Bokashi Part 3

My cirtus trees which have gotten a dose of bokashi or EM have much shinier leaves than those that haven't been treated yet.

katiebear

Hi doccat,
You should probably spray the garbage juice (this is not AEM1) at a rate of 1:1,000 once a week on plants and soils. Your average hose end sprayer will have dilution rates in teaspoons. You will use 1 teaspoon per gallon. .

Spray the compost piles with AEM1. The microbial activity in the AEM1 is much higher than the juice. Think of the juice more of a fertilizer...with some microbes in it. You normally use about 1.5 gallons AEM1 per cubic yard of material.

Katie,
Over time, you should also notice that the trees produce a larger canopy. This will result in more orange production per tree.

Except for the lemons and grapefruit!!

katie

Hello everyone, I have a regular compost pile for kitchen scraps, old vegetable plants, and grass clippings. but this is not sufficient for my problem weeds, which end up being dumped in piles in out of the way places. I really want to try this bokashi thing with pernicious weeds. I have soooooo many, piles and piles of buttercups, stoloniferous grass, and nettle roots. Something has to be done. I have access to many 5 gallon buckets (formerly filled with chlorine) due to my DH's water system work. Do you think this size would work? I would have to get lids for them that could be made air-tight but easy to open and close, and a tool to get off their existing lids that have a pour spout for the chlorine. I read a little about this on several web sites. I gather that I need to get a solution of special microbes. It seems rather pricey, but maybe a little goes a long way. How much do you need to pickle a large amount of weeds, say 10 buckets full, a total of 50 gallons at a time? Is that enough or do you also need to mix the liquid with microbes into rice bran first, before adding it to the weed buckets. If so, how much of this should I get. I'll have to find an inexpensive source. Thanks for any insights you can offer.

Hi abd welcome,

If you go to the emamerica.com website a lot of your questions will be answered there. The basic EM solution can be activated (extended) so a little goes a long way. It does not need to be made into bokashi before you use it.

EmEric can answer your questions and if you contact him at the website he can recommend specific products.

From what you say it seems you could get some EM, activate it and use it in your buckets full of weeds. You will need to get airtight lids but the 5 gallon backets are perfect for making weed tea as well as bokashi.

There's a lot of information to assimilate but once you get started it's not complicated.

katiebear

Hi Holly, glad you came over here to pose your questions. I just want to give you this link to the original thread that garden mermaid started to pull the Bokashi discussions together:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796403/

and she made this comment in her opening note (sorry, I've never learned how to do proper quotes). Garden Mermaid wrote:

"I like to use the Bokashi bran or a misting of Activated EM (a brew of the same mother culture that innoculates the Bokashi bran) in the kitchen food scrap bucket because it keeps the odors down. If Bokashi/EM is used, when I open the bucket I only get a whiff of a yeasty/vinaegary smell instead of rotting veggies. When we lived in the country, it was no big deal to empty the compost bucket out in the pile each day. Now that we are in a more urban environment, I no longer have that luxury. We generate more scraps than my patio worm bin can handle. Everything goes into the Bokashi buckets, then after a couple of weeks I haul them down to the community garden. No nasty odors when the buckets are opened.

I now add the Bokashi ferment to the worm bin as well. It gets layered between the worm bedding (usually coir or shredded newspaper) and the worms love it.

There is another way that I've found the Bokashi fermentation has proven helpful in the garden - composting noxious plants and weeds like bermuda grass and field bindweed. Ordinarily we wouldn't add these to the compost pile to avoid spreading them in the garden. When shredded and fermented, they break down nicely without risk of sprouting."

So it might be a good idea to get her in here to chat with you. I'll drop her a d-mail and let her know that we are talking about her topic, I think she might be the one to help you get started.



This message was edited Jun 15, 2008 6:39 AM

Thanks Laurie and Katiebear, It seems I need to start by getting the lids for the buckets, so that I am all ready to begin when I get the EM microbes. I am going to check out the price for a 50 lb. bag of bran at the co-op store in a nearby town. Do you have to use a specific type of bran (rice bran)? Would wheat bran also work?

I think the bran is just the platform for the innoculant - considering this is a process that started in Japan and has travelled through several cultures (rice and wheat based) and climates I am guessing that the platform is fairly flexible.

I saw on the website that it is futile to spray when the temperature is at 80 degrees or above. If that is true, I won't be able to spray again until late September or so. What do you think?

HI MHF,
You could actually use the weeds themselves to make a fermented plant extract. Or, you can dry them and make bokashi out of them. Rice bran is not necessary. Bokashi is a Japanese word or term meaning fermented organic matter. Any high carbon material (dried plant material) can be used to make bokashi. In livestock production, bokashi would be called silage.

You might want to check into getting an open-top drum (these are used to rainwater collection) or a drum that pickles or olives are often shipped in. These have a screw on lid. You would fill the entire thing with the weeds, add in EM1 Microbial Inoculant (2 gallons) molasses (2 gallons), and water (51 gallons). The numbers are rough. As long as you use the EM1 and molasses at the suggested amounts, the volume of the water will vary depending on how much weeds are added that will displace the water.

rtl,
you saw on what website that it is futile? If it was on the EM America website, please send me a link so I can change it because that is completely incorrect. If that were the case, none of the tropical sites using EM1 or here in the southwest would we be able to use it.
EM1 is viable at much higher temperatures. I have managed projects treating wastewater at above 160F.
Eric

http://www.emamerica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=113&Itemid=99

It is under When NOT to spray.

Foliar spraying:
When NOT to foliar Spray:

* When the air temperature is 80ºF or higher, absorption is very poor because plants stomata are closed.
* When the readings of the air temperature and the humidity are added together and equal 135 or higher.
* Avoid spraying during the height of solar indexing (10:00 AM to 4:00 PM)

When the temperature is peak during the day, you don't want to spray. The stomata open at night as part of photosynthesis cycles. Therefore, you want to spray either early morning or evening. I usually suggest people spray in the evening as this lets the EM1 microbes sit on the leaves longer. UV during the peak sun hours will kill many of the microbes in the EM1, this is the reason to not spray during mid-day.

Thanks,
Eric

So, in order for me to get this right in my brain, are you saying that the stomata open at night even when the temperature is 80 degrees or over?

That is my understanding. Plants respire in the evening, releasing oxygen. In the day the absorb CO2. When temps are really high, when the sun is out, the plants hold in as much moisture as they can to prevent drying out.

Thanks, I am trying to convert a couple of friends to EM1. They are engineering types and question everything that isn't mainstream science i.e. something they already know about. I guess I will just have to show them with results.

The thing people have to do is understand growing plants first and other methodologies apply. What the focus should be in regards to EM1 applications is that you are intending to build the soil. Measurements are not on yields, etc. The soil is key. Microbes make the nutrients in the soil available to the plants. Microbes also produce polysaccharides, sugars that hold the soil particles together, allowing for air transfer and retention of water. In soils that are depleted of beneficial microbes, disease, puddling, and loss of topsoil occur.

You can also send your friends to http://www.emrojapan.com. There is a database on this site with 300+ papers on it. If they want to know the science behind EM Technology™, they can also go to the USDA. The USDA sponsored 8 conferences on Nature Farming. The use of microbes in not a new concept in advanced farming. Several agricultural agencies around the world were researching the use of microbial inculants way back in the 50's. They were looking at single strain, single applications. This is why the methods didn't work as well as with EM1. Dr. Higa pioneered multiple strain, multiple application.

I would also suggest your friends study the Rodale Institute techniques for gardening. They used to have tons of books out for gardening...organically.

I will be presenting on some introductory soil stuff tomorrow in Phoenix: http://maps.google.com/?q=721+N+Central+Ave,+Phoenix,+AZ+85004&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ie=UTF8&ll=33.458191,-112.073808&spn=0.018654,0.03665&z=15&iwloc=addr
This is set up through the Phoenix Permaculture Guild. I am hoping this will be the first of a 4-part series on EM1 applications (geared for southwest gardening).

Who can come? I am not sure where else to post to other forums. If anyone knows, please post.

EM America is also donating some door prizes at the Jacksonville, TX Dave's Garden Roundup on Saturday the 28th. Phyllis contacted us about this event, which is not too far from EM America's headquarters. If there are other events like this, please let me know! We would love to help spread the word and support Dave's.

I will also be teaching another cooking class in the fall at Pima Community College in Tucson. This one will be on vegetarian cooking with EM Technology™. Once I have a date, I will post here. The last class on raw and fermented foods was a blast!

See you tomorrow!!!

Cooking with EM? Would you start another thread on this subject Eric - the mind boggles!!

I don't remember if anybody has already asked this question, but I have larvae of some kind growing in my bokashi juice. They are a little less than half an inch long and white. Is this bad? I want to spray this juice in an area where I plan to plant flowers and veges hopefully in the fall. It's been ignored for probably 20 years and needs lots of work.

Hi Silver,
It could be maggots....fly larvae. It is hard to tell. This could be housefly or fruit fly. watch them. The EM1 messes with their maturation to adult. I think it is an enzyme thing because it doesn't kill them, but them never mature to flies. This is how it works in livestock operations and in landfills. You get really big maggots that eat a lot of the garbage, but, eventually, no flies. Weird....and cool.

I think it does the same thing with fleas and ticks. There were a couple reports from Brazil that were monitoring the fleas in ticks in a cattle operation. After a couple years of application of EM1, there were no more fleas or ticks.

This photo is a humpback. I took off Cape Cod in 2006. I thought I'd start sharing some photos. The lists look so bland...

Hi Laurie,
Yes, you can prepare food with EM1. It is a probiotic like no other... Well, you can use it as a starter culture, kind of like kombucha or yogurt. It has a LOT more microbes that either of those, but will produce fermented foods. I have been experimenting for years.

This is a picture of school children collecting their lunch waste and filling bokashi buckets at their school.

Here is one of my 5 first pink grapefruits! I hope I get more this year!

Thanks for your help Eric, she is meeting me at the RU Saturday morning to drop off the donations and have a look see at what goes on at one.
I'm excited this RU is turning out quite a few DGers I've yet to met in person.

Hmmm. Very iinteresting about the fleas, flys, and ticks. So maybe I should strain the juice to get the larvae out and put them back in the bucket with the rest of the bokashi?

Are you feeding the animals the EM1 or are you spraying the areas to control the ticks and fleas? That is fascinating, much less using it as a culture for food. Amazing stuff, Erik!

Hi Phyllis,
I hope the RU is big! When I spent more time gardening, it would have been a major event for me. I now mostly just grow some veggies for eating. My green thumb went kind of black when I moved to the desert....sorry to say.

Hi Silver,
I would finish up this batch and start a new one. The larvae will finish eating stuff in the ground.
How does it smell?

Hi doc,
In the US, we are not allowed to sell EM1 for animal consumption. This is why you don't see all the information up on our site about it. To get the best results on a livestock operation, the EM1 is mixed in feed and drinking water and used to clean the areas where the animals are kept. By eliminating odors, flies are not attracted to the area. It makes for a much cleaner environment for humans and animals. The wastes are treated with EM1 as well to make bokashi and land applied as a fertilizer. Lagoons are treated and the water is often used for irrigation. The benefits vary according to the type of animal. Oh, and the pasture is often sprayed with an EM1 solution. We typically shoot for 40 gallons of AEM1 per acre in the first and second year.

Here is a picture of a floribunda rose I ended up killing...either too much water or not enough...haven't figured it out yet.

Eric it smells really strong. DH says it stinks to high heaven.:) I moved it to the gh where it gets very very hot during the day. I'm going to dig a hole and bury it. If I do that now how long before I can plant there?

Wait about two weeks. Be sure to cover it with about 12 inches of soil...maybe more if it is really stinky.

Here's a picture at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. This is the place where Georgia O'Keefe did lots of her paintings. I think she is buried there as well.

Ok, Eric, I want some kinda job from EM......I wanna be the East Coast rep! LOL I do Master Gardener volunteer work for Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg, VA. I talked the horticultralist into letting me spray some boxwoods with Bokashi. They are, as I'm sure you know very slow growing, but these poor babies really looked rough. They've had experts from all over VA have a go and nobody can figure out what wrong, soil tests showed mostly normal. Once we got the dam ivy away from the base (like duh) I sprayed one application on one side two weeks ago and they have taken off! LOL They're greened up and looking much, much better. Lord knows what has been used on that soil, but I have a date next Thursday to spray the demo veggie garden. This time we'll use the AEM1. I've already given the horticultralist the EM website at her request. Not to mention the other MGs working there also. Word is getting around and a "picture is worth a thousand words". Nothing could have gotten their attention faster. I'm just tickled!!! LOL I think we can turn this area around, there are some boxwoods in there that are the originals and are about 5 ft tall, and broad spread. This should be interesting. :)

Hey Eric thanks for making the connections for the RU door prizes !!!!!
sorry I didnt' post to ya sooner but my folks were here from Illinois, had to finish summer school,l route and got busy getting some compost for the yard and just kinda got side tracked ...newest project is a small pond with waterfall .
But I am extending my EM1 and have been spraying the whole yard and plants with it and I do see alot less "fungus/mushrooms" in the yard.

Hey dogcat you post sounds super!!!!! I hope things really take off and they can see the difference it makes I know I see it here at my place and hope that everyone that got some as a door prize at the RU put it to use and see it also.

I was one of those lucky RU winners. It was the best doorprize ever!!!!!

I was very excited to finish reading all 3 bokashi threads yesterday. I also loved the teacher's guide that Eric posted a link to. I haven't had time yet to go get the stuff to make a bucket yet so I decided to start a "small" batch in a jar. I was thinking more "airtight" than flexable when choosing my jar, and put it all in a glass mason jar. I should have thought "yeast-bread rising-gets bigger..." When I checked on it a few days later to see if it was "smelly", the metal lid had popped out. I slowly opened it and out sprayed foam like a coke bottle that got shaken up. I dumped the foam on my compost along with the top inch of stuff and sealed it back up.

I was lured to the bokashi threads by the thought of rich dirt in 1-2 months instead of months and months with regular composting. If the first batch turns out OK then I will try a batch with my first graders. My school garden sure could use some improvement. The older half is ok, but plants in the newer half always look sad. I wonder what was in those bags of "composted manure".
Tabitha

Composted manure is not bokashi, Tabitha, it's animal poop usually allowed to break down over time. LOL The Bokashi just makes if happen faster. This is marvelous stuff. Your school kids will be so lucky! Have you checked the verimcomposting threads? Kids love worms, ya know.

We do a Master Gardener presentation for 1st and 3rd graders explaining about worms etc and of course we always bring the "real deal' with it. I love to watch their faces when they handle the worms.........I'd forgotten how excited and enthusiastic they get at that age. It's a hoot!

When I made the newer half of our school garden I put in bags of "composted manure" to make the soil great. Now I am thinking I should have read the fine print because plants have done very poorly in that half. I wish there was a more descriptive word than "bad" or "poor" to describe the soil that was still polite. Weeds don't even grow there well. I am hoping that a few buried buckeds of bokashi will help that half of the garden.

Kids do love worms! I have tried a mini worm bin in the classroom 3 times and always get small flies. I think it is because of the orange peals they love to "feed" the worms. I am wondering if just using shreaded newspaper and fermented bokashi food scraps as "food" for the worms will eliminate the fly problem. I tried using a lizard we caught to eat the flies, but he didn't do too well in the small environment. Sunday school classes use our room in the evenings and on weekends so I have to regulate any creatures or "science" experiments so that others don't notice them. Thankfully worms are really quiet and sneaky! Unfortunatly the flies are a bit more noticable, so I had to dump the worms in the garden before our maintenence guy figured out the source of the flies. Sneaky sneaky sneaky Shhhhhhh!

madrid - what ever you come up with, I just want to send you my thanks for being such an engaged and imaginative teacher! I give you an A+ for putting so much thought, and heart, into your teaching.

Hi Doc,
I am glad to hear you got such good results so fast. I know boxwoods grow very slowly. I used to have some when I lived back east. They make real nice borders on walkways. Adding in some compost every year used to help. I would also inter-plant hostas to keep the soil moist... I also got carried away with day lilies (I love those plants!!!). Tulips and daffies look nice between them as well during the spring.

We have grown quite a bit on the East coast over the past couple years. I am glad to see people catching on out there.

About this time of year, you will want to start watching the broad leaved plants like hollyhocks and cukes and zucchini, etc. They tend to start getting mold on them from the increased humidity. Start spraying with AEM1 in the evening, before sunset so the stoma are open, for a good foliar feeding. Typically, we would do a 1:50-100 application rate. This is 1-2 ounces of AEM1 per gallon of water. I would spray every day until the leaves turn green again and then go back to once a week until the growing season starts to end.

You might want to play with formulas of EM5 (add equal amounts of vinegar and vodka to the AEM1 formula). You can add in garlic and/or hot pepper for insect repelling... I have yet to make a batch with citronella to see how that works. If someone wants to try it, please let me know how it works.
Eric

Hi Tabitha,
Try soaking the composted manure area with a 1:20 mixture of AEM1 and water. Sometimes the manures have high salts in them, causing plants to burn. I would bet if you tried growing some bermuda or dune grass, it would grow there....but that would add whole new twist to this.... There is a chemical reaction that takes place when the microbes ingest and excrete the salts. The salts are still there, but their charges have changed so that they do not bind as strongly and do not burn. This way the salts, like potassium and calcium, can be used by plants.

Soak it down well and try planting there in a week after you try it out. Let us know if that does the trick.

For your worms, you might have better luck fermenting the food wastes first and then feeding to the worms. The fermentation makes the wastes soft enough for the worms to chomp on (they have no teeth, so imagine that one... :+). You can also try spraying a 1:50 (2 onces per gallon) AEM1:Water solution on the wastes for odor control. Worms absolutely love EM1!