Bokashi (fermented food/garden waste) Composting Discussion

Ok, that's a real good idea. Thanks!

Suzy

My Bokashi bucket arrived tonight and I'm excited to get it started. G_M & Mibus2, do you also put grain products in the bucket - bread scraps & the like?

I'm also getting chickens for christmas this year (laying type not eating) and I was really interested to read on a number of different websites that folks are using the Bokashi bran in chicken feed. Apparently it helps to improve the overall health of the birds and keeps the smell of their poop down. I'm telling ya! My garden is not going to know what hit it this summer!

wgnkiwi, I've read that some folks mix the Bokashi bran with the chicken feed. My take on that is that it is like giving them probiotic supplement. You may want to order a litre of EM mother culture that you can use to brew up some Activated EM. I use this in diluted form as both a soil drench, a foliar spray and full strength as a weekly drain treatment to keep my drains open. I've also sprayed it on garbage/trash cans to get rid of any smells. The emamerica site has some interesting documentation on the EM in use during disaster relief such as spraying on walls after flooding etc to prevent mold growth.

G_M, are you ordering inoculant on line? I read your comment about using a bit from the original batch ... ?

I bought a litre of mother culture and have used that to make several gallons of the activated or extended culture as recommended by the company. I need to order more, probably a gallon this time as the mother culture keeps well. There are so many uses for it and I only have so much time to learn about them.

g_m, I received my two buckets from EMamerica, and have already started one bucket with kitchen scraps and Bokashi. My question is: I also received two bottles of "concentrated microbial innoculant"--but I'm not sure what to do with this. Spray it, in diluted form, into the bucket? Is this the "activated or extended ciulture" that you talk about above?
Sorry for the newbie questions. I am ignorant but very excited about using this form of composting.

Best thing to do is go to the emamerica site and read their instructions. The inocculant is separate from the boksashi, I'm pretty sure. Though it can be used for odors the bokashi does the same thing.

I have read and reread most of the articles at the em site as I have trouble keeping it all straight.

The people there are also very nice about answering questions.

kb

wgnkiwi to answer your question on the waste Yes I put everything in mine when my bucket in the house gets full hubby dumps it in the trash can outside where it sits for 2 wks. or more usually more so.

Cape you can use a lil dash in the bucket but then you can also use it when watering your plants now or save it and come spring use one of those garden sprayers that you put your stuff in and hook to the hose and use it to spray your plants and trees.

CapeCodGardener, my guess is that you received two bottles of "mother culture" which you can dilute and use as is, or you can extend (more economical) by a little of the mother culture to brew up an larger batch of "activated EM", which you will then dilute and use. I'm surprised they didn't send you a recipe for the activation brew along with the culture.

Since I'm not into washing more utensils/dishes than needed, I mix the molasses and warm water in the 1 gallon juice bottle first, shake to mix thoroughly, then add the EM culture and mix again. If it's cold and I need to accelerate the process (meaning I didn't plan ahead well enough) , I put the bottle on a heating pad. Otherwise I just let it brew until the pH is in range.

I searched their site and found the activation instructions and a step by step video at this link:
http://www.emamerica.com/data/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=215

I'm pasting the text in here:

"How to make Activated EM•1®
EM•1® Microbial products can be used directly from the bottle or they are grown one time for economical purposes. This "growing" process is called Activation (or extended). The normal activation process is to take one part EM•1® and make 22 times the amount through a simple fermentation process, similar to making beer or wine. Below are instructions on how to do this simple process that normally takes anywhere from 5-10 days to complete when done properly.
As with beer and wine, the colder the temperature, the longer the fermentation takes to complete. And, the process is done without air. Any local home brewing supplier will have the materials you will need to have a successful Activation. These items include airlocks, carboys, tubing, etc. If you want to keep it really simple, you may use a clean soda bottle with a screw on top. These bottles are very good because they can take a tremendous amount of pressure and can be found virtually anywhere. If you load the slideshow below, you will see that apple juice bottles from the local grocery store were used to ferment the Activated EM•1®.

To prepare 22 parts of Activated EM•1® (AEM•1®) from 1 part of EM•1®.

A clean airtight plastic bottle or container or large tank with lid

1 part EM•1® (5% of the total volume)
1 part Sugar Cane Molasses (5% of the total volume)(pictured right)
20 parts Water
Tools to help the preparation process

A funnel
A measuring cup and spoon
pH paper to check pH (available from EM America)
To Make 1 liter or quart:

Add water to fill 80% of the plastic bottle
Then add 50ml (1.7oz) of molasses and 50ml (1.7oz) of EM•1® in the bottle
Shake the bottle to dissolve the molasses. Top off with water.
Cap the bottle tightly and keep in a warm place.
Making 5 gallons of Activated EM•1®:

Add water to fill 50% of the plastic container
Then add 28 oz. of molasses and 28 oz of EM•1® in the bottle*
Shake the container to dissolve the molasses and top off the container with warm water.
Cap the container tightly and keep in a warm place
*Dissolve the molasses with warm or hot water before adding it to the container. This makes the preparation easier.

Making a tote of (275 gallons) or 1,000 liters of Activated EM•1®

Add water to fill half of the tank
Then add 12 gallons of molasses and 12 gallons of EM•1® to the tank*
Top off the tank with more warm water to prevent excess airspace.
Cap the tank tightly and keep in a warm place
When is it ready?

When the pH of the solution drops to 3.7 or below and has rested at this pH for 5-7 days, the Activated EM•1® is ready to use. You will have about 30-45 days to use it at this point.


* Dissolve the molasses with warm or hot water before adding it to the tank. This makes the preparation easier.

**During the fermentation process pressure builds up in the containers. To avoid rupturing the container, "burp" it and reseal. Burping may have to be done one or more times per day.

NOTE
EM•1® likes warm conditions. A suitable temperature for fermentation (propagation) of EM•1® is from 86F to 104F (30C to 40C). In the winter, and other times when the temperature is low, after making the Activated EM•1®(dissolving the molasses in hot water), place the EM•1® next to a radiator, space heater, or other warm device, or even wrap it in a blanket or an insulator, in order to promote EM•1® fermentation.

STORAGE
Activated EM•1® should be kept in an expandable (plastic) air-tight container to keep it anaerobic.
Store Activated EM•1® at room temperature, 68F to 86F (20C-30C). Refrigeration is not necessary.

In containers that are not completely airtight, a white layer of yeast will form on the surface. Since this may lead to putrefaction, remove the layer as needed and transfer to a container that can be closed tightly.

If Activated EM•1® has a foul smell or the pH rises above 4.0, the solution could be contaminated with undesirable microbes and should be discarded. This material is fine to pour into a long-term compost pile."

This page from the SCD World site has downloads of product information and usage:
http://www.scdworld.net/category_s/77.htm

I suggest starting with the EM Activation instructions and Mother Culture Usage guides.

Whew, you look through the emamerica site and they are covering a lot of bases. G_M, can I ask how long you've been using this product?

Thank you so much, g-m and others, for the information on using the bottles of mother-culture that I received. I think I will use a dilution for the time-being, but who knows how adventurous I may become as my experience with Bokashi grows?
I must say, it was quite gratifying today when I collected ALL the refuse after our Christmas dinner (not just the veggie and fruit scraps) for my Bokashi-bucket. I do love the idea of not throwing anything away. What I'm now worried about is the fact that my bucket is almost full! Will the contents sink down as the fermentation proceeds?

PC, I've been using EM & Bokashi for about two years on and off. The off periods are when I've run out of the extended/activated EM, been too cheap to use the mother culture directly, and kept forgetting to mix up another brew. My plants, pipes, worms and soil guilt me into brewing up another batch eventually.

Cape, the contents may sink down a little bit, but possibly no a lot (depends on what you put in there). It's pickling rather than composting at this stage. Do you have any regular 5 gallon buckets with lids available to use when the two from EMamerica are full? I'm assuming your weather may not permit access to the ground or compost heap at this time of year.

Ok, for some reason this information just isn't sticking in my wee brain. I have a few questions...

I have a bottle of EM-1 coming in the mail (tomorrow, I hope). Is that 1:1:100 ratio mix straight-out-of-the-bottle EM-1, or activated (& thus diluted) EM-1? In other words: To make bokashi, do I use the EM-1 straight, or do I need to activate it first? (I think the EM home website is terribly unclear about this.)

Is the EM-X ceramic powder snake oil, or is it a necessary ingredient? I watched the Podchef video on youtube, and he mixed it in with little explanation; other recipes don't even bother to include it.

If I use a regular 5 gallon bucket, should I jury-rig the bottom with a raised screen and spigot, so as to drain off and remove additional liquid? Why is this liquid bad stuff?

I'm going to be using the resulting pickle-y goodness to feed to my worms, if that makes a difference to any of these questions.

ilexwhite
garden _maiden has been using everything longer then I have,
but I will try to answer your question some.
when I got my EM-1 and Bokashi the gal told me I could make my own Bokashi using Rice Bran. EM•1®, Molasses, Water, I did not have to activate the EM-1 just use it straight form the jug I got.

as for the liquid at the bottom of the bucket I wouldn't' say ti is bad stuff as you can take that and dilute it and use it when watering your plants...like a compost tea....using it straight could burn the plants.

Cape to answer you on the leaving it in the bucket....with the many hours I work mine sits in the trash can we use after it is done in the bucket for several weeks until I get to adding it to the compost pile or diggin a hole to put it in.
It doesn't' hurt a thing to leave it longer

Your welcome I know it is amazing how much you can really compost this way and put to good use.

my big can is sitting now outside waiting for me to be in the mood to add it to the compost but it is a bit chilly here right now so it is going to wait...it has scraps foro the last "event" we had at the restaurant so a bit longer won't hurt to pickle the melons

ilexwhite, Bokashi usually refers to composting/fermenting food wastes using a dry fibrous material like rice or wheat bran, dried carrot/beet pulp and innoculating this with the EM culture. This innoculated bran is what you add to the Bokashi bucket when you add your food scraps. You can by the innoculated bran pre-made, or you can use the EM culture to innoculate a batch of your own bran (cheaper if you make your own as Mibus indicated).

The EM-1 is a mother culture that yes, you can use directly from the bottle, but is cheaper if you extend it thru the Activation process. The liquid EM from the purchased bottle, or your activated EM is then diluted and then used as a spray on your plants, walls, laundry, etc or a a soil drench. Apparently some folks use EM as a deodorant (I haven't tried making advanced brews yet). Some people take EM internally as a probiotic (be sure you only use the food grade type if you want to do this).

From the emerica site:
"EM•1® Microbial products can be used directly from the bottle or they are grown one time for economical purposes. This "growing" process is called Activation (or extended). The normal activation process is to take one part EM•1® and make 22 times the amount through a simple fermentation process, similar to making beer or wine. "

When I first started using EM, the ceramic powder wasn't offered. It seems to make the product work better from what I've heard, buy I haven't gotten around to ordering any yet (I will with my next order) so I can't comment directly on that.

mmmmmmmmmm that's a new one on me deodorant and taking it internally....didn't think it smelled good enough to drink ...ewwwww LOL

You need to be sure you have the food grade culture or one of the professionally brewed probiotics unless you want to take the time to learn how to brew the internal stuff yourself. I originally purchased my culture and bokashi from SCDWorld. I think they are the ones that brought EM to the US and they have licensed the EMAmerica group, but I could be mistaken on the relationship between the two. Both sites have products for health as well as ag and gardening uses. The EMAmerica site has more interesting articles though.

http://www.scdworld.net/category_s/12.htm

I had seen the different links on EmAmerica but just never really looked into them guess I should take a better look but the thought of drinking it just ....gives a funny taste in my mouth thinking of it

I tried taking a spoonful of the mother culture (food grade) when I first got it. It tasted like of like vinaegar.

This is the ingriedient list of the EM Food Grade. If you've taken probiotics, you'll recognize some of the cultures.

Ingredients:
Purified and Structured Water, Organic Sugar Cane Molasses, Lactic Acid Cultures, Organic Mineral Powder, Sea Salt, Organic Rice Bran. The species used in producing SCD EM Food Grade™ include: Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium animalis, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum,Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus diacetylactis, Lactococcus lactis, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Streptococcus thermophilus. MSDS, Certificate of Analysis and Material Specifications are available on our website.

The EM Ag has added photosyntetic cultures.

probably the closet thing I have tried is the Kombootcha Tea (bad spelling sounded it out) that we make at the restaurant.
It uses a mother culture from a mushroom and has vinegar & tea in it and forget the rest...it tastes of vinegar and is fermented.

Admin note: A few recent posts have been removed. Please keep in mind the Acceptable Use Policy specifically prohibits members from

I guess I will answer questions then, but not tell people where to get the stuff??? This will be tricky.

Eric, we encourage (read: politely but firmly insist ;o) that vendor/members take off their sales hat at the door, and use our forums as just a regular gardener.

Our subscribing members have the option of turning off all ads on the site. They've voted with their $$$ and made it abundantly clear they don't want to have to "read between the lines" of a post to know if there's a profit motive associated with the answer or advice they've been given.

Hi Terry,
Not a problem.

Back to the forum....
I have been using EM1 for about 10 years. I hope I can help answer questions people have about bokashi and EM1 in their gardens and waste management.

I am probably a little dense,but I still donot understand the purpose of pickeling befor burying the waste in the ground. Wouldn't you get the same results just burying it and having the worms and natural rotting take care of it?

Hi Zanymuse,
Not really. If you put raw food waste in the ground it will begin to putrefy (rot). The rotting process in anaerobic (without air). The process releases ammonia and methane into the soil, which can kill plants and attract pests like flies.

The fermentation process not only makes the wastes breakdown quickly in the soil, but you are also adding lots of amino acids (protein building blocks), trace minerals, vitamins, and lots of beneficial microbes. These nutrients are readily available to the plants as the microbes "pre-processed" them during the fermentation. We call this "bio-available".

At lastan answer that makes sense tomy poor muddled brain! Thank you.

Also, the fermented wastes are ready to digest for worms! Remember, worms do not have teeth. So, when the food wastes are soft and start to break down, worms can break them down faster.

Another reason to ferment is that the fermentation process converts a fair amount of the "green" wastes that are higher in nitrogen to amino acid compounds that the plants need. This means veggies and fruits are sweeter (look at the brix forum for discussion on brix) because they have more vitamins and minerals in them as well.

Bio-available vitamins and minerals are also called antioxidants. A good way to see how nutritious fruit is is to see how long it takes to oxidize (discolor). Apples are notorious for turning brown quickly. Can you imagine growing apples that stay white for almost 24 hours after being peeled?! I have seen it. I have also seen the Earth University banana peels (available only at Whole Foods Market) not turn brown for about 24 hours as well. (Earth University is in Costa Rica) They grow all their bananas with EM1.

More great information!

What I would truly like to see is an avacado that would not turn brown for at least 8 hours after cutting without having to use lemon juice!

Me too! Can you grow them in Fortuna? I live in Tucson and have been told it is too dry here..although I do have a few trees that have sprouted from the pits I throw in the garden. I would probably be 8 or more years before I can find out.

I was told there is a cultivar that would do ok here inspite of the rainy, windy winters and infrequent freezes, but I sure haven't found it yet! I have to settle for the grocery store variety these days.

I did have some when I lived down in southern California though and ummm were they delicious. I managed to get a couple of fruits off a baby tree when it was 5 years old but that was probably because there were several older trees in the yard to pollinate it.

Hi CapeCodGardener,

No, they are not the same products. SCD makes different products. They have different ingredients, etc, and have not been around as long. Since I don't have experience with their products, I prefer not to make suggestions about them.

Thank you, EMEric. I understand your reluctance on this point.

The whole world of microbial-awareness is new to me--I only started composting a couple of years ago. I continue to be amazed at the generosity of Mother Earth in breaking down greens and browns into friable compost.

I only started composting by the bokashi method a few weeks ago, and I'm planning on burying my bokashi-fermented scraps in my compost pile during the next few months, since my garden plots are pretty much frozen. Does this sound like a plan?

Yes, it does.

Another note is that, as you increase the organic matter in the soil and add sprays of EM1 (through a hose-end sprayer), the microbial activity in the soil will increase the temperature just enough to keep it above freezing. I remember when I lived back on the cape and the first place for the snow to melt was the areas where I had my gardens.

I used to also keep buckets of food waste in the garage over the winter (during the first year I used it). The second year, I prepared a trench and back-filled as I added fermented food waste. The third year and on, I skipped the fermented thing and would sprayer AEM1 and water on the food waste and cover. Since there was enough moisture in the soil up there, the wastes would break down fine. This way I completely eliminated the composting process entirely.

Hi EMEric glad to see you popped in and can answer the questions ...I started using EM stuff(Bokashi and EM1) this year when we moved to Texas since nothing had been done by other owners for over 12 years.

It was great to find this topic in the forums as I tried explaining it to others on a different one and they thought I was nuts