cycle is the natural way to reduce, reuse and recycle organic waste. Bokashi Cycle is 100% natural. It is safe for you, safe for your pets, and safe for the environment. Bokashi Cycle fermenting helps reduce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and bad smells like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia invariably associated with scrap composting. It is also much faster at breaking down your food scraps than traditional composting. Fermenting your scraps is a lot like making wine.
The big benefits are these:
Better Soil?
Bokashi Cycle mixed with food or garden wastes allows recycling which reduces the amount of waste in landfills. The processed waste ends up in your garden where plants will get good use out of the nutrients that are produced while scraps are destroyed. With Bokashi Cycle a healthy balance of microbes go into the soil with the fermented scraps, re-establishing the needed healthy, high microbial counts present in healthy soil.
Bokashi Cycle-treated soil provides for improved uptake of nutrients and antioxidants resulting in vigorous and healthy plant growth. The nutrient product produced in fermenting acts as a fertilizer for the plants.
Reduce Trash Collection Charges – Save money!
Placing your scraps in the Bokashi Cycle and allowing them to ferment and go into the garden will reduce your weekly trash collection weight by about 20 – 30%. You should be able to change the size of your container or the pick-up frequency by your trash collector. Savings can be as high as $20 -$30 per month beginning the month you start fermenting with a Bokashi Cycle.
No rats!
Unlike traditional composting of scraps, rats and other vermin are not attracted to the buried fermented product that is rapidly converted to rich nutrients for your plants.
No smells.
There is no foul smell of decomposition to worry about and your Bokashi Cycle fermenter will not attract flies. This is because it is kept sealed. Each day you add some of the Bokashi Cycle culture mix to cover each new layer of scraps. The effective micro-organisms contained in the Bokashi Cycle culture mix get to work on the food scraps. There is a small amount of liquid generated which can be used as a soil activator normally diluted 100 fold before being used on plants.
It’s quick.
Two weeks is all that’s needed for the organisms to do their work.
It’s convenient.
You can include all types of food waste such as left-over meat scraps or cheese. The only inconvenience is that you have to chop up large bits of waste before adding them to the system.
Did you know?
Bokashi produces a liquid that is turned into tea that is fertilizer for the garden.
Bokashi Cycle can decompose as soon as 20 days compared to 6 months for a traditional compost bin.
The fermentation process is anaerobic. That means that air is effectively excluded during the process. The micro-organisms break down the constituents of the food waste until they are effectively pickled.
Oxygen is the enemy causing a rotting smell. In the system, the lack of oxygen and the relatively low acidity prevent the organisms that produce gas and smells from forming, and any that were present will not be able to survive. They will be consumed by the anaerobic organisms that thrive when oxygen is absent.