I'm just about to start my bokashi journey. I chose to go this way because I live in a rented property with no garden beds, not even a single plant in the yard. In the second stage, I'll be mixing bokashi with previously used potting soil and some store bought organic compost to replicate the in-ground effect. Then I'll be using it in pots to start growing food.
Just found you today and watched a couple of your videos. I appreciate how you cut through the noise of opinions/speculations to deliver information in a neutral and unambiguous way. Thanks!
Thanks Jason, we do or I should say my husband does the composting process and he actually tried burying food scraps in our raised bed just to see what would happen. What did happen surprisingly is we ended up with a butternut squash this summer. Thanks for sharing your versions.👍❤️😊
I have been trying to make bokashi but never found good instructions, your videos explained it perfectly! Thank you very much and lots of love from Argentina
Thank you! Very informative and thorough. You can use the Bokashi “tea” or juice by diluting it 100 parts water to 1 part “tea” and spray on your plants as a natural pesticide and it’s also very beneficial to the plant itself :)
@@ruthtran9494 a big late with a reply but from what I've seen the tea is best used within a day or two. Any excess can be stored for the nutritional value but it lacks in microbial life compared to fresh (I believe)
Thank you. Your explanation is perfectly logical. I have come around to this as well. Yard and garden cuttings together in an outdoor protected compost pile, kitchen scraps ---> bokashi.
EXCELLENT overview! Many thanks for posting this video. I hope it encourages more people to try a bokashi bucket or two or three. 😎👍 The bokashi "juice" is supposed to be good for septic system maintenance when poured down the drain, which is one reason I got into bokashi a few years ago. Also, my climate in the High Desert Southwest of the U.S. is extremely dry and windy. Hot composting requires a lot of extra work (and water) to keep a pile's moisture levels consistent. I originally thought bokashi was a little too weird and potentially complicated. Tired of mummified banana peels, I finally decided to give it a try. It turned out to be MUCH easier than I thought and is definitely inexpensive if you make your own bucket system and a big batch of your own bran or other starter. My approach to composting now consists of bokashi, vermiculture, trenches and lasagna beds. Yes, bokashi will get stinky and disgusting if it goes "off" and the buckets can get kinda heavy (I always forget that part). But for me, the benefits outweigh the challenges. Thanks again and many blessings to you and your family. 🌻
I am going to start a Bokashi system and am very excited. I already am an avid fermenter, and am excited to give this a try. I already have multiple compost systems and vermiculture system. I am a garden coach and love to have a base understanding in all kinds of different practices.
quick question: instead of burying your bokashi, could you just add it to your worm system to let them finish breaking down the material? Is this overkill? Is there a benefit to that extra step?
From the sounds of it, you probably have more experience in worm composting than I do. After the bokashi bran is added, the fermentation makes the food waste fairly acidic. Is that compatible with worm composting?
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm good point. The questions that comes to mind, is what happens to the pH of bokashi compost once it's exposed to oxygen? It seems I have some research to do. I'm preparing for a free webinar next week called Camp Compost. It'll mostly go over the methods I'm familiar with, but wanted to touch on Bokashi and just share my base understanding. Soil Science is so fascinating.
@@KitsapRootsIt's been a few years since you posted this comment, but I wanted to ask you... Have you been using Bokashi composting since? And have you used it in your worm bins? I also am early in my bokashi journey, and I did throw some in my worm bins, and they seemed to love it...😊, I'm wondering about other people's experience as well!
I agree with you about setting up a compost bin. I would rather do Leaf Mold in a plastic liner, or plastic garbage can. What I do is to freeze my kitchen scraps and then every so often I do trench composting with them(need a big plastic storage bag(s), and freezer). Thank you for your videos, they are very informative, and beneficial.
Can you use your own bokashi bran to innoculate more bran (w/ molasses + water)? If so, do you have in mind any ratios, or if it would require longer to ferment than using cultured whey?
Thank you for your explanations. I was researching bokashi and had a lot of questions, and you pretty much answered them all here. I'm currently experimenting to see if I can make a "lactobacillus serum" out of kimchi juice, or sourdough starter, or kombucha tea, or kefir whey, and if I can multiply the lactobacteria by adding water, molasses, and sugar, and then letting it ferment to increase the quantity I have a few questions though. Instead of inoculating a grain or shredded paper with the lactobacillus bacteria to have an inert dry substance, could I bottle up the lactobacillus liquid, and spray it onto my kitchen waste/scraps rather than adding the bokashi grains? After learning more about bokashi composting, it essentially seems like a dry substrate, inoculated with lactobacillus bacteria, which is added in layers with kitchen scraps, to basically "pickle" the waste, which acidifies and prevents rot, and makes it more bio-available for trench composting.
Have you experimented further with these other techniques of generating lactobacillus bacteria for Bokashi? I am particularly interested in kefir liquid since I make it regularly!
I don't get a ton of food waste - but I want to use bokashi. If I have a larger container, and it takes me a while (6+ months) to fill up before I seal it for fermenting, are there any issues?
Hi Vector - I've definitely had long periods of time with the bokashi in the bucket (like in winter, when the weather doesn't always allow me to get it into the ground) - seems to make little difference to the results.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm what about when I'm filling the compost up itself, before planting and sealing it? I read somewhere that you can open it up to three times a day? Does that make sense, lol
I am thinking of adding the bokashi to my worm bin. they will eat it and provide good rich castings. I also was thinking of adding it into the rows of my garden instead of a big hole. I don't understand the big hole idea.
I recently learned about a similar system for pre-composting which consists of putting food and garden scraps in a bucket filled with lacto liquid, which ferments everything and destroys pathogens. Once the bucket is full, you supposed to mix it with soil and wait six weeks. I have just started doing this in a five gallon bucket, and I have also been adding paper scraps to bucket. The main difference between this approach and bokashi appears to be that bokashi is a more or less dry system that drains liquid out during fermentation whereas in this system all the scraps are bathing in lacto liquid. It seems sort of similar to fermenting vegetables in a jar! I am brand new to this so I'm just wondering if you can see any reason such a system wouldn't work just as well as Bokashi? If I understand all of this right, having the lacto bacteria working is the only thing that really matters for the process to be successful. Also, why is it necessary to get rid of the liquid at all? Couldn't I just strain the scraps from the liquid and then pour the liquid over the soil after putting the scraps in the trench? Or simply pour the whole bucket - liquid and all - into a trench and cover it with some soil? It seems like the liquid may contain valuable elements that could help with the break down of the organic matter, and is also infused with beneficial nutrients and minerals from the plant parts that have been soaking in it? Also, since heat increases fermentation activity, is it best to keep the bucket in a sunny area so it heats up? Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience
Hi Chris. Interesting to hear. I pretty much have followed the Bokashi method as presented to me, so I can't comment much on the other way. There have been a few times when my bokashi scraps were wetter than usual, and I haven't always been diligent about draining. I was a little worried on those occasions that the liquid "backing up" into the top bucket would cause a problem. For what it's worth, it never seemed to cause an issue.
Hi Jason. I'm setting up a bucket. BUT I'm a household of one. My small yard backs up to a hedgerow. I have the invasive non-native honeysuckle and wild rose brambles that are a losing battle but must be continually cut and ripped out. I dont like to compost them for fear they will take root. Only option is to throw them into the yard waste pick up bin. If in small pieces, would the fermenting be enough to kill them dead? Also, I could use the additional volume in the bokashi bucket. I appreciate your videos. Thanks.
Hi Amy. I've never tried using bokashi for yard clippings. It might work if mixed with a sufficient volume of kitchen waste or other compostables, but with a larger amount of chopped shrub material, I wonder if there would be too much air space and not enough "fuel" (sugar, carbs, etc) to promote anaerobic fermentation. Let me know how it goes for you! I also deal with a good amount of woody shrub clippings, and this year I'm planning on using a wood chipper to chop it down to a fine mulch that can't resprout. Wish me luck!
Hi. Thanks for your lovely answers. I have tried to make Bakashi compost....but I need some guidelines. Is there any specific measure while mixing molasses. It is easy to get SUGAR CANE JUICE PROCESSED TOMAKE JAGGERY SORT OF SUGAR WE USE HERE. BY CHANCE IF molasses happens to be too much.....would ants become a problem .... Initially when I used rice washed water....it fermented....but started stinking after some time. Then I started all over again. Hope you can guide me.
I noticed there are not really any carbon materials (brown materials) put in. Does that affect the soil in the long run? Why does regular compost require some browns and bokashi doesn’t? Does bokashi composting alone sufficient enough? Or do you have to supplement other types of compost to keep the soil balanced?
Hi Jen. Because it's a fermentation-based process, there's no need to mix greens and browns, and the resulting scraps are definitely fine for the garden.
Not everything that can go into a bokashi bucket would be recommended for the worm bin. Meat, bones, eggshells, dairy and fatty/oily substances are usually excluded from worm bins, so if you want to pretreat your food scraps with bokashi and then use it for the worm bin, you'll have exclude these items.
Hi Jason, I am new to bokashi compost and thank you for your video because it cleared up so many of my doubts. I still have one left though. I think I may have to throw away my 10 strawberry plants because I didn't follow the Bokashi steps at all. I was way off actually. I'll explain and would love for you to give me your opinion please. I got the bokashi set for Xmas, filled the first bin to the top and stored it in my garage. I never drained any of the liquid until approx 2.5 or 3 months after starting to fill it. I finished filling it up in about 2 weeks, during these 2 weeks I never drained it at all. I then left the bin in my garage for about 2 to 2.5 months without ever opening it. Then I finally drained it, diluted in water and poored it on all of my strawberry plants thinking all the while that it was harmless. The liquid smelled sweet and vinagery. When I added water to it to dilute it, it seemed suddy. Do you think this mixture is safe? The compost in the bin did not have any white or black mold growth and did not smell bad because of the bran and looked pretty whole. I am worried because the Bokashi method only mentions draining asap, 3 to 4 days after you start to fill it. I read somewhere that liquid drained after more than 5 days or 14 days should be disposed of and not used on our plants for human consumption. If so, is there anything I can do to save my strawberry plants somehow? Thanks and sorry for the leaving you such a lenghty comment.
Hi Annie. Even if a batch of bokashi (or other fermenting processes) goes "off", I don't think it'll cause a problem if added to a compost bin or to the soil. It may temporarily throw off a balance of microbes or soil pH, but soil life is resilient, and will rebalance over time. Your strawberry plants will be fine, I think.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thank you for replying so quickly. Just as you mentioned, weeks have passed now since I gave my plants the tea and all of them look fantastic and healthy as ever.
How about weeding the garden say buttercups or maybe the occasional bindweed. Can these be added to a bokashi bin, fermented and made innocuous for the garden? Retaining the organic matter but not propagating more weeds back into the garden?
I never heard of this but, when I was growing up we raised 4 -8 pigs every year. We grew them from early spring till fall and in that time we fed the food scraps to the pigs. In the winter the food scraps were spread on the garden. then in spring they were plowed under breaking down naturally. So I guess in a way resulting the same as this or composting.
Hi Jason, that was very informative! I need a little help with my rose plants, they seem to have lost their leaves. I don't know if it's from over or under watering. It's not from over fertilizing because it's rarely fertilized. It's still in the plastic nursery bags with soil and rice hulls. How do I post a picture of it in TH-cam so you could see? Thank you very much!
Hi Raymund - I don't think you can post pics to YT, but if you leave join the FB group facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety you can leave a pic there. I check in from time to time, and the other members there are very helpful too.
Hi Jason, great video. I want to give this a try to make good compost with my scrapes and to improve the clay in my yard at the same time. I don’t have a space in my yard to just bury bokashi food scraps. Can I use a large plastic bin filled with soil and bury the bokashi in it? And is it ok to cover it with a lid so the animals don’t get it or would it inhibit the growth of microorganisms? I am planning to spread this home made compost over my lawn and hope it breaks down the clay over time. Thank you!
Thanks Kelly. A larger bin is no problem if you fill it up pretty fast. It's an anaerobic (fermentation) process, so keeping it tamped down and low-oxygen is the way to go. Covering is fine too.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thanks very much Jason. Just one more question, if I make my own grains, can I used rolled or instant oats instead of wheat beans? The oats are probably easier and cheaper to buy. Thanks.
We live in Michigan and have very cold winters and lots of snow making it impossible to take my food scraps to the compost bin. This winter I have a tall plastic bin (2 or 3 times the size of a 5 gallon bucket). I keep it in the garage which is very cold and put all my food scraps in it and cover with a tight fitting lid. My plan was to take it to the compost vin when spring comes. Now I am wondering if it is becoming totally rotten and perhaps moldy at the bottom. Will this be unsafe to add to my summer compost bin. I am anxious to try the Bokashi method and happened find it locally just today. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
I have a pretty similar situation - where it's sometimes impossible during the winter to manage outdoor compost or even dig bokashi into the ground. I use a series of the 5 gallon buckets, and stockpile a bit until spring. I don't see why one larger container wouldn't work just as well. The inoculant of lactobacillus makes it less likely, I think, to be taken over by less desirable rots.
From Canada.. Are you able to use GeenEarth compost accelerator (Canadian Tire) in your Bokashi composter? Using spent brewery grains as bokashi substright and green foods wast shredded cardboard and newspaper. Any information that could help me please feel free to comment.
I tried to look for the ingredients, but it was pretty vague. Natural fertilizer, enzymes and bacteria were listed on the WHMIS sheets. The problem so far as I'm concerned: the product is intended to speed up aerobic composting rather than anaerobic fermentation, so I'm not confident the enzymes or bacteria are the right kinds to help with bokashi.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm OK. Really thank you. I'm going to try using GeenEarth compost accelerator too see what happens. Well I am waiting for Lactic Acid Bacteria to form from your recipe using rice & milk. Gardening is experimental. You don't learn until you try it or it fails.. Any information help please feel free to comment if you have knowledge.
I haven't tried cornmeal, but I suspect it's quite packed with carbs in comparison to bran (which is pretty stable and inert). Rice hulls, shredded newspaper, wood pellets or fine wood chip are common substitutions.
Hi Eric - unless the roses are quite overgrown (and will be damaged by winter winds), I'd suggest you wait and do your structural pruning in early spring
Hey Jason, thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. I’m a new subscriber, interested in the Bokashi system and have a couple additional questions: You don’t specify the amount of inoculant you need to add, so is it just general, like a handful? You mention using other inoculant sources, so the liquid I have left from my kimchi but I would need how much? What about a small container of plain yogurt? Thanks again for your help! 👒
Thank you very much. Very useful video. I just started doing bokashi a few weeks ago. I learned that you can inooculate biochar with bokashi liquid. Do you recommend to use bokashi or compost for biochar activation ?. Can you please also do a video on biochar ? Thank you 🙏
hi.. so appreciate your sharing. I have a question about the Bokashi tea (the liquid drawn out every nơ and then). What happen if we dont draw them out? And if we dont use all of then rìght away can we store them?
I haven't seen nay negative effects of (unintentionally) leaving the bokashi a bit on the waterlogged side. I also have had no real problem leaving the fermented scraps for extra weeks before digging them in
Hi. Thanks for all that you share about BOKASHI. I HAVE been trying to make Bokashi...... Some time s...things go wrong. Rice water after two days it's fine. After three days.... smells bad. It is very easy to make curds. Is it ok to mix diluted curds.. with rice washed water which is fermented......then add sugar syrup.....let fermentation go on for few days. After that mix with rice bran...dry it...preserve it. Ultimate ly what we need is probiotic bacteria to speed up composting.. You may clarify ....and guide . Thanks a lot John Texeira
Ok here's a big question and I really hope you can answer. Can you add yeast or the other photosynthetic bacteria to your homemade mix? Basically how close to the commercial bokashi can we get at home even if the levels of each component arent even.
(my opinion only) People have been fermenting for centuries. The EM originally used for bokashi is a relatively modern concoction (1980s). The ratios are based on research and experimentation, I'm sure - but in the end, they're *chosen* as someone's idea of the right ratio. For the purposes of fermenting food scraps, I'm happy to leave the minor yeast and bacteria components out. It seems to work just fine with just the lactobacillus culture (and whatever happens to culture naturally along with it).
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank you so much for getting back to me. (I've been on TH-cam for years and this is a first). I really appreciate it especially given that I am currently preparing my rice water to attempt this method.
Thanks for your videos. I question the use of Bokashi Lechate in gardening because as you say lab results are missing, consistent results cant be replicated then tester, varying materials give varying solutione and chemical compositions. I only use my personal vegetable scrapes in my Bokashi system. No one is publishing Bokashi lab analysis on social media. The evidence is all anecdotal, and always goes like dilute 10:1, it works great, use my affilate link to order.... I compost two 40 gallon piles at a time and wonder if Bokashi is worth it if you compost anyway? I suspect adding air pipes in a passive or active pile would be better for rapid break down.
Thanks. I don't put much stock in the supposed benefits of the leachate either. If you're already managing hot compost piles, I suspect it's not worth it to managed another whole system. For my situation, I go with bokashi for all food waste through the year - and don't manage a hot pile at all. Yard waste is relegated to a cold(ish) heap with no management.
Hi. Thanks for sharing your experience on Bokashi. HOPE you can enlighten me on my question..... What is the difference between Bokashi ....... and the bacteria that is easily available in ...curds ....or buttermilk. It could be very easy to get milk fermented ......curds with bacteria. Dry it and use as we use yeast. Or Dilute curds....mix well with..molasses .....for some time.....mix with....wheat bran....dry and keep in store for composting as required.
Yes you can. I have watched several videos on vermicomposting with enc, anc, and red worms . And they seem to love bokashi. I will begin my own batch this week. Good luck.
I think it would be better to start with a new inoculant. There are other microbes that also begin to establish in the bokashi, but you want the lactobacillus to be dominant. The way to make sure is to give a large "starter population" of your desired bacteria. If you introduce the whole range of microbes from the nearly finished bokashi, who knows which microbe will get the upper hand
Rather than spreading bokashi bran on top of each squashed food layer in the bin, wouldn't it be better to mix the bokashi in with the food scraps before squashing the air out in the bin ?
I have a question, can we bury fermented bokashi scraps in living plant pot ? does it harmful to the plant? Because I don't have enough places to mix my soil with the bokashi, then leave it 1 month later. It takes a lot of spaces. thank you for useful information
The fermented bokashi scraps are pretty acid at the time you dig them in. If you're doing so at the roots of the plants, that can be a little stressful (also you may disturb the roots). You can try and see, but I'd be concerned about it.
Thank you for your video, the information provided is very clear. Small question - for some reason I want to grind the kitchen waste in mixer, thinking it would ferment faster. Do you think it is a good idea for bokashi or better leave it the way it is?
Hi Kira. I think you're right. For me, the speed isn't really an issue - I want minimal effort, but I think it'll ferment more quickly in smaller pieces
Nobody is addressing the obvious question: daily scraps go where if the bucket needs to stay sealed? If I have to wait until I have a bucket's worth of compost that means a disgusting bag of rotting, fly attractant on my counter. If I add scraps every day to the bokashi bucket I am adding air and allowing maggots to grow. ???
The daily collection of food scraps is a common problem in composting. I keep a food waste bin with a lid on my counter for while we're cooking or clearing plates. When it's full(ish), which takes a day or two, I empty into the larger bokashi bucket, smush it down to reduce air pockets, and toss in a small handful of bran. This larger bucket also has a lid. It takes a little over a week to fill the larger bucket and then I leave it alone until it's fermented. So far no major problems with flies, but I suppose that will vary with climate and how screened your house is. I don't worry so much about adding air, and it works fine for me. Once the bucket is full, it gets 2 to 3 weeks of uninterrupted fermenting time before I bury the waste. Anyhow, YMMV. I think if you're collecting food scraps at all for any kind of composting or worm culture (or even throwing them in the garbage) you have to take care not to attract flies or vermin. At least with Bokashi, most of the major steps are inside a sealed bucket.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm I managed to find similar mention somewhere else, too, so I will add scraps to the Bokashi bucket as they are produced all day. I am very excited to have found this, as my cats waste a ton of wet food and we are going off grid so I won't be able to put it down the sink, which was never a good solution but I didn't know what else to do.
Im a little disappointed to hear that the “juice” does little for my plants. I was sold to believe that it was terrific to use in a diluted form 1:100.
I'm just about to start my bokashi journey. I chose to go this way because I live in a rented property with no garden beds, not even a single plant in the yard. In the second stage, I'll be mixing bokashi with previously used potting soil and some store bought organic compost to replicate the in-ground effect. Then I'll be using it in pots to start growing food.
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In 10 minutes, I learnt so much!
Just found you today and watched a couple of your videos. I appreciate how you cut through the noise of opinions/speculations to deliver information in a neutral and unambiguous way. Thanks!
Thanks Chad
Thanks Jason, we do or I should say my husband does the composting process and he actually tried burying food scraps in our raised bed just to see what would happen. What did happen surprisingly is we ended up with a butternut squash this summer. Thanks for sharing your versions.👍❤️😊
I have been trying to make bokashi but never found good instructions, your videos explained it perfectly! Thank you very much and lots of love from Argentina
Thanks for share!!
It’s important to learn about the process beforehand.
Thank you! Very informative and thorough. You can use the Bokashi “tea” or juice by diluting it 100 parts water to 1 part “tea” and spray on your plants as a natural pesticide and it’s also very beneficial to the plant itself :)
hi thank you for sharing. If we dont use the Bokashi tea right away.. can we store them some where?
@@ruthtran9494 a big late with a reply but from what I've seen the tea is best used within a day or two. Any excess can be stored for the nutritional value but it lacks in microbial life compared to fresh (I believe)
Wow you answered it call! I recently moved from aerobic to bokashi composting and had few queries. Found your answers very helpful! Thanks
Thanks so much - good to hear someone's getting use from my older releases!
Thank you. Your explanation is perfectly logical. I have come around to this as well. Yard and garden cuttings together in an outdoor protected compost pile, kitchen scraps ---> bokashi.
EXCELLENT overview! Many thanks for posting this video. I hope it encourages more people to try a bokashi bucket or two or three. 😎👍
The bokashi "juice" is supposed to be good for septic system maintenance when poured down the drain, which is one reason I got into bokashi a few years ago. Also, my climate in the High Desert Southwest of the U.S. is extremely dry and windy. Hot composting requires a lot of extra work (and water) to keep a pile's moisture levels consistent.
I originally thought bokashi was a little too weird and potentially complicated. Tired of mummified banana peels, I finally decided to give it a try. It turned out to be MUCH easier than I thought and is definitely inexpensive if you make your own bucket system and a big batch of your own bran or other starter.
My approach to composting now consists of bokashi, vermiculture, trenches and lasagna beds. Yes, bokashi will get stinky and disgusting if it goes "off" and the buckets can get kinda heavy (I always forget that part). But for me, the benefits outweigh the challenges. Thanks again and many blessings to you and your family. 🌻
Thanks for sharing your experience with it Carole. I forgot how time-consuming it was to keep my hot compost "watered" over the summer.
You are such a good teacher. Thank you for the clear and concise videos about bokashi.
WOW great video! Thanks for sharing
Thanks Jason, this video is so comprehensive and informative. You hv helped a lot to me as a newbie. Thanks again and take care!
Thanks, you cleared up somethings for me.
I've watched several of your video's and love your general approach to things. Practical & useful for sure.
Thanks for the feedback David!
THX Fraser, I just knew there had to b a way around the "grain" or "rice" thing!!!
I am going to start a Bokashi system and am very excited. I already am an avid fermenter, and am excited to give this a try. I already have multiple compost systems and vermiculture system. I am a garden coach and love to have a base understanding in all kinds of different practices.
quick question: instead of burying your bokashi, could you just add it to your worm system to let them finish breaking down the material? Is this overkill? Is there a benefit to that extra step?
From the sounds of it, you probably have more experience in worm composting than I do. After the bokashi bran is added, the fermentation makes the food waste fairly acidic. Is that compatible with worm composting?
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm good point. The questions that comes to mind, is what happens to the pH of bokashi compost once it's exposed to oxygen? It seems I have some research to do. I'm preparing for a free webinar next week called Camp Compost. It'll mostly go over the methods I'm familiar with, but wanted to touch on Bokashi and just share my base understanding. Soil Science is so fascinating.
@@KitsapRootsIt's been a few years since you posted this comment, but I wanted to ask you... Have you been using Bokashi composting since? And have you used it in your worm bins? I also am early in my bokashi journey, and I did throw some in my worm bins, and they seemed to love it...😊, I'm wondering about other people's experience as well!
I agree with you about setting up a compost bin. I would rather do Leaf Mold in a plastic liner, or plastic garbage can. What I do is to freeze my kitchen scraps and then every so often I do trench composting with them(need a big plastic storage bag(s), and freezer). Thank you for your videos, they are very informative, and beneficial.
Thanks Richard. I know a few people who do the same as you - the freezing even helping to pre-soften the veggie scraps before going in the ground.
What happens if I leave more that two weeks? I live in Ontario Canada and I am not able to bury my compost during winter time to finish it
I routinely leave them in my (cold) garage for weeks or months in the winter. No problems so far.
Can you use your own bokashi bran to innoculate more bran (w/ molasses + water)? If so, do you have in mind any ratios, or if it would require longer to ferment than using cultured whey?
As my last comment… so well presented and explained…. Surpurb
Great content and review. Thx!
As always.....fabulous!
Thank you so much! Very clear and helpful!
Thank you for your explanations. I was researching bokashi and had a lot of questions, and you pretty much answered them all here. I'm currently experimenting to see if I can make a "lactobacillus serum" out of kimchi juice, or sourdough starter, or kombucha tea, or kefir whey, and if I can multiply the lactobacteria by adding water, molasses, and sugar, and then letting it ferment to increase the quantity
I have a few questions though. Instead of inoculating a grain or shredded paper with the lactobacillus bacteria to have an inert dry substance, could I bottle up the lactobacillus liquid, and spray it onto my kitchen waste/scraps rather than adding the bokashi grains?
After learning more about bokashi composting, it essentially seems like a dry substrate, inoculated with lactobacillus bacteria, which is added in layers with kitchen scraps, to basically "pickle" the waste, which acidifies and prevents rot, and makes it more bio-available for trench composting.
Have you experimented further with these other techniques of generating lactobacillus bacteria for Bokashi? I am particularly interested in kefir liquid since I make it regularly!
Nice and clear! Thank you.
I don't get a ton of food waste - but I want to use bokashi. If I have a larger container, and it takes me a while (6+ months) to fill up before I seal it for fermenting, are there any issues?
Hi Vector - I've definitely had long periods of time with the bokashi in the bucket (like in winter, when the weather doesn't always allow me to get it into the ground) - seems to make little difference to the results.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm what about when I'm filling the compost up itself, before planting and sealing it? I read somewhere that you can open it up to three times a day? Does that make sense, lol
There you go. Perfect video.
I am thinking of adding the bokashi to my worm bin. they will eat it and provide good rich castings. I also was thinking of adding it into the rows of my garden instead of a big hole. I don't understand the big hole idea.
I recently learned about a similar system for pre-composting which consists of putting food and garden scraps in a bucket filled with lacto liquid, which ferments everything and destroys pathogens. Once the bucket is full, you supposed to mix it with soil and wait six weeks. I have just started doing this in a five gallon bucket, and I have also been adding paper scraps to bucket. The main difference between this approach and bokashi appears to be that bokashi is a more or less dry system that drains liquid out during fermentation whereas in this system all the scraps are bathing in lacto liquid. It seems sort of similar to fermenting vegetables in a jar! I am brand new to this so I'm just wondering if you can see any reason such a system wouldn't work just as well as Bokashi? If I understand all of this right, having the lacto bacteria working is the only thing that really matters for the process to be successful. Also, why is it necessary to get rid of the liquid at all? Couldn't I just strain the scraps from the liquid and then pour the liquid over the soil after putting the scraps in the trench? Or simply pour the whole bucket - liquid and all - into a trench and cover it with some soil? It seems like the liquid may contain valuable elements that could help with the break down of the organic matter, and is also infused with beneficial nutrients and minerals from the plant parts that have been soaking in it? Also, since heat increases fermentation activity, is it best to keep the bucket in a sunny area so it heats up? Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience
Hi Chris. Interesting to hear. I pretty much have followed the Bokashi method as presented to me, so I can't comment much on the other way. There have been a few times when my bokashi scraps were wetter than usual, and I haven't always been diligent about draining. I was a little worried on those occasions that the liquid "backing up" into the top bucket would cause a problem. For what it's worth, it never seemed to cause an issue.
Hi Jason. I'm setting up a bucket. BUT I'm a household of one. My small yard backs up to a hedgerow. I have the invasive non-native honeysuckle and wild rose brambles that are a losing battle but must be continually cut and ripped out. I dont like to compost them for fear they will take root. Only option is to throw them into the yard waste pick up bin. If in small pieces, would the fermenting be enough to kill them dead? Also, I could use the additional volume in the bokashi bucket.
I appreciate your videos. Thanks.
Hi Amy. I've never tried using bokashi for yard clippings. It might work if mixed with a sufficient volume of kitchen waste or other compostables, but with a larger amount of chopped shrub material, I wonder if there would be too much air space and not enough "fuel" (sugar, carbs, etc) to promote anaerobic fermentation. Let me know how it goes for you! I also deal with a good amount of woody shrub clippings, and this year I'm planning on using a wood chipper to chop it down to a fine mulch that can't resprout. Wish me luck!
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm I'll let you know how it goes. Envious of your chipper! Happy growing this year.
Thank you very much for all the info about bokashi. May I know if I can use coffee grounds as bokashi bran?
I bet it would work fine, so long as you dry them thoroughly after inoculation
Hi.
Thanks for your lovely answers.
I have tried to make Bakashi compost....but I need some guidelines.
Is there any specific measure while mixing molasses.
It is easy to get SUGAR CANE JUICE PROCESSED TOMAKE JAGGERY SORT OF SUGAR WE USE HERE.
BY CHANCE IF molasses happens to be too much.....would ants become a problem ....
Initially when I used rice washed water....it fermented....but started stinking after some time.
Then I started all over again.
Hope you can guide me.
Here's something more specific on making the bran: th-cam.com/video/sUEVu32rcyQ/w-d-xo.html
I noticed there are not really any carbon materials (brown materials) put in. Does that affect the soil in the long run? Why does regular compost require some browns and bokashi doesn’t? Does bokashi composting alone sufficient enough? Or do you have to supplement other types of compost to keep the soil balanced?
Hi Jen. Because it's a fermentation-based process, there's no need to mix greens and browns, and the resulting scraps are definitely fine for the garden.
Can this filled bucket be added to worm bins to further compost to get black gold ?
Not everything that can go into a bokashi bucket would be recommended for the worm bin. Meat, bones, eggshells, dairy and fatty/oily substances are usually excluded from worm bins, so if you want to pretreat your food scraps with bokashi and then use it for the worm bin, you'll have exclude these items.
Great information... Please do let me know about garbage enzymes benefits or disadvantages... Thanks
Just another reader here, what are garbage enzymes?
Hi Jason, I am new to bokashi compost and thank you for your video because it cleared up so many of my doubts. I still have one left though. I think I may have to throw away my 10 strawberry plants because I didn't follow the Bokashi steps at all. I was way off actually. I'll explain and would love for you to give me your opinion please. I got the bokashi set for Xmas, filled the first bin to the top and stored it in my garage. I never drained any of the liquid until approx 2.5 or 3 months after starting to fill it. I finished filling it up in about 2 weeks, during these 2 weeks I never drained it at all. I then left the bin in my garage for about 2 to 2.5 months without ever opening it. Then I finally drained it, diluted in water and poored it on all of my strawberry plants thinking all the while that it was harmless. The liquid smelled sweet and vinagery. When I added water to it to dilute it, it seemed suddy. Do you think this mixture is safe? The compost in the bin did not have any white or black mold growth and did not smell bad because of the bran and looked pretty whole. I am worried because the Bokashi method only mentions draining asap, 3 to 4 days after you start to fill it. I read somewhere that liquid drained after more than 5 days or 14 days should be disposed of and not used on our plants for human consumption. If so, is there anything I can do to save my strawberry plants somehow? Thanks and sorry for the leaving you such a lenghty comment.
Hi Annie. Even if a batch of bokashi (or other fermenting processes) goes "off", I don't think it'll cause a problem if added to a compost bin or to the soil. It may temporarily throw off a balance of microbes or soil pH, but soil life is resilient, and will rebalance over time. Your strawberry plants will be fine, I think.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thank you for replying so quickly. Just as you mentioned, weeks have passed now since I gave my plants the tea and all of them look fantastic and healthy as ever.
How about weeding the garden say buttercups or maybe the occasional bindweed. Can these be added to a bokashi bin, fermented and made innocuous for the garden? Retaining the organic matter but not propagating more weeds back into the garden?
I don't expect bindweed could really survive the fermentation process, but of course, it is pure evil, so nothing's out of the question
I never heard of this but, when I was growing up we raised 4 -8 pigs every year. We grew them from early spring till fall and in that time we fed the food scraps to the pigs. In the winter the food scraps were spread on the garden. then in spring they were plowed under breaking down naturally. So I guess in a way resulting the same as this or composting.
Hi Jason, that was very informative! I need a little help with my rose plants, they seem to have lost their leaves. I don't know if it's from over or under watering. It's not from over fertilizing because it's rarely fertilized. It's still in the plastic nursery bags with soil and rice hulls. How do I post a picture of it in TH-cam so you could see? Thank you very much!
Hi Raymund - I don't think you can post pics to YT, but if you leave join the FB group facebook.com/groups/unrulyrosesociety you can leave a pic there. I check in from time to time, and the other members there are very helpful too.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank you very much!
Love your videos!!!
Can you use cornmeal in stead of brand?
I haven't tried cornmeal. I wonder if it has too much carbohydrate and would break down?
Hi Jason , can I use the peat moss to make Bokashi ?
Yes, that should work fine.
Can I add past 'best by date' canned chicken, (like the tuna cans) to my bokashi compost
Good idea to keep track of dates
Very helpful. Thanks!
Hi Jason, great video. I want to give this a try to make good compost with my scrapes and to improve the clay in my yard at the same time. I don’t have a space in my yard to just bury bokashi food scraps. Can I use a large plastic bin filled with soil and bury the bokashi in it? And is it ok to cover it with a lid so the animals don’t get it or would it inhibit the growth of microorganisms? I am planning to spread this home made compost over my lawn and hope it breaks down the clay over time. Thank you!
Thanks Kelly. A larger bin is no problem if you fill it up pretty fast. It's an anaerobic (fermentation) process, so keeping it tamped down and low-oxygen is the way to go. Covering is fine too.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thanks very much Jason. Just one more question, if I make my own grains, can I used rolled or instant oats instead of wheat beans? The oats are probably easier and cheaper to buy. Thanks.
Can I add dog or cat feces to bokashi buckets
We live in Michigan and have very cold winters and lots of snow making it impossible to take my food scraps to the compost bin. This winter I have a tall plastic bin (2 or 3 times the size of a 5 gallon bucket). I keep it in the garage which is very cold and put all my food scraps in it and cover with a tight fitting lid. My plan was to take it to the compost vin when spring comes. Now I am wondering if it is becoming totally rotten and perhaps moldy at the bottom. Will this be unsafe to add to my summer compost bin. I am anxious to try the Bokashi method and happened find it locally just today. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
I have a pretty similar situation - where it's sometimes impossible during the winter to manage outdoor compost or even dig bokashi into the ground. I use a series of the 5 gallon buckets, and stockpile a bit until spring. I don't see why one larger container wouldn't work just as well. The inoculant of lactobacillus makes it less likely, I think, to be taken over by less desirable rots.
From Canada.. Are you able to use GeenEarth compost accelerator (Canadian Tire) in your Bokashi composter? Using spent brewery grains as bokashi substright and green foods wast shredded cardboard and newspaper. Any information that could help me please feel free to comment.
I tried to look for the ingredients, but it was pretty vague. Natural fertilizer, enzymes and bacteria were listed on the WHMIS sheets. The problem so far as I'm concerned: the product is intended to speed up aerobic composting rather than anaerobic fermentation, so I'm not confident the enzymes or bacteria are the right kinds to help with bokashi.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm OK. Really thank you. I'm going to try using GeenEarth compost accelerator too see what happens. Well I am waiting for Lactic Acid Bacteria to form from your recipe using rice & milk. Gardening is experimental. You don't learn until you try it or it fails.. Any information help please feel free to comment if you have knowledge.
Can we use bokashi powder for making just dry leaf mold accelerator ?
I haven't heard anything particular about it being used for composting leaf mold.
Thank you for the video. I want to compost but trying to decide which is best for me. Can I throw the fermented compost into my tumbler composter?
Yes, that works fine.
Awesome, thank you for replying and so quickly!!
Can I use cornmeal instead of bran? thank you .
I haven't tried cornmeal, but I suspect it's quite packed with carbs in comparison to bran (which is pretty stable and inert). Rice hulls, shredded newspaper, wood pellets or fine wood chip are common substitutions.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank you for quick reply. I will try to find if I can find fine wood chip.
Thank you for the detail
My pleasure Rob. Thanks for watching
hi jason, just a quick question, when is the best time to prune my roses for the winter, i live in the north of england.
Hi Eric - unless the roses are quite overgrown (and will be damaged by winter winds), I'd suggest you wait and do your structural pruning in early spring
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thanks jason, as ever ,good advice, no one better than you.
Hey Jason, thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. I’m a new subscriber, interested in the Bokashi system and have a couple additional questions:
You don’t specify the amount of inoculant you need to add, so is it just general, like a handful?
You mention using other inoculant sources, so the liquid I have left from my kimchi but I would need how much? What about a small container of plain yogurt?
Thanks again for your help! 👒
Hi Tonia. Yes, it's like a handful. I don't use the liquid inoculant, so I'm not sure at all in that case.
Perfect video. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Very useful video. I just started doing bokashi a few weeks ago. I learned that you can inooculate biochar with bokashi liquid. Do you recommend to use bokashi or compost for biochar activation ?. Can you please also do a video on biochar ? Thank you 🙏
Good evening
I began my bokashi 3 weeks ago. I still have no " tea" coming out. Why? Is it problem ?
Thank you
Not a problem really. Some food scraps naturally shed more moisture during fermentation, but it's not an issue if it doesn't
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm
Thank you.
Thank you! Very helpful.
hi.. so appreciate your sharing. I have a question about the Bokashi tea (the liquid drawn out every nơ and then). What happen if we dont draw them out? And if we dont use all of then rìght away can we store them?
I haven't seen nay negative effects of (unintentionally) leaving the bokashi a bit on the waterlogged side. I also have had no real problem leaving the fermented scraps for extra weeks before digging them in
I found this so helpful thank you !
You're so welcome!
Hi.
Thanks for all that you share about BOKASHI.
I HAVE been trying to make Bokashi......
Some time s...things go wrong.
Rice water after two days it's fine.
After three days.... smells bad.
It is very easy to make curds.
Is it ok to mix diluted curds.. with rice washed water which is fermented......then add sugar syrup.....let fermentation go on for few days.
After that mix with rice bran...dry it...preserve it.
Ultimate ly what we need is probiotic bacteria to speed up composting..
You may clarify ....and guide .
Thanks a lot
John Texeira
Thank you so so much!!!! really good video!!!!
Ok here's a big question and I really hope you can answer. Can you add yeast or the other photosynthetic bacteria to your homemade mix? Basically how close to the commercial bokashi can we get at home even if the levels of each component arent even.
(my opinion only) People have been fermenting for centuries. The EM originally used for bokashi is a relatively modern concoction (1980s). The ratios are based on research and experimentation, I'm sure - but in the end, they're *chosen* as someone's idea of the right ratio. For the purposes of fermenting food scraps, I'm happy to leave the minor yeast and bacteria components out. It seems to work just fine with just the lactobacillus culture (and whatever happens to culture naturally along with it).
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank you so much for getting back to me. (I've been on TH-cam for years and this is a first). I really appreciate it especially given that I am currently preparing my rice water to attempt this method.
Thanks for your videos. I question the use of Bokashi Lechate in gardening because as you say lab results are missing, consistent results cant be replicated then tester, varying materials give varying solutione and chemical compositions. I only use my personal vegetable scrapes in my Bokashi system. No one is publishing Bokashi lab analysis on social media. The evidence is all anecdotal, and always goes like dilute 10:1, it works great, use my affilate link to order.... I compost two 40 gallon piles at a time and wonder if Bokashi is worth it if you compost anyway? I suspect adding air pipes in a passive or active pile would be better for rapid break down.
Thanks. I don't put much stock in the supposed benefits of the leachate either. If you're already managing hot compost piles, I suspect it's not worth it to managed another whole system. For my situation, I go with bokashi for all food waste through the year - and don't manage a hot pile at all. Yard waste is relegated to a cold(ish) heap with no management.
Can i do bokashi composting straight away by using the LAB serum?
That should work fine.
Hi.
Thanks for sharing your experience on Bokashi.
HOPE you can enlighten me on
my question.....
What is the difference between
Bokashi ....... and the bacteria that is easily available in ...curds ....or buttermilk.
It could be very easy to get milk fermented ......curds with bacteria.
Dry it and use as we use yeast.
Or
Dilute curds....mix well with..molasses .....for some time.....mix with....wheat bran....dry and keep in store for composting as required.
I live in bear country. Do you know if the berried bakashi waste will attract bears to it? Thank you
I wouldn't be surprised!
Where can I order Bokashi?
Thanks for sharing this !
Uuuuuummmmmmm! Interesting 🙄😅 I’m going to do this👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽!!!
Can I use bokashi ferments as food for my ANC
Yes you can. I have watched several videos on vermicomposting with enc, anc, and red worms . And they seem to love bokashi. I will begin my own batch this week. Good luck.
Wood shredded office paper work like the newspaper? Great videos
Yes, shredded paper works.
I opened my bokashi bucket and I have maggots in bucket. I have never had them in my bucket. What should I do with contents?
Bury it as usual. The maggots will have no impact on the results.
Can you use some of the previous batch (like, just before burying) to innoculate your new batch? Thanks!
I think it would be better to start with a new inoculant. There are other microbes that also begin to establish in the bokashi, but you want the lactobacillus to be dominant. The way to make sure is to give a large "starter population" of your desired bacteria. If you introduce the whole range of microbes from the nearly finished bokashi, who knows which microbe will get the upper hand
How was the juice smell? Smell good? Or bad?
Not great. Kind of acidic, like sauerkraut.
Rather than spreading bokashi bran on top of each squashed food layer in the bin, wouldn't it be better to mix the bokashi in with the food scraps before squashing the air out in the bin ?
Sounds like that would work fine. I've never had much of a problem with the bacteria getting started with just a sprinkle on top of the layer though.
I have a question, can we bury fermented bokashi scraps in living plant pot ? does it harmful to the plant? Because I don't have enough places to mix my soil with the bokashi, then leave it 1 month later. It takes a lot of spaces.
thank you for useful information
The fermented bokashi scraps are pretty acid at the time you dig them in. If you're doing so at the roots of the plants, that can be a little stressful (also you may disturb the roots). You can try and see, but I'd be concerned about it.
Does Bokashi Composting need to be stored in a cool place? Can heat accelerate the process?
I don't think heat plays too much a role in the fermentation, and may even be counterproductive.
Thank you for your video, the information provided is very clear. Small question - for some reason I want to grind the kitchen waste in mixer, thinking it would ferment faster. Do you think it is a good idea for bokashi or better leave it the way it is?
Hi Kira. I think you're right. For me, the speed isn't really an issue - I want minimal effort, but I think it'll ferment more quickly in smaller pieces
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thank you so much for your answer!
like it , like it ,like it ,, thank you
Thank you :)
Nobody is addressing the obvious question: daily scraps go where if the bucket needs to stay sealed?
If I have to wait until I have a bucket's worth of compost that means a disgusting bag of rotting, fly attractant on my counter.
If I add scraps every day to the bokashi bucket I am adding air and allowing maggots to grow.
???
The daily collection of food scraps is a common problem in composting. I keep a food waste bin with a lid on my counter for while we're cooking or clearing plates. When it's full(ish), which takes a day or two, I empty into the larger bokashi bucket, smush it down to reduce air pockets, and toss in a small handful of bran. This larger bucket also has a lid. It takes a little over a week to fill the larger bucket and then I leave it alone until it's fermented. So far no major problems with flies, but I suppose that will vary with climate and how screened your house is. I don't worry so much about adding air, and it works fine for me. Once the bucket is full, it gets 2 to 3 weeks of uninterrupted fermenting time before I bury the waste. Anyhow, YMMV. I think if you're collecting food scraps at all for any kind of composting or worm culture (or even throwing them in the garbage) you have to take care not to attract flies or vermin. At least with Bokashi, most of the major steps are inside a sealed bucket.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm I managed to find similar mention somewhere else, too, so I will add scraps to the Bokashi bucket as they are produced all day.
I am very excited to have found this, as my cats waste a ton of wet food and we are going off grid so I won't be able to put it down the sink, which was never a good solution but I didn't know what else to do.
Im a little disappointed to hear that the “juice” does little for my plants. I was sold to believe that it was terrific to use in a diluted form 1:100.
Yeah, sadly there's not much basis for it.
@@FraserValleyRoseFarm
PS:I only used vegetable and fruit peels, no animal product at all.
👍🏽👏🏾🙏🥰
Aha....
🙌🏼🫶🏼🔥🤙🏼🥷🏼