| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| cab |
Bokashi on orderFinally plumped for a two-bin bokashi thingy. Its on order, 'allow 28 days for delivery' apparently (its cheap, so fair enough).So... When I get it, do I load it layer by layer, adding bran, or do I wait till I've got enough to fill a bin and add it all at once? |
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
layer by layer and bran sprinkled between each layer. Oh and you have to keep it well squished down, it works anerobically (or without oxygen in case I've used the wrong technical term  )
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| cab |
Right technical term, damned near the correct spelling too (anaerobically) 
Thanks for that! So you squish it down between each layer? How thick a layer do you find is best? If I recall correctly you and Jo have both been doing Bokashi for a while, haven't you? |
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
since the New Year yes.
I don't think we're specific about layer sizes, but if I'd just chucked a single item in there I'd not worry too much about adding bran but if more than that then I'd probably sprinkle some on. I'd err on the side of extra bran rather than be parsimonious with it. What about you Jo? |
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| joanne |
I use it more or less as Mrs F - I've not been using it lately though as we seem to have got better at portion control and also the dog has been getting more leftovers - So we've had very little waste that wasn't instantly compostable - Both my tubs are sat outside atm waiting to be scrubbed out 
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| cab |
Thanks ladies, I rekon I'm ready to go as soon as it arrives now 
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| AdventureGirl |
Hi
I have just filled my second Bokashi bin. I keep scraps etc in a compost caddy, and then add it to the bokashi bin every day or two. I have a large plastic bag that I lay across the top of the food and use to press it all down. This is supposed to help the process get underway quicker (excludes more air even when the bin isn't full). Seems to be working alright. At least there are none of the smells you would expect from a bin full of food left around for 5-6 weeks! |
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| cab |
Brill, thanks AdventureGirl! | ||||
| cab |
Right... First bin almost full, sprinkling of bran between each layer, and its smelly but not as bad as it might have been. I guess now I fill it fully, leave it sitting somewhere and wait?
Anything I can give it a boost with to make it go more reliably? A little urine? |
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| Jb |
So where did you find them cheaply? All the ones I've seen have been about £60 or so.
How well do you find it copes with meat? Can it handle bones? (I'd imagine it could but they might take up too much space) |
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
have you really, really pressed it down and got as much in it as possible and then a bit more - providing the lid fits of course. It must be as little air in it as possible. Then we just sit it in a quiet corner of the garage and ignore it for 2 weeks. Has any liquid come off it yet? |
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| cab |
Haven't got the details to hand. Will dig 'em out later for you, remind me.
Dunno yet, this is my first batch
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| cab |
I could perhaps squish it down further, but I haven't the stomach for decomposition first thing in the morning (which was when I put the latest batch in). |
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| cab |
JB, this is where I got it from:
http://www.recyclenow.com/ Its quite well hidden, but theres a twin pack of Bokashi bins for 25 quid. Dunno how widely they're available for that price, but the site requires that you put your postcode in before telling you how much it is. |
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| Jb |
Ta for that. They don't cover my area but it did point to a another site which then pointed to a supplier in Leeds who offers discount bokashi composters to people in cheshire. | ||||
| wellington womble |
How're they going? Shall I put one on the wedding list -bearing in mind we're both too busy to breathe and some household members can't consistently put things in the bin, let alone a variety of recycling catergories and composters? | ||||
| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
its just an automatic thing for us; part of clearing up. Need to order some more bran though; you've reminded me! | ||||
| Jb |
Ours seems have slowed down it's working as the weather has got colder but otherwise it seems to work. Stuff is still perfectly recognisable and doesn't seem to break down that much but comes out of the bin looking slightly pickled (something like a wet cold chutney). I don't seem to have the same pest problems in the compst I used to and it's cut down how much we put into the dustbin each week (very little now)
The onyl problem seem to be that as the bokashi has slowed down over the winter the waste is less processed than before so a couple of times I have seen evidence of something trying to dig into the compost bin. Of course that could just be coincidence as it's somewhere warm and dry for things to try and hang out over winter. We aslo try to separate out anything that could go straight onto the compost (coffee, tea, eggboxes etc) or which might be slightly antiseptic (citrus, tea, onions) to reduce the amount they need to process and avoid any antispetic effect stopping the process. I think Wiggly wigglers do cheap bulk quantities of the bran. They also do a liquid em activate which I was tempted to try simply because it migth be easier to store. Edit - I've just looked and it seems that they no longer do the bulk packets of EM bran. |
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| tahir |
Any updates from our resident Bokashiers? | ||||
| cab |
Its... Okay. The boxes are small, which is apt for home use, but they're difficult to keep anaerobic while you fill them up meaning that the batch can go quite bad and smelly. Its easy enough, and it does work well though; buried bokashi waste degrades quite quickly, but I'd question whether it degrades THAT much faster than it otherwise would. The idea that its in a very anoxic, reduced state and warms up to degrade fast when exposed to oxygen is appealing but does not match my observations.
I think (althogh I'll know later in summer) that a simple ensilaging process for cooked food will be better and easier to control, and that the ensilaged, low pH waste will have most of the protein in it dribble out simply in the liquor, making for a handy high nitrogen plant feed, and that the ensilaged food waste should degrade marvellously when buried. It would be an easier approach, if it works. |
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| Blue Peter |
What would an ensilaging process be - simple or otherwise? Peter. |
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| cab |
Crudely, in this instance it would mean selecting an appropriate lactic acid producing bacteria and giving it a carbon source it can use (probably glucose, although I'm sure it would do fine on ordinary sugar). It uses the sugar and other nutrients from the mix, outcompeting the other bacteria quite readily in this environment as long as you keep it close to anaerobic. The production of lactic acid eventually drops the pH to a point where the bacteria stop doing a great deal and not a lot else can grow either, and at a low pH most of the available protein in the waste will be lysed out. The remaining solid matter should be a bit spongier, and far more readily degraded by organisms in the soil such as assorted fungi and actinomycete bacteria, i.e. it'll rot down pretty quickly and not fester with nasty smelly bacteria. MUST have been done before but I've been too lazy to do the literature search, instead choosing to experiment with lactobacillus powder and sugar/glucose. Thus far the little placcy box experiments I've done seem promising. Edit: Many years ago I built something to do this with prawn heads in, and it worked very well. Don't ask... |
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| Jb |
Seems to be working fine. I haven't had any problem with it going smelly. The only problem I have had is that it has had a hard time keeping up over winter as I think the process slowed down considerably. I'm not 100% convinced that it processes to a point that is not going to attract any pests but having transferred it from bokashi to compost it disappears fairly quickly so the problem is reduced and it does mean that a lot of vermin attracting waste that would normally go to the dustbin now goes (indirectly) to compost.
I did buy a bluk load of the bokashi bran and I am now wondering if that goes off. So I may look again at the EM liquid that some companies offer. |
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| cab |
Expensive? |
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| Jb |
Per kilo the bulk order was about half the price. Can't honestly remember the exact figures now. |
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| Jb |
Wriggly wrigglers also do this which may be a better option as it might remain active and is a lot easier to store. | ||||
| wellington womble |
Saturday nights must rock round your way, Cab! My bokashi should be here any day now! |
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| cab |
Tentatively planning a little photochemistry this weekend, so yeah, weekends rock
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| tahir |
So, is it something I can assure the missus won't be attractive to rodents? Not sure how she'll feel about displacing our rodent issue to the other side of the veg plot if we bokashi first and then stick it on with all the garden waste...
She's threatening to cease composting if we're not rodent free 
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| cab |
I can't say for absolute sure, having a walled off garden in a housing area so riddled with cats that it would be a brave rodent to venture out, but so long as you drain off the watery stuff before burying the bokashi composted material (which I favour over composting it), then you ought to have no problems with rodents. Hopefully someone with a rodenty neighbourhood will know better. |
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| joanne |
We don't appear to have any rodents - but with 4 chickens, 3 cats and a dog - They wouldn't last very long anyway
I like Bokashi - but we've cut down so much on our throwaway stuff that it takes months and months to fill a tub - So I've ended up combining the bran with the chicken feed as it helps to cut down on the smell of their poo If you tend to have alot of cooked leftovers - I think its a fantastic system - its amazing how fast stuff decomposes when pre-pickled |
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| joanne |
I've discovered another use for EM's - the stuff that Bokashi bran is made from - you can use the liquid as a preventative spray in the hen house against red mite etc, also you can use it to help rejuvenate the soil, keep down smells and also help keep the hens water sweet - I've bought a small amount of liquid and am going to give it a go
http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/products/em_liquid.html |