Composting: Bokashi method

[Georgie]

Garden Organic are carrying out a scientific trial on this composting method which claims to turn all kitchen waste - including meat, fish and dairy - into safe compost.  They will be publishing their results next year.  In the meantime I would be interested to hear if any members here have tried this method and if so with what results. 

G x

[Georgie]

[Grandma]

Morning, Georgie!

I've had a 'Kitchen Composter' for about six/eight months and, so far, I'm liking it a lot. It stands just outside the back door and all kitchen waste goes in: cooked/uncooked meat and fish - (including skin and bones) - and all kinds of things that I wouldn't put straight on the compost heap i.e. stuff with a dressing or butter on, stuff cooked in any kind of fat/oil, stale bread and cake - everything, really!!!

There are two buckets, one which is 'in use' and the full one which has to stand for two weeks before being emptied.  The buckets have a tap and the drained-off liquid can be used (VERY, VERY diluted) as a plant feed or, undiluted, as a drain cleaner!!!  :o

I haven't yet used any of the compost from that particular heap but putting the contents of the Composter bucket on it certainly reduces the heap size in record time, so I'm guessing it's a good accelerator. Whether bones actually break down remains to be seen......

One big advantage is that no kitchen waste AT ALL gets thrown away - so no smelly kitchen bin and much less rubbish in the wheelie bin.  :)

Cleaning the bucket out after emptying is not the pleasantest job in the world but if I use the hose it's not too bad.

(N.B. The person who introduced me to it paid £49.50 - I got mine for (if I remember correctly) £38.50 including p&p. I can give you the address if you're interested.) 

[Rob08]

Hi Grandma,

Could you please PM or post those contact details for me?  This sounds like a very practical system and I would like to give it a go.

[Paulines7]

We have a Green Johanna which we bought from our local Council for £24.  Details here:  http://www.greencone.com/product-view.asp?prid=28

We have only had it for 3 or 4 weeks so it is too soon to know whether it will work.  We can put all food waste in it including bones.  I don't put in very large bones such as those on a lamb shoulder joint as I imagine they would take years to rot down.

[Grandma]

Hello Rob08!

Very strange! I've just looked at the place where I got mine from and they don't seem to be doing it any more - although I did get a bag of Bokashi bran from them last week!

However, I've just had a look around by Googling 'Bokashi'. Some of the prices are horrendous - (up to £60+ for a two-bucket set up) - and IMO it's not worth going for a single one. What do you do with all your stuff while the full bucket is doing the business for 2 weeks!

Best price I've found is from:- www.recyclenow.com. Click 'composters' on their home page then click 'additional compost bins'. They have a two bucket set up for £25 including bran,scoop, etc. A real bargain - wish I'd found this site before I got mine!

Best of luck!

[artichoke]

I've got a Green Cone buried in one allotment, where I put fish skins, chop bones, everything I would not want on the compost heap. It cost £10 (subsidised by local council, otherwise £60). I don't know what happens if it fills up with bones, but everything seems to rot away quite nicely so far, after about 6 months. It claims to release "nutricious juices" so I have planted it under a huge old apple tree I inherited (particularly nice cox type apples this year in huge numbers, though I do not claim it is the Green Cone benefit yet).

The great thing is that the smelly bits are well underground where rats and flies cannot get at them. The only hiccup was a mole digging a tunnel that let some flies in, but I soon blocked that. In fact, there is a dead rat in our back garden that is going in there.

[Toadspawn]

Have you thought of contacting Wiggly Wigglers or looking at their web site.

[Grandma]

That name rang a bell, Toadspawn - my friend got his from Wiggly Wigglers. I've just checked their current price - £55 for the same set up as mine! Worth shopping around!

[Georgie]

Thanks for all the replies so far.  My ideal would have been a green cone but that's no possible for me.  The two bucket system certainly looks worth looking into though.   :)

G x

[Multiveg]

Looking into this myself.

Been looking at the recycle now website - well, no use to me as I can't order any compost bins from them - it depends on where you live and whether your council subsidises items. My mother's council doesn't offer the digesters, only the basic compost bins.

[Baccy Man]

Use this link the bokashi set is listed at £25 but appears at £24 in your basket then it takes off £1 as an online discount leaving a total to pay of £23 additional sets ordered at the same time cost £24 each. I am not in the correct area but purchasing via this link worked, delivery took about 4 weeks.

http://www.recyclenow.com/applications/dynamic/hc_specialist_bins.rm?id=12248&shopcode=WRD/026/C

[Multiveg]

Thanks for that, just ordered it.

[Baccy Man]

Another thing you should learn to do is make your own bokashi bran. It is very simple & cheap to make.

EM1 & Molasses containing C6 sugars (for making bokashi bran)
http://www.thebluesun.co.uk/acatalog/em.html

If you have problems locating cheap bran then a 20kg sack is £6.95 + £4.95 P+P here.
http://www.greenmule.co.uk/equestrian-70/horse-feed-143/straights-159/horse-feed-broad-equine-1952.htm

Written instructions for making bokashi bran
http://www.emshop.co.nz/howto-make_em-bokashi.html
http://www.cityfarmer.org/bokashi.html

Youtube video showing how to make your own bokashi bran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96fSXccQx9Q&eurl=

[Georgie]

Wow, that's a lot of very useful information, Baccy Man.  Many thanks.   ;D

G x

[Multiveg]

Yay, my bokashi things came 5 minutes ago. What a pong! Anyway, will have to keep you all updated on it.

[alienwithaview]

I have had both the Green Joanna and the Bokashi bucket ( and a load of bokashi) and the EM -stuff since September and love the whole lot!
The Bokashi buckets live indoors, one at the kitchen door, the other one is merrily fermenting (NO SMELL! and I'm seriously fussy!) in the guest loo.
We are vegetarians, so we have no meat or fish waste, although occasionally (very rarely) unwanted catfood is being added to the bucket. The only problem is that we eat so much veg and fruit that I could use a third bucket to rotate... Will look into making my own later this year.
The liquid from the fermenting bucket gets mainly used for cleaning drains inside and out.
With regards to the EM-solution: I have forked out for the fermenter (not dissimilar to a yoghurt maker), and it's dead easy to use. I use the activated EM both in the garden and house, for all plants, as a soil conditioner, and also spray the leaves of my houseplants with the diluted solution. Our house is a bloody jungle...
I also use the EM in cleaning (esp. damp and mouldy spots around the house) and healthcare: a few drops in a glass of water as a mouthwash, and our cat loves it, so he gets a few drops in his water bowl. - On the Continent (Austria, Germany, Switzerland) they have cooperative farms using EM for absolutely everything, but their main success is in animal care.
The You-Tube video(s) on how to make your own Bokashi (with the activated EM) are really good, and I have made my own Bokashi since. The only problem was lack of space (the fermenting bowl was wrestling with the yoghurt maker and my seed trays in the airing cupboard), but it is worth it, as I find the ready-made bokashi a bit expensive.

[delboy]

Have just ordered a twinset.

I am finally becoming organic in approach. This process has taken rather too many years and I am a little embarrassed at just how long...

This site really is a mine of information.

Thanks to all.

[Multiveg]

Yay, my bokashi things came 5 minutes ago. What a pong! Anyway, will have to keep you all updated on it.

The pong was from the bokashi bran itself when first opened the box! Now, just back from long weekend, I can't smell it. Will start a bucket off tomorrow, probably.

[GrannieAnnie]

What do you do in the dead of winter when the ground is frozen hard as a rock and a hole cannot be dug?

[Multiveg]

It can go into the compost bin though they advise the fermented mixture be covered with compost/soil.