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

[Scrappy4]

I got two of these bakashi makers, one for me one to give away for x-mas. I plan on using it in spring on my compost heap, plus a little in my worm bin now. Can I store the bakashi in a garbage bag (squeeze out air) or something when the bucket fills up? Oh, I have heard you can use pre soaked and dried newspapers for the inoculant, any advice on that? scrappy

 

[mad librettist]

make sure your garbage bag is high quality or it will tear. As long as it is sealed and there is not too much moisture it should work great. You can also chuck it outside if your temps stay frozen.

you can make bokashi outside in a pile if you want.

you can use newspaper instead of bran. trouble is, with the decline of newsprint, bran can be easier to source. it's also easier to work with.

 

[Scrappy4]

Your saying this bokashi still works in freezing temps?

Just had an idea, I got my DW a seal-a-meal thingy for x-mas, and have already borrowed it to vacume seal my medical MJ jars, think she will let me seal a meal the bokashi? uh, maybe I shouldn't push my luck.....

For newspaper I could use our weekly shopper,and other junk mail, it comes reguardless if we want it or not, but no one delivers bran....scrappy

 

[mad librettist]

bokashi doesn't work in the cold.

but if you freeze already fermented stuff, it should still be great worm feed/compost heater-upper when it thaws. I was suggesting a way to store it, but I was not clear.

 

[MrFista]

Not sure how you guys are 'sealing' the top of your bokashi ferments off but here's a tip...

A bag of water. No air between the top of the mix and the top of the bucket this way. Tie off a bag of water, put it on top.

Bag of water(tm).

 

[mad librettist]

Fista that is genius!

I was using a barbell weight on top. This is much simpler and better.

 

[Chong_Irie]

So my batch has been fermenting for 2 wks and a few days, it has been at 60F for most of the days but has dipped down to the 40's the last week or so at night..Does 3wks seem like a solid amount of time? When I smell it, it has a distinct sourish smell (not bad smelling at all)

 

[mad librettist]

keep fermenting it

 

[Floralfaction]

Does anyone know what the sea salt is for and is it necessary?

I assume salt is added to prevent the blooming of non-lacto bacterium. That's the reason for using salt in food preservation. The salt holds them off initially, once the lactobacillus create enough lactic acid nothing else can grow substantial populations.

p.s. thanks for this thread!! I started fermenting some spent grain from beer brewing, with my own lacto culture. I'm still tracking down fittings to mount a drain on my bucket, I would have done the simple DIY example from above but I'm using this as a practice for my dreams of a RDWC aquaponic setup.

peace and blessings

 

[mad librettist]

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

I dunno, you think we are talking enough salt to pull that off?



thanks though, for that bit of knowledge. much appreciated!

 

[Floralfaction]

The salt is probably unnecessary with a good dose of EM or lacto culture. With pickles or kraut you can use lots of salt and no whey or lots of whey and no salt, or a little of each.

peace

 

[mad librettist]

The salt is probably unnecessary with a good dose of EM or lacto culture. With pickles or kraut you can use lots of salt and no whey or lots of whey and no salt, or a little of each.

peace

well that's just a whole new world for me! cool stuff, thanks for putting it on this thread.

 

[mad librettist]

a warning to those with pets

a warning to those with pets

So I fed some ultra ripe bokashi to my big soil bin, which is just a giant smart pot.

My dog smelled it, and got in there yesterday while I was focused on seedlings. He took about 6 massive shits so far today, and 5 of them look a whole lot like my soil mix.


animals go crazy for this stuff, so keep it covered.

 

[Chong_Irie]

Ok so i opened up the bin that was fermenting and the top layer was covered in a thick white mold! Im letting it go another 2 weeks and then it gets mixed with 5gal bin of kitchen waste that is waiting for it =) THANKS MAD L

 

[norichips]

the white mould is good in a bokashi bin, thats the little guys hard at work! black/green other color fuzzies are BAD!

 

[norichips]

oh i have a question about feeding bokashi/EM1 to dogs... i have heard good things about adding EM1 to dogs drinking water, i am just wondering if i should add molassas to this like i would with a tea? or just straight EM1 into the water? also i never knew you could feed them actual bokashi, next time i might try and give my dog a little bit, see what it does for him

 

[mad librettist]

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

just straight em for the dog water, no molasses. I put about half a capful in the dish.

dogs are drawn to bokashi, so the first time my dog ate some was not in purpose. it cleared up some diarrhea tho, so now I give it to him regularly.

 

[mad librettist]

I just wanted to show what looks like when you bury some bokashi in a big container. I like to cover it well with dirt, then put cardboard on top/ I love the way the worms go crazy. If you have two months, this is a great way to season your soil. I didn't start with that many worms, and there are lots more than I could catch with the camera. I'd say I've had bokashi in there about 3 weeks.

 

[norichips]

yeah worms go completely insane over fermented bokashi, i threw some in my wormbin as a trial and they left all the other food alone and just attacked the bokashi, it dissapeared in no time at all; meat citrus and all. I also burried a bucketload in a soilbin @ my last house (in apartment now no more backyard) and when i went to dig in it a month or so later i found MASSIVE 10cm+ fat like pencil night crawlers in there, 1 was chilling on top of the soil when i opened the bin and it gave me a nice little fright wern't in there before the bokashi.

 

[VagPuncher]

Isn't that when like 20 guys cover a girl in cum?