Bokashi, too much info maybe?

I've had a few batches that were more than "slightly tangy." Some that drew hoards of flies even when tightly-lidded. Don't ask for more details, please, it hurts to recall them. Some have recover somewhat with more bokashi,: other just got buried deep. Even the nastiest smelling "failures" have improved the plants near their burial sites.

katiebera

The worms will still come running when you bury the stinky, slimy goop...........at night, by moonlight, so that no one knows you have a batch that when bad due to excess aeration.
:)

I've succeeded in recreating wgnkiwi's rubbermaid bin batch of green mold upon coffee grounds too. Conclusion: the lid on the rubbermaid storage bin does not provide adequate air seal, even with the plastic bag pressed on top. No matter - into the middle of the pile it went. The worm banquet became wonderful compost in the end.

I fell upon some wonderful 4and/or5 gallon buckets at a bakery/deli. Their pickles cames in them...and lots of other stuff too. So I drilled holes in the bottom of one and slipped it inside the second one: the second one collects the juice and the lid is airtight and pops off. Makes it really easy. Am looking for more of them around town.

I WONDER: Could you make it out of dried chicken poop that comes in a bag...and then have a wonderful bokashi/fertilizer (and champion stinkeroo). Or potting soil - it is fine organic material?

That sounds like an EMEric question or the start of an experiment.

I am into experimenting so will do it!!!! The ChickenPoop one may cause divorce!!! but will make my dog delighted!!!

Who ever imagined that bokashi could be so funny!

Your rooster may be tougher than you think!

AHA! This may be the answer to my problems. My bokashi bucket doesn't snap when I put the top on. It has never had what I'd call a tight fitting lid. I'm gonna go with the plastic trash bags in the bucket next & tie them off. In that case, would I put holes in the bottom for the liquid to drain? It sounds like that would sort of defeat the purpose. I'm obviously still looking for something that'll work for me. I'm more than willing to take your suggestions.

Here is a link to a teacher's guide that is geared for teaching elementary school kids how to start a food waste recycling program in their school. This is EM Hawaii's website. You can download the PDF and start reading.

http://emhawaii.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=81

I bought my buckets at a bakery for 2$ - any restaurant would have them and I know that ACE hardware sells them. When I am making Bokashi, I put the innoculated material in a plastic bag INSIDE the airtight bucket, press all of the air I can out of the bag, tape it down and then close the bucket.

My next experiment is going to be spraying my gh with diluted EM1 against fungi.

What a new world this is!!!

Many stores that sell paint also sell ply-able plastic paint bucket lids that are sized for 5-gallon buckets. You could easily use one of these for a makeshift lid.

For the drain, most homebrew suppliers sell spigots for 5-7 gallon buckets for fermenting. The sieve is the tricky part on the bottom. A colander placed upside down in the bucket can work.

Eric

Eric, I use flower frogs wrapped in cheese cloth for our homemade buckets. I found some huge frogs at the local thrift store and grabbed them up. They work fine and I can wring out the cheese cloth when we dump the bucket. Works like a charm.

I have to tell you the horticulturalist at the Mary Washington House has used all the Bokashi juice I gave her. The was 2 full 2 liter coke bottles.........and is looking for more! LOL I wish I had taken before pictures of those boxhedges I mentioned in an earlier thread. The change is amazing! They've grown about 4 inches all over and are a bright deep green. She is so pleased. I'm going to take both some Bokashi juice and some AEM1 with me when I go Thursday. I also talked to her about redoing the compost piles so they actually make compost. Gawd, that is a mess. But it can be fixed. Talked one of the other MGs into donating 2 30 gallon trash cans with lids. I'll buy more EM1. My DH is going to install the spigots and we are going to make Bokashi for the site. We are always pulling noxious weeds and they've been going to the landfill. I explained about Laurie using the weeds to make Bokashi, so we are going to give it a try. There is an area next to the little shed where we can stick the trash cans. I've got a bunch of excited Master Gardeners. These guys have seen what's happening to the gardens using the Bokashi and I've been giving out the websites right and left. I'm sooooooooo pleased!
I am very flattered as I have been asked to do a 3 hour presentation on Organic Vegetable Gardening to the newest class of Master Gardeners. I'm also scheduled to speak to 2 of the local gardening clubs about vegetable gardening. Evidently both the local extension office and VA Tech are getting a lot of questions from both experienced and novice gardeners on using "green" methods in their gardens. Score one for us old tree hugging nuts!!! WOOHOO!!

Way to go doccat!!!

I hope to follow your footsteps with my MG group, doccat....

That is so cool doccat, congrats on such an honor! I must say you're such an enthusiastic, dedicated person when it comes to Bokashi & composting in general. Your posts make me want to keep trying. Your new group of MG's will be getting an awesome instructor. Wish I was going to be in your class. Hope you have fun with it.

WTG. doccat. The changes are also very noticeable in my plants. I have a tangarine tree that has grown about a foot in every direction. And, as you mentioned, the new growth is bright green and shiney.

katiebear

Hi--I've leaned so much from this forum, but I always seem to have a few more questions--maybe that's related ;-)
My question this time concerns EM1 and Bokashi-Juice. As I understand it, the "juice" acts as fertilizer and EM1 is a soil conditioner. Does this mean that I can use both concurrently? Spraying with EM1 as well as applying a soil-drench with diluted Bokashi Juice?
Is there a limit on how often one can apply EM1? I have a large bottle to use up!
Thanks in advance!

CCG, when you say EM1, are you referring to the stock bottle (eg, mother culture) that you purchased, or the activated/extended EM (aka AEM) that you brew from the mother culture? I don't think there is a limit to how often you can apply the EM or AEM other than cost. The original mother culture keeps quite a long time and has many uses. How big of a bottle did you buy (if I may be so nosy)?

Thanks for clearing that up, GM...so many letters, so little brain! LOL

What's the expiration date on your stock bottle? Mine have usually been good for over a year. Do you not want to use more in the spring or are you trying to build up the microbe levels to help the snow melt? :)

I asked that same question of the EM Rep. here....and he said that it should be OK long after the exp. date. When the color starts changing is the time to toss it....I think I will do a big spray in the greenhouse with it...pour it down my drains and spray down a bunch of yardwaste, banana trunks etc. to later cover with soil and let 'cook' all winter.....

CCG, I'm not sure spraying during snow storms would be a good idea, that would probably be too cold for new microbial activity. Hopefully EMEric will chime in here sometime of cold hardiness. I did post a link to a photo of a biologically active field in Iowa or somewhere thereabouts. The fields with high microbial activity had no snow on them. They were surrounded by fields buried in snow.

Aloha, I've also used the stock culture many months after the expiration date without any problems.

Ah, you all are getting to be experts yourselves... The best way to learn about EM Technology is to use it! Don't be afraid to try something new.

I use the activated EM1 more than anything. I use hose end sprayers to apply it. I usually fill the reservoir and spray everything, plants, grass, trees, etc., until the container is empty. I have yet to harm a plant.

During fermentation, I have added hot pepper flakes, garlic, hot peppers, herbs, etc., for various known benefits of these. For instance, add one teaspoon of hot pepper flakes to a gallon a AEM1 (before fermenting) and don't spray into the wind!. Garlic smells so good you'll want to make something with it....which you can....take a look at the recipes on the EM America site in the Health Section. EM1 is also a great probiotic!!!

You can add the AEM1 to compost piles throughout the winter.
For soils, often the way to get the best results in soils is to do a heavy application in the fall and a follow up application in the spring. I would also look at using it to spray in any plant residues you leave in the veggie garden.

Eric

Eric, don't the microbes going dormant when the temperature drops too low?

Yes, so when it warms up, they are there ready to go.
Also, temperatures 32F and below cause about 10-15% die off. However, experience has shown that the best results are when the EM1 is applied in the fall.

Due to hurricane Ike and a week without power, I am cleaning out the fridge and have a lot of bad milk and other food to get rid of. I still need to get the right size drill bit to make a bucket with a tap on it. Until then, could I make a "liquid" batch and throw in some of the bran bokashi stuff? Would you let it ferment for two weeks and pour it into a hole or dilute it and water the garden with it? Let me know what ya'll think.
Tabitha

From the little I know, I would dig a trench or a hole, spray the EM on it and cover it up...or maybe the Bokashi and cover it up. Leter rip!!!

You may also want to consider spraying some EM or AEM all over your yard to help with post-Ike restoration of friendly microbes in your yard.

Eric said:

The Miracle Gro sprayer has one setting only....for Miracle Gro. Another sprayer with Dial-able choices is a better buy!

Eric...when you say Activated EM1, don't you mean the mixture with molassas? Or the pure EM?

Aloha - I just bought the Miracle Gro sprayer (wonderful - at the check out I just pulled out the sachets of Mir. Gro and all of the wrapping (surprisingly little) and handed them to the cashier and asked her to throw it away - the faces behind me!!) the sprayer has three settings, although I have to say it doesn't seem to work terribly well: I seem to have dribble, plonking spray, and a slanted vertical spray. fortunately it was on sale for £1.99. The plonking spray (named for the sound as it puddles) is sort of like summer rain - rather nice, but efficient even cover? I doubt it.

I don't really like MG either...but about once a year I hit my greenhouse with a foliar spray of it and it gooses everything into fantastic growth!!!!

Well...sounds like too good a deal to pass up....

I saw some hose end sprayer attachments on bottles of liquid organic plant food at the local Summerwinds Nursery. I'll check the brand next time I'm there. These are designed to dispense liquid foliar feeds, so hopefully they are refillable sprayers. Must investigate.

Hi All....been a while.

I've been busy on several items.

Hose end sprayers come in a variety of types. I have tried Gilmour and found they work for a while and aren't too expensive. Another company, Hudson, makes many types, including some commercial grade ones. I think they may be the sturdier ones.

I've got a pump sprayer (2.5 gallon) I bought at The Home Depot...Says Roundup™ on the side...which always makes me feel good...right! It was $10.99 and worked for a few years. Don't pump it up too much, it will blow the seal and not work...I speak from experience.

Spray either AEM1 or EM1, the effects are the same. The difference is that the AEM1 is about 1/20th the cost per ounce/gallon.

This thread has been really helpful - and I've learned so much here as well as on the other ones. Thanks to EMEric as well - a wealth of information both here and on the phone. I'm excited to get started with this. My first problem to solve is a serious problem with my lawn which I think is brown patch - a fungal disease common in cool humid weather here. The beneficial microbes will consume the fungus if I understand it correctly. The info above on sprayers is very timely!

After that, my goal is to compost as much waste from the kitchen and lawn as possible. Keep the great discussions going. Thanks all!

Now I have an interesting problem. I've been bokashing away - loads of material, and digging the finished bins into trenches in the vegetable beds to over winter. so far so good - except the d'#%ed fox loves bokashi!! Any suggestions on how to discourage this animal from digging up and munching through all my buried treasure!? Or do I just have to share and enjoy? He (I'm convinced it is a he!) can clear the lot in a couple of days!!

Line the trench with chicken wire? That would probably be expensive though.
Trench inside a fenced area with a fox hound on guard?

I'll have to ponder that one. What do you usually do to control fox in your area?
Do the offending invader show signs of better nutrition and nicer fur from all that Bokashi in his diet? (might as well study him while figuring out how to deter).