You are an answered prayer!! I'm a senior citizen and was looking for the most practical way to use my kitchen scraps with less wear and tear on my body in the way of composting. This is it!! Tyvm.
I’m so happy to hear Tyvm! I hope you will enjoy this method. I have a bad back so I try to keep things light. 5 gal bucket can get a bit heavy when it’s filling up. Best to up it on wheels, or don’t fill it all the way up. Just alternate the buckets. :)
Thank you for this video, very clear and concise… there is so many videos on the subject but they barely show us what the bokashi looks like after it gets the white mold. I finished my first batch of bokashi just yesterday, almost the whole bran was covered in the white stuff, in one corner about a golf ball size of bran was turning blue and black, in tore it off and threw it in the garbage, i didnt know if i had did the right thing but you and your detailed video just confirmed it!
I have been bokashi composting for years and I simply love it. It is my favorite way to compost. I make my own lacto bacillus spray. I don't bother to activate any type of grain or brown stuff anymore, but I still use some sort of brown material to absorb the liquid. I use the spray on everything as I'm putting it in the bucket.
@@laflines8711 thank you, that's great, I will look it up. Actually the channel 'garden like a viking ' shows you how to make this. I didn't know it was the same thing. You can also use it the way he does as well as for making compost. That's incredible.
@@laflines8711 Thank you so much, for taking the time to provide this informationt about the lactoobacillus serum !! It's very kind of you and is so appreciated and helpful. But if you don't mind, do you know if it is ok to use plant based milk, instead of animal milk when making the serum? I would imagine it would be ok, since plant based milks are often used with lactobacillus to culture some types of plant based cheeses. But still wanted to see if you know, just to be sure. Thanks in advance.
@@thinkingheart171 what is important is the cultivation of the lactobacillus whatever your source may be. Rice provides one strand of lactobacillus and milk another strand of lactobacillus. Molasses gives it a food source until you're able to use it with your food scraps.
I did Bokashi and then put them in the big tote like you with some worms. But I didn’t have space to place the tote, I decided to not have the lid on, and put some small contaner plants on top of my Bokashi soil. That way when I water my small container plants, the Bokashi compost gets wet also. Guess what? I have the happiest plants ever in that tote. No plant food needed. The roots of those plants will find a way through the drainage holes and come down to the Bokashi compost. They’re big, green and so healthy with no pest at all. Highly recommend this method.
Thank you so much for that tip about putting the compost in a container. I have tried burying my bokashi in my garden and my dogs dig it up and eat it. I will definitely be giving this a go!
We only put veggie scraps, fruit scraps, leaves, sometimes coffee grounds, tea grounds and washed eggshells. We use a plastic with a lid and turn it often. No meat, dairy, or cooked food so we don't get mice. It takes over the winter to break down. When weather is in 70s it seems to really break down. Sift it. Black gold! Have used it for planting, and mulching. Helps break up clay soil. We use plastic tubs with lids and one composter that turns which is easier. Really helps the soil.
Recently watched 'bare mountain farm' channel, the gentleman sprayed lacto bacillus (LABs) on every layer of scraps he put in the bucket. No need for spent grain.
I have a no cost compost method for the midwest. I use old food bags in a small bucked and dump the food scraps out behind the garage and then toss the old food bag in the garbage. Use what you have. You don't need any products to start composting. After a year scoop it up with a shovel and toss it under the bushes and trees. Free fertilizer, no cost, no raccoons digging in your garbage. Everything composts naturally within a month or two.
Same here, I use with the spigots and one does not close up completely so I have to keep a jar under at all times to catch the tea. I will seal those up now permanently but I did order one of these buckets as well. Great video Wendi!
Nice video! If the smell is pungent, there's a problem in my humble opinion. Anyway, I use this method in my apartment. It is fast, clean (no smell, no bugs), and easy! Greetings from Belgium, EU.
@@wendiland Indeed! And even in winter my earth factory on my balcony gave a rich, moist soil after 2.5 months (11 Nov till check on 28 Jan). Even without the help of worms or other insects.
For anyone trying to do this. Here's some suggestion. If you live in warm climate place like asia, try to Mix the bokashi with the soil and not just toss all of them in the middle of soil. I did exactly that and my soil factory become hot and release bad smell killing most of the worm i put in there. Mixing them also make the decomposition even faster with the worm If you see in the video when she opens up the soil factory and it wets. It's because the worm doesn't want to burrow into the hot and acidic soil
I just save my kitchen scraps in a several layers of newspaper, in a cardboard box, then when get enough, roll up and place it in a plastic bucket with a lid. When bucket is full, take out the bundles and Bury them in the yard. When I check, in two weeks it’s all gone. No need to do the fungi thing.
Can u plz share a bit more if u have made any holes in the plastic bucket? And do u put it in a dark indoor place away from sunlight or in any open corner of the garden/ yard?
@@munibaghafoor624 NO Holes. It must be Anaerobic meaning without Oxygen. And i think it should be fine not in direct sunlight. Probably best to keep it from extreme temperatures to sustain the microorganisms and avoid any temperature shock
I have an endless supply of spent grain (husband is a homebrewer) so will give this a try. Just need to inoculate it... Well that's the end of that idea. Husband says introducing a bunch of lacto bacteria to the house/yard, where people/dogs can track it around will probably ruin his brewing. Good to know. Will just continue to compost the grain in my other systems.
I use bokashi to control the smell from my house rabbits litter box. I then compost the litter or use it as mulch since rabbit poo does not need composting. I have started to use it in the cat box too and I think it makes a difference. I once saw a video from a UA-camr in India that used a bokashi bin made from terra-cotta. If anyone knows wher i could buy one I would be so grateful. I try to be as plastic free as possible. My animals use metal litter boxes which is much more hygienic. I use terra-cotta self watering seed trays to germinate. I use metal garbage can for composting but i cant possibly turn it. I would switch to a bokashi system in a heartbeat if it wasn’t plastic.
It’s amazing how versatile bokashi can be. It’s great at neutralizing odor. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful usage! Love your plastic free lifestyle. Everyone and your pets are healthier without plastic. :)
Fermentation is science useful for creating healthy delicious superfood and rich garden soil. Thank you for your contents. From your bucket it seems a draining spout on the bottom isn't necessary but it's a bonus.
So, this is a fermenting process. Correct? Very interesting. I have been making kefir for years. Done sourdough and kombucha, and even once tried fermented beans. I am very curious about this.
I've got a small space to compost too, and I like to reuse stuff if I can, so I keep the plastic bags that package my soil, mix poor soil and plant material, and pour a strong batch of water+lactobacillus in the bag (just enough to soak the soil but not make it soggy) , and then stick a giant rock over the plastic bag and let it sit for a month (sometimes takes longer depending on how big the stuff is). I'm not 100% sure this is the best method, but it seems to work alright for me, and skips a lot of steps, as well as conveniently bags my soil when i need it. Also, back when I had space to dig a trench, I also found that burying plant material where the inoculated stuff once was would also break down the plant material faster as well. At some point, after composting inoculated scraps at the same trench over and over, I no longer needed to add an inoculate anymore, and stuff would just compost under the soil after a month. Could be my imagination though, but worth trying as a fun science experiment.
Wonderful video, great work ethic, which comes easy when you enjoy what you’re doing, in other words, it’s more like play and not work. Thank you for showing me the easy way to compost in small areas🙏🏼💜🇨🇦
Thanks Wendi! I just ordered 25 lbs of the grains plus a "system" and an extra lid. Thanks to your discount I saved over $30 and shipping was included! Yay! I can't wait to try it out! In one raised bed in particular, I'm hesitant to add any manure based compost or even straw mulch or hay to fill it up due to the possible contamination from pesticides and having to deal with the Grazon contamination phenomenon. I'm hoping to use the anaerobic Bokashi composting method to break down weeds, leaves, twigs, bush and tree trimmings from my yard faster than it otherwise would using the aerobic method and make my own soil adding few amendments except maybe coconut coir. Since it is a larger space I thought I'd cover it with a tarp and try and reduce air pockets by weighing down the tarp with heavy items on top. Do you think it will work? I know if I used a chipper/shredder to break down the weeds even further it would be better but I'm wondering if I even need to since the grains seem to work so well breaking everything down by themselves. I'm not sure but using a chipper/mulcher might only speed it up by a few weeks or so. What do you think?
Hi Emily, You are so ambitious! I can’t comment on the method of covering the compost, but I think it might work as long as you get the air pockets out. The finer the compost the faster they will compost. I would at least shred the twigs or anything that takes long to compost normally. I hope it all works out for you! Good luck, and let us know how it goes! :D. PS Thank you for your support!
The tumbler has its benefits, but for me I have a hard time trying to turn it! Lol! Also to make it efficient I think you need a few tumblers to keep things going.
So, have a question. Do you not ever drain the liquid in this type of bokashi bucket? Or do you manage it by putting things that have dried out a bit or cardboard to absorb the moisture? I just started this so trying to find out if not draining will work. Thank you.
Thanks for such a detailed video on this. I'm big into fermenting and such so I'm wondering if you can just do like when you ferment and re-use some of the old Bokashi compost to make new one instead of keep having to buy more....just a thought.
You probably can save some to mix with the new, just like when we save juice of fermented vegetables to mix with fresh brine. Only thing I question is will the fermenting process in the Bokashi bucket be able to go through the complete cycle of fermentation since the early stage gets skipped. Early stage as in the time when you mix fresh grains in. I read somewhere about how it’s best to allow microbial activity to go through whole cycle. I’m no expert in this field so it’s just a thought.
@@thoriqziyaad5877 That’s really smart! I wonder how the fungal activity is in the compost using a spray. In my experience the spent grains make the compost super active - full of fungal bloom.
@@wendiland I actually started googling how to make your own bokashi and it seems simple enough. Way cheaper than what the people are charging for it, for sure. Check out the video from Fraser Valley Rose Farm and others...lots of different ways to go about doing it.
I started bokashi composting several months ago. Spent a lot of money on getting the right buckets and bokashi bran. It sort of works, but not as advertised. And the smell in the ground seems to go on forever and ever and has yet to stop stinking. Abandoning this method. My guess is the fermenting may grow the bacteria in the fermenting formula, but kills off the beneficial bacteria in the soil which retards the final decomposing. It makes sense that pickling something would slow down the break down.
Thank you Wendi! I have a couple of questions. Is it efficient at breaking down citrus peels? Those always seem to take longer in my compost and I have quite a few of them. In the 2 week period when you're letting it finish off in the bucket after it's full, what do you do with your food scraps that are accumulating? Do you have 2 buckets? Thank you so much!
I’d get started with a second bucket, or do a regular compost pile (without food scraps), also need to distribute some goodies to my worm buddies. Lol! Citrus peel did take longer to compost than other vegetables, but I usually chop them small before loading in the Bokashi bucket. I run the food processor whenever possible - more can fit in the bucket this way too! Usually see the white fuzzy mold growing on the peels which helps to speed the break down process. I didn’t find peels by the 3rd week.
With the bucket without spigot, what happens to the liquid that forms in bucket? In old system with spigot, we drain. Why is there no need to drain with the spigot-less system?
Anaerobic compost or bokashi makes a small compost tumbler work just fine .I was wrong ... 😕 of course they aren't airtight so Anaerobic may not work. I made bokashi out of shredded cardboard and paper, is that safe? It's very cheap.
It can go in tumbler after fermenting. I haven’t tried using cardboard but sounds like a good idea! Just make sure there’s no color on the cardboard. I often add shredded cardboard to compost.
This is a wonderful system, thank you. Got a question for you: Is it good to add worms to this kind of compost?? Would they work well with those grains??
You could add the bokashi composted material to an existing worm system BUT they would have to go through the initial breakdown first (so after about a month) and this is the most important part, you'll need to introduce it very gradually. Bokashi can be pretty acidic and worms prefer more neutral matter. So just introduce it bit by bit and monitor how they do.
How about dairy and such, can I put this in there without issues. Like butter on mashed potatoes or Mac and cheese etc . I read a few comments saying they also used just cardboard instead of grain. (I plan on asking a local brewery to buy their grain if I can if this works). Thank you
Yes, you can save some liquid to get new batch started starter. But I would still add bran personally only because I haven’t tried the other way. Feel free to experiment though!
Everybody look up chris trump lectures on how to create labs and fpj, best way to get your hands in korean natrual farming. I believe he is still offering his course where you go out to his farm
I want to do mine in a storage bin like yours. Can you drill holes in the bottom for drainage so I could put the top on tight so critters don’t get in ? Or do you recommend no holes ?
Think I mentioned briefly to drill holes along the sides of the upper part of container - close to where the lid is. That would keep critters out but provide ventilation. :)
The one I’m using is from organic grains that was used for making beer. SD Microbes went through the process of supercharging the grains with different beneficial bacteria. For more info and ordering supplies check the link in the description below this video to the SD Microbes website. Happy Gardening!
I have been doing the Bokashi method for the past year in a 5 gallon bucket and no spigot. I bought the Airscape lid and have had maggots. Do you have any suggestions? The Airscape company had no suggestions
I get maggots as well. But due to the high acidity in the Bokashi they die. They just add more nutrients to the mix. But if they live through the fermentation process then you may need to add more flakes or spray, whichever you use. I use both. They don’t bother me because my Bokashi bucket is outside near my barn, holes in the bottom just draining on the ground.
Flies can smell the fermentation and they can lay eggs through holes if they smell stuff through any gap (I seen it happened, gross I know). There must be a hole in this lid (presumably to let air out while pushing it down), try sealing it (with a tape maybe) after it is closed so there is nowhere the flies lay their eggs into the compost. (check the side as well maybe the side has this problem too or there are organic matters in the side where the maggots feed in, in that case this lid is problematic)
Great video Wendy! Was that a layer of dirt you put on top of the food scraps before sprinkling more grains? I tried Bokashi once and it didn't work well, I think because of the type lid I used. Just got 2 Airscape lids to try again. Great way to compost here in Boise during the winter.
Yeah, I was wondering if that was a layer of soil as well, because the traditional method of Bokashi, is to just use the innoculated grains over each layer of food scraps in the bucket.
When the compost was in the 5 gal bucket, I added coffee ground in. That’s probably what looked like soil. After filling up the bucket, wait 2 weeks then pour the compost in the soil. (Compost is being sandwiched between soil. So soil only goes with the compost after the 2 weeks. Hope that’s more clear. :)
@@thinkingheart171 They were coffee grounds. About every 2-3 inches of food I put a thin layer/sprinkles of the inoculated grains so the entire bucket gets fermented throughout.
I hope the new lids will work for you Patricia! When bokashi doesn’t work is usually if moldy food was placed inside, or if you didn’t put enough of the Inoculated grains, or the seal wasn’t tight and air got in. How did your compost smell? It should not smell like anything rotting. Should have slight sweet, vinegar smell.
You probobly haven't thought of this, but dryer lint contains unnatural and plastic fibers from clothing that could contaminate your soil, unless you are only wearing 100 % organic cotton clothes.
One good thing I learned after the Fukushima nuclear disaster is about the new findings of microbes naturally present in our soil that decompose plastics 🎉 Various bacterial & fungal strains from around the world have been found to do just that! Amazing Similar to the mycoremediation efforts with especially oyster mushrooms after oil spills that are increasingly popular The capital behemoths are of course trying to industrialize it all at scale for profit So not likely that they'd encourage grassroots innovations along the lines of bokashi or vermicomposting or fungal inoculated absorbent hair mats Instead somebody is envisioning a petrochemical smelting facility maybe next door to the refinery Lol
Can I add Canned out of date chicken (like tuna) to my bokashi compost. It is 5 years past 'best use by date' but can is not bulged, is intact. Thank you.
I would smell the tuna, if it doesn’t smell like it’s gone bad, and there’s no mold it should be fine to put in the bokashi. Reason you don’t want to put any moldy things inside is so it would not out compete with the good bacteria. Most food usually last longer than the expiration date in my experience.
I save my money and just throw food scraps in a 5 gallon bucket in the garage with a lid. If I have to pee, that goes in too. After a week, I dig a hole in one of my garden beds and in it goes. Does it stink? Sure, for the whole 3 minutes I have the lid off, but a n95 mask is like $1 from Home Depot and I can reuse that for a long time. Doesn't smell when buried. Plants love it. There is no end to the marketization of microbes. Microbes are free and they are everywhere.
Soldier flies or worms are more responsibility in terms of feeding them, not forgetting for a week or two. You cant's throw everything in the worm bin, and you can't give too much at once. Soldier flies require temperatures in the upper 80's. Then you have the adults hatching too! I get soldier flies in the heat of the summer in my outside composters and it is hard to keep up with feeding them! So the bokashi is a far simpler method! But for me the outside composting started on the ground is the easiest and I do throw foodscraps in as well. I like to be able to throw everything into it (But no poop) and cover it with a thick layer of leaves every time. However I do have to turn it and move it. The bokashi involves buying the grains on an ongoing basis.
@@thaliabudai2013 Is there issues with rats or critters when you leave food scraps in open space? I think I’m in too much of enclosed, urban space to do any of that. Bokashi is one of the best methods for my little urban space. There’s discussions on how you can buy the grains once, or lots of DIY out there. I love doing DIYs too, but I also think some people can produce things better than me, and put out products that may work better.
@@wendiland Yes, critters do visit the compost, mostly raccoons. Luckily I have not noticed rats ever. I place my composters away from my house and my garden. But you are absolutely right, that you need a bit larger space for this. I think the bokashi is a great method for your space. I also do worm-composting in my basement, that is also a great method, but you can only give them greens, fruits and even that in careful balance. Wendi, I love your channel, you are a gem!
@@Anythingforfreedom Yup. Just as with aerobic and static compost and even sourdough starter always use a bit of the finished product to inoculate new material and continue the process. SDMicrobes products are quality but you really only need to buy it once. That's why they encourage subscription.
Wish I could even find 6 inches of space to make a pile here. Haha! I do have to be careful what I put in compost since space is small, and there’s not enough sun to heat up the compost. Just got to work with the space you have.
Traditional composting uses heat to destroy pathogens. Bokashi composting uses beneficial microbes which keeps pathogens from cultivating due to its acidity. That 2 week "pickle" inoculates your food scraps with beneficial microbes including lactobacillus, beneficial yeast, and hopefully PNSB's (purple non-sulfur bacteria). This is what allows you to safely add meat, bones, fat and other things that are left out of a traditional home compost. You can check your bucket with ph strip paper to make sure that your ph reaches below 3.6 if you are worried about this. I'm really happy when mines tests at a 3. When you add the 2 week "pickled bokashi" to soil, the microbes in the soil will change the ph back to neutral over time. That's why you need to wait at least 2 weeks before planting. You can also test this with ph stip paper. I am careful to thoroughly rot any weed seeds separately as I would expect many seeds might survive the fermentation process, particularly if they can survive a digestive tract.
I don't know where I went wrong :( Ít has been months now and my bokashi compost is still not broken down completely. Parts that kinda have look nothing like yours or that of any creator I have seen on UA-cam. They look and smell like sewage sludge...
It isn't supposed to be completely broken down after a filled bucket has been sitting for 2 weeks sealed in the bucket. It finishes breaking down after you fill a trench you've made in your garden with it. However I have found mine breaks down slowly in the bucket also and I partly think after reading the comments, it is due to my not compacting it enough to get all the air out after I add food scraps to it -even though I use the SD Microbes lid and the fermented grain.
I don’t think it takes 3 weeks, that’s too long. It takes about 10 days if you use the fermenter spray or additive. Also, are you sure just because your scraps has a gray or other coloured mould you won’t be able to add to the bokashi mix? That sounds a little restrictive or prescriptive. I’ve watched many other videos and they don’t say that. Just wondering that’s all. 🤔
I just go by as suggested. Reason for not putting moldy food in is to to be cautious -- prevent it from taking over the good bacteria. 3 weeks is considered fast as normally I think. What you put in it, size of materials is also a factor.
Your composting is good but the worms will not survive in the heat of the composting process and most of the worms will escape so i suggest when the heat cool down then add your worms what you think?
Im assuming you live in palos verdes or southbay, from the ice lettuce vid. Are you aware that the city of rpv is getting rid of the last japanese cactus farm on the hill near the pv light house? What a shame, maybe you could help bring awareness on your channel by letting everybody know about the history
Of course everything has to be made somehow, and not all suppliers make it the same way. I'm sure it's possible to make something better than this at home too.
How different are the videos about bokashi in Spanish. If you are looking for information in Spanish about bokashi, it is always using manure, molasses, yeasts, etc. and using a shovel outdoors. While in English they are the same using buckets? , they have already purchased the bokashi and only introduce kitchen waste. So it's not really like making bokashi.
Its so funny that many people r making a fuss of it even though its nothing new and its basically 'Soil Composting' or composting under the soil ehich is the easiest and most effective way....
My friend's mom was from Kyoto and she used to take coffee cans,and fill them with dog crap. She would bury them for several years I was told. When it was finished,it bore no resemblance to feces at all! It was odorless,and looked like good soil. What would you call this method? Is this common in Japan?
You are an answered prayer!! I'm a senior citizen and was looking for the most practical way to use my kitchen scraps with less wear and tear on my body in the way of composting. This is it!! Tyvm.
I’m so happy to hear Tyvm! I hope you will enjoy this method. I have a bad back so I try to keep things light. 5 gal bucket can get a bit heavy when it’s filling up. Best to up it on wheels, or don’t fill it all the way up. Just alternate the buckets. :)
Thank you for this video, very clear and concise… there is so many videos on the subject but they barely show us what the bokashi looks like after it gets the white mold. I finished my first batch of bokashi just yesterday, almost the whole bran was covered in the white stuff, in one corner about a golf ball size of bran was turning blue and black, in tore it off and threw it in the garbage, i didnt know if i had did the right thing but you and your detailed video just confirmed it!
I have been bokashi composting for years and I simply love it. It is my favorite way to compost. I make my own lacto bacillus spray. I don't bother to activate any type of grain or brown stuff anymore, but I still use some sort of brown material to absorb the liquid. I use the spray on everything as I'm putting it in the bucket.
How do you make your own lab spray
@@laflines8711 thank you, that's great, I will look it up. Actually the channel 'garden like a viking ' shows you how to make this. I didn't know it was the same thing. You can also use it the way he does as well as for making compost. That's incredible.
@@laflines8711 Thank you so much, for taking the time to provide this informationt about the lactoobacillus serum !! It's very kind of you and is so appreciated and helpful. But if you don't mind, do you know if it is ok to use plant based milk, instead of animal milk when making the serum? I would imagine it would be ok, since plant based milks are often used with lactobacillus to culture some types of plant based cheeses. But still wanted to see if you know, just to be sure. Thanks in advance.
@@thinkingheart171 what is important is the cultivation of the lactobacillus whatever your source may be. Rice provides one strand of lactobacillus and milk another strand of lactobacillus. Molasses gives it a food source until you're able to use it with your food scraps.
I worm compost would the worms like the grains?
I did Bokashi and then put them in the big tote like you with some worms. But I didn’t have space to place the tote, I decided to not have the lid on, and put some small contaner plants on top of my Bokashi soil. That way when I water my small container plants, the Bokashi compost gets wet also. Guess what? I have the happiest plants ever in that tote. No plant food needed. The roots of those plants will find a way through the drainage holes and come down to the Bokashi compost. They’re big, green and so healthy with no pest at all. Highly recommend this method.
Thank you so much for that tip about putting the compost in a container. I have tried burying my bokashi in my garden and my dogs dig it up and eat it. I will definitely be giving this a go!
We only put veggie scraps, fruit scraps, leaves, sometimes coffee grounds, tea grounds and washed eggshells. We use a plastic with a lid and turn it often. No meat, dairy, or cooked food so we don't get mice. It takes over the winter to break down. When weather is in 70s it seems to really break down. Sift it. Black gold! Have used it for planting, and mulching. Helps break up clay soil. We use plastic tubs with lids and one composter that turns which is easier. Really helps the soil.
It sounds like you got the system down! However you can make wonderful compost is the way to go! :D
Recently watched 'bare mountain farm' channel, the gentleman sprayed lacto bacillus (LABs) on every layer of scraps he put in the bucket. No need for spent grain.
Thanks for the recommendation. The BMF host is so knowledgeable!
I have a no cost compost method for the midwest. I use old food bags in a small bucked and dump the food scraps out behind the garage and then toss the old food bag in the garbage. Use what you have. You don't need any products to start composting. After a year scoop it up with a shovel and toss it under the bushes and trees. Free fertilizer, no cost, no raccoons digging in your garbage. Everything composts naturally within a month or two.
I use bokashi buckets with the spickets. I have 2 that I swap out every 2 weeks, but I love this one. Time to upgrade!! Thanks for this amazing video
Same here, I use with the spigots and one does not close up completely so I have to keep a jar under at all times to catch the tea. I will seal those up now permanently but I did order one of these buckets as well. Great video Wendi!
Nice video! If the smell is pungent, there's a problem in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I use this method in my apartment. It is fast, clean (no smell, no bugs), and easy! Greetings from Belgium, EU.
Indoor composting, I love that you can do it no matter how harsh the weather is outside. :D
@@wendiland Indeed! And even in winter my earth factory on my balcony gave a rich, moist soil after 2.5 months (11 Nov till check on 28 Jan). Even without the help of worms or other insects.
@@louis-philippearnhem6959 ...might I ask, how do you have your earth factory set up on the balcony?
For anyone trying to do this. Here's some suggestion. If you live in warm climate place like asia, try to
Mix the bokashi with the soil and not just toss all of them in the middle of soil. I did exactly that and my soil factory become hot and release bad smell killing most of the worm i put in there. Mixing them also make the decomposition even faster with the worm
If you see in the video when she opens up the soil factory and it wets. It's because the worm doesn't want to burrow into the hot and acidic soil
I just save my kitchen scraps in a several layers of newspaper, in a cardboard box, then when get enough, roll up and place it in a plastic bucket with a lid. When bucket is full, take out the bundles and Bury them in the yard. When I check, in two weeks it’s all gone. No need to do the fungi thing.
Do you seal the lid so it’s airtight like in the video?
you aren't listening to the video. Narrow space without a YARD.
You do thus with math and dairy scraps?!? Genuine question...
Can u plz share a bit more if u have made any holes in the plastic bucket? And do u put it in a dark indoor place away from sunlight or in any open corner of the garden/ yard?
@@munibaghafoor624 NO Holes. It must be Anaerobic meaning without Oxygen. And i think it should be fine not in direct sunlight. Probably best to keep it from extreme temperatures to sustain the microorganisms and avoid any temperature shock
I have an endless supply of spent grain (husband is a homebrewer) so will give this a try. Just need to inoculate it... Well that's the end of that idea. Husband says introducing a bunch of lacto bacteria to the house/yard, where people/dogs can track it around will probably ruin his brewing. Good to know. Will just continue to compost the grain in my other systems.
I use bokashi to control the smell from my house rabbits litter box. I then compost the litter or use it as mulch since rabbit poo does not need composting. I have started to use it in the cat box too and I think it makes a difference.
I once saw a video from a UA-camr in India that used a bokashi bin made from terra-cotta. If anyone knows wher i could buy one I would be so grateful. I try to be as plastic free as possible. My animals use metal litter boxes which is much more hygienic. I use terra-cotta self watering seed trays to germinate. I use metal garbage can for composting but i cant possibly turn it. I would switch to a bokashi system in a heartbeat if it wasn’t plastic.
It’s amazing how versatile bokashi can be. It’s great at neutralizing odor. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful usage! Love your plastic free lifestyle. Everyone and your pets are healthier without plastic. :)
Hello, Liene. How do you use bokashi in the cat litter?
@@matheuscontas i just sprinkle it on.
Damn, so genius and at the same time stupidly simple to be done. Gonna give it a try. Thank you for sharing the idea.
I'm not good at this method so I will stick with worms and hot composting. Same results different methods. Thanks for the video it was educational.
All forms of composting is wonderful. As long as resources are put to good use, it’s all good! :)
This is the first I’ve ever heard of this! This is incredible! Thanks. Will try it out.
Hope you’ll enjoy it too! It feels so good each day when I toss waste in the bucket. :D
Fermentation is science useful for creating healthy delicious superfood and rich garden soil. Thank you for your contents. From your bucket it seems a draining spout on the bottom isn't necessary but it's a bonus.
A small trash bag with water in it works well to compress down and take out air as well for a 5 gal bucket
So, this is a fermenting process. Correct? Very interesting. I have been making kefir for years. Done sourdough and kombucha, and even once tried fermented beans. I am very curious about this.
Me too. Started with kefir, kombucha, bokashi then sourdough. Now will try cabbage
I've got a small space to compost too, and I like to reuse stuff if I can, so I keep the plastic bags that package my soil, mix poor soil and plant material, and pour a strong batch of water+lactobacillus in the bag (just enough to soak the soil but not make it soggy) , and then stick a giant rock over the plastic bag and let it sit for a month (sometimes takes longer depending on how big the stuff is). I'm not 100% sure this is the best method, but it seems to work alright for me, and skips a lot of steps, as well as conveniently bags my soil when i need it.
Also, back when I had space to dig a trench, I also found that burying plant material where the inoculated stuff once was would also break down the plant material faster as well. At some point, after composting inoculated scraps at the same trench over and over, I no longer needed to add an inoculate anymore, and stuff would just compost under the soil after a month. Could be my imagination though, but worth trying as a fun science experiment.
Wonderful video, great work ethic, which comes easy when you enjoy what you’re doing, in other words, it’s more like play and not work. Thank you for showing me the easy way to compost in small areas🙏🏼💜🇨🇦
Thanks Wendi! I just ordered 25 lbs of the grains plus a "system" and an extra lid. Thanks to your discount I saved over $30 and shipping was included! Yay! I can't wait to try it out! In one raised bed in particular, I'm hesitant to add any manure based compost or even straw mulch or hay to fill it up due to the possible contamination from pesticides and having to deal with the Grazon contamination phenomenon. I'm hoping to use the anaerobic Bokashi composting method to break down weeds, leaves, twigs, bush and tree trimmings from my yard faster than it otherwise would using the aerobic method and make my own soil adding few amendments except maybe coconut coir.
Since it is a larger space I thought I'd cover it with a tarp and try and reduce air pockets by weighing down the tarp with heavy items on top. Do you think it will work? I know if I used a chipper/shredder to break down the weeds even further it would be better but I'm wondering if I even need to since the grains seem to work so well breaking everything down by themselves. I'm not sure but using a chipper/mulcher might only speed it up by a few weeks or so. What do you think?
Hi Emily, You are so ambitious! I can’t comment on the method of covering the compost, but I think it might work as long as you get the air pockets out. The finer the compost the faster they will compost. I would at least shred the twigs or anything that takes long to compost normally. I hope it all works out for you! Good luck, and let us know how it goes! :D. PS Thank you for your support!
great video! also love the genuine smile when you see soil turns out good.
This is amazing esp with 2 kids that waste food so often. Thank you. We are going to tackle a straw farm for the kids now with runners lol
That’s what I love about the system. Pretty much anything you can eat can go in it. Just don’t put moldy food.
@@wendiland Thank you :)
Thank you for the demonstration!
I see those lids in my future!
Also, the little countertop one is pretty awesome! Great as a gift.
I like this technique! I’ve tried tumbler and it seems to take forever. I can’t seem to get the proportions right
The tumbler has its benefits, but for me I have a hard time trying to turn it! Lol! Also to make it efficient I think you need a few tumblers to keep things going.
So, have a question. Do you not ever drain the liquid in this type of bokashi bucket? Or do you manage it by putting things that have dried out a bit or cardboard to absorb the moisture? I just started this so trying to find out if not draining will work. Thank you.
Go Wendi, love the presentation and that beautiful energy of yours!
Thanks for the video…that composting method is really awesome…stay safe and take care !!
Thank you! Same to you!
Thanks for such a detailed video on this. I'm big into fermenting and such so I'm wondering if you can just do like when you ferment and re-use some of the old Bokashi compost to make new one instead of keep having to buy more....just a thought.
You can make your own bokashi no need to buy it.
Spray LABs(lacto bacillus) on every layer of scraps. No need for spent grains, which you may have to buy.
You probably can save some to mix with the new, just like when we save juice of fermented vegetables to mix with fresh brine. Only thing I question is will the fermenting process in the Bokashi bucket be able to go through the complete cycle of fermentation since the early stage gets skipped. Early stage as in the time when you mix fresh grains in. I read somewhere about how it’s best to allow microbial activity to go through whole cycle. I’m no expert in this field so it’s just a thought.
@@thoriqziyaad5877 That’s really smart! I wonder how the fungal activity is in the compost using a spray. In my experience the spent grains make the compost super active - full of fungal bloom.
@@wendiland I actually started googling how to make your own bokashi and it seems simple enough. Way cheaper than what the people are charging for it, for sure. Check out the video from Fraser Valley Rose Farm and others...lots of different ways to go about doing it.
Thank you. This is so helpful especially for first time bokashi composters. Please kee it up. 😊
I started bokashi composting several months ago. Spent a lot of money on getting the right buckets and bokashi bran. It sort of works, but not as advertised. And the smell in the ground seems to go on forever and ever and has yet to stop stinking. Abandoning this method. My guess is the fermenting may grow the bacteria in the fermenting formula, but kills off the beneficial bacteria in the soil which retards the final decomposing. It makes sense that pickling something would slow down the break down.
Beautiful Garden~
Thank you for good sharing.
Like it
My friend, have a good day
Thank you Wendi!
I have a couple of questions.
Is it efficient at breaking down citrus peels? Those always seem to take longer in my compost and I have quite a few of them.
In the 2 week period when you're letting it finish off in the bucket after it's full, what do you do with your food scraps that are accumulating? Do you have 2 buckets?
Thank you so much!
I’d get started with a second bucket, or do a regular compost pile (without food scraps), also need to distribute some goodies to my worm buddies. Lol! Citrus peel did take longer to compost than other vegetables, but I usually chop them small before loading in the Bokashi bucket. I run the food processor whenever possible - more can fit in the bucket this way too! Usually see the white fuzzy mold growing on the peels which helps to speed the break down process. I didn’t find peels by the 3rd week.
Worm action!! I love that expression...
Thank you Wendi !! I absolutely loved this video !!
Enjoyed immensely!
I have a kind of back to Eden small garden and I think this system will be a game changer for me. Thank you 😊
EM1 is good for eliminating bad smelling so you will have happy neighbors.
@Z E~ EM1? What is that?
@@wingsandbeaksbirder2312 lactobacillus
Will that stay sauer? It I use the soil can it be used with any plants or do I need to keep it longer in the soil factory to get it more neutral.
And even after month I have no fungus on it. It smells little puiky but looked ok
With the bucket without spigot, what happens to the liquid that forms in bucket? In old system with spigot, we drain. Why is there no need to drain with the spigot-less system?
Brown-Green-Brown in the pail while pickling & accumulating
I guess enough brown to avoid pooling juices
This is really so cool! I will give this a try soon!
Anaerobic compost or bokashi makes a small compost tumbler work just fine .I was wrong ... 😕 of course they aren't airtight so Anaerobic may not work. I made bokashi out of shredded cardboard and paper, is that safe? It's very cheap.
It can go in tumbler after fermenting. I haven’t tried using cardboard but sounds like a good idea! Just make sure there’s no color on the cardboard. I often add shredded cardboard to compost.
This is a wonderful system, thank you. Got a question for you: Is it good to add worms to this kind of compost?? Would they work well with those grains??
You could add the bokashi composted material to an existing worm system BUT they would have to go through the initial breakdown first (so after about a month) and this is the most important part, you'll need to introduce it very gradually. Bokashi can be pretty acidic and worms prefer more neutral matter. So just introduce it bit by bit and monitor how they do.
What’s the advantage of having a bucket without spigot?Isn’t it better to be able to drain the excess fluid?
Love that lid. Thanks for sharing!
How about dairy and such, can I put this in there without issues. Like butter on mashed potatoes or Mac and cheese etc . I read a few comments saying they also used just cardboard instead of grain. (I plan on asking a local brewery to buy their grain if I can if this works). Thank you
Any food and left overs can go inside! Noodles, pastas, meat and dairy! 😄 Hope the grain DIY goes well!
@@wendiland Thanks again
Really appreciated your breakdown of the many compost strategies and the details of bokashi. Wendi, thank you! I’m going to try it out!
Nice job .Thanks for your excellent experience
Nice video. Can you use the bokashi liquid to inoculate fresh scraps that are placed in the bin?
Yes, you can save some liquid to get new batch started starter. But I would still add bran personally only because I haven’t tried the other way. Feel free to experiment though!
Thank You for your reply. That seems a very sensible way to go. Will let you know the results. Regards, Tim.
Great info, beautifully presented 👏👏👏👏👏
Great video - thank you : )
I have a question that bothers me, how to separate these earthworms from the soil when we want to use it in the garden.
What a lovely video. Thank you for that!
Thank you! Happy Gardening! :)
Everybody look up chris trump lectures on how to create labs and fpj, best way to get your hands in korean natrual farming. I believe he is still offering his course where you go out to his farm
I want to do mine in a storage bin like yours. Can you drill holes in the bottom for drainage so I could put the top on tight so critters don’t get in ? Or do you recommend no holes ?
Think I mentioned briefly to drill holes along the sides of the upper part of container - close to where the lid is. That would keep critters out but provide ventilation. :)
@@wendiland thank you for your response..I appreciate your time and your videos !
Is it necessary to add the worms?
No it isn’t! :)
Where do you get spent grain? And what is spent grain?
The one I’m using is from organic grains that was used for making beer. SD Microbes went through the process of supercharging the grains with different beneficial bacteria. For more info and ordering supplies check the link in the description below this video to the SD Microbes website. Happy Gardening!
Hi windi looks like a good way to make things grow great look forward to seeing what you plant 🌱 there.
I have been doing the Bokashi method for the past year in a 5 gallon bucket and no spigot. I bought the Airscape lid and have had maggots. Do you have any suggestions? The Airscape company had no suggestions
I get maggots as well. But due to the high acidity in the Bokashi they die. They just add more nutrients to the mix. But if they live through the fermentation process then you may need to add more flakes or spray, whichever you use. I use both. They don’t bother me because my Bokashi bucket is outside near my barn, holes in the bottom just draining on the ground.
Flies can smell the fermentation and they can lay eggs through holes if they smell stuff through any gap (I seen it happened, gross I know). There must be a hole in this lid (presumably to let air out while pushing it down), try sealing it (with a tape maybe) after it is closed so there is nowhere the flies lay their eggs into the compost. (check the side as well maybe the side has this problem too or there are organic matters in the side where the maggots feed in, in that case this lid is problematic)
Great video Wendy! Was that a layer of dirt you put on top of the food scraps before sprinkling more grains? I tried Bokashi once and it didn't work well, I think because of the type lid I used. Just got 2 Airscape lids to try again. Great way to compost here in Boise during the winter.
Yeah, I was wondering if that was a layer of soil as well, because the traditional method of Bokashi, is to just use the innoculated grains over each layer of food scraps in the bucket.
I think they were coffee grounds, not dirt. Good luck trying again with your new lids :)
When the compost was in the 5 gal bucket, I added coffee ground in. That’s probably what looked like soil. After filling up the bucket, wait 2 weeks then pour the compost in the soil. (Compost is being sandwiched between soil. So soil only goes with the compost after the 2 weeks. Hope that’s more clear. :)
@@thinkingheart171 They were coffee grounds. About every 2-3 inches of food I put a thin layer/sprinkles of the inoculated grains so the entire bucket gets fermented throughout.
I hope the new lids will work for you Patricia! When bokashi doesn’t work is usually if moldy food was placed inside, or if you didn’t put enough of the Inoculated grains, or the seal wasn’t tight and air got in. How did your compost smell? It should not smell like anything rotting. Should have slight sweet, vinegar smell.
Enjoyed watching your video 🪴
Does the lid have an easy open/close trigger?
Just squeeze the handle to push down and pull up.
Try out korean natrual farming, thats where bokashi composting comes from. Fpj, ffj, jadam, imo
Hello Wendy, I appreciate your video & expertise. My I use dryer lint instead of tissue to absorb liquid in my compost? Thanks in advance
You probobly haven't thought of this, but dryer lint contains unnatural and plastic fibers from clothing that could contaminate your soil, unless you are only wearing 100 % organic cotton clothes.
One good thing I learned after the Fukushima nuclear disaster is about the new findings of microbes naturally present in our soil that decompose plastics 🎉
Various bacterial & fungal strains from around the world have been found to do just that! Amazing
Similar to the mycoremediation efforts with especially oyster mushrooms after oil spills that are increasingly popular
The capital behemoths are of course trying to industrialize it all at scale for profit So not likely that they'd encourage grassroots innovations along the lines of bokashi or vermicomposting or fungal inoculated absorbent hair mats
Instead somebody is envisioning a petrochemical smelting facility maybe next door to the refinery Lol
Thanks. Great video.
Can u put coffee grounds?
Yes I put a lot of coffee grounds in. It also helped to absorb a lot of the liquid the ferment produced.
Can I add Canned out of date chicken (like tuna) to my bokashi compost. It is 5 years past 'best use by date' but can is not bulged, is intact. Thank you.
I would smell the tuna, if it doesn’t smell like it’s gone bad, and there’s no mold it should be fine to put in the bokashi. Reason you don’t want to put any moldy things inside is so it would not out compete with the good bacteria. Most food usually last longer than the expiration date in my experience.
Can you add dog manure there too?
where can I buy the bucket ?
I save my money and just throw food scraps in a 5 gallon bucket in the garage with a lid. If I have to pee, that goes in too. After a week, I dig a hole in one of my garden beds and in it goes. Does it stink? Sure, for the whole 3 minutes I have the lid off, but a n95 mask is like $1 from Home Depot and I can reuse that for a long time. Doesn't smell when buried. Plants love it. There is no end to the marketization of microbes. Microbes are free and they are everywhere.
Must be nice to have space to dig. Hey, do what you need to get waste off the landfill and nutrient back in the soil! haha
Very practical. Thanks for inspiring!
Why not use black soilder fly larva to compost your food waste?
My father-in-law was an entomologist who studied the cantering (soldier beetles) - great little predators on aphids etc!!
That is another route to take.
Soldier flies or worms are more responsibility in terms of feeding them, not forgetting for a week or two. You cant's throw everything in the worm bin, and you can't give too much at once. Soldier flies require temperatures in the upper 80's. Then you have the adults hatching too! I get soldier flies in the heat of the summer in my outside composters and it is hard to keep up with feeding them! So the bokashi is a far simpler method! But for me the outside composting started on the ground is the easiest and I do throw foodscraps in as well. I like to be able to throw everything into it (But no poop) and cover it with a thick layer of leaves every time. However I do have to turn it and move it. The bokashi involves buying the grains on an ongoing basis.
@@thaliabudai2013 Is there issues with rats or critters when you leave food scraps in open space? I think I’m in too much of enclosed, urban space to do any of that. Bokashi is one of the best methods for my little urban space. There’s discussions on how you can buy the grains once, or lots of DIY out there. I love doing DIYs too, but I also think some people can produce things better than me, and put out products that may work better.
@@wendiland Yes, critters do visit the compost, mostly raccoons. Luckily I have not noticed rats ever. I place my composters away from my house and my garden. But you are absolutely right, that you need a bit larger space for this. I think the bokashi is a great method for your space. I also do worm-composting in my basement, that is also a great method, but you can only give them greens, fruits and even that in careful balance.
Wendi, I love your channel, you are a gem!
Fungus by definition is NOT a bacteria.
No, but fungi eat all kinds of things, including bacteria.
So bukashi inoculated grain is $10/lb? How long does 5lbs last you?
Ok, just looked at the bag to confirm, it’s a 5 lb bag. It produced about 13 gals of compost for me. Thanks for watching!
@@wendiland I guess I can buy grain in bulk and just mix in the inoculated grain to save money. Thanks for the video Wendi
@@Anythingforfreedom oh good idea! Hope it works out! :D
@@Anythingforfreedom Yup. Just as with aerobic and static compost and even sourdough starter always use a bit of the finished product to inoculate new material and continue the process. SDMicrobes products are quality but you really only need to buy it once. That's why they encourage subscription.
I'm going to check with our local gluten free brewery (Bierly Brewing!) to.see if I can get some spent grain!
yes not a bad small really 🤷🏻♂️ same opinion
Never buy a tumbler .Pile must be at least 3x3 x3 ,a cubic yard to maintain the heat needed to kill weed seeds and bad pathogens .
Wish I could even find 6 inches of space to make a pile here. Haha! I do have to be careful what I put in compost since space is small, and there’s not enough sun to heat up the compost. Just got to work with the space you have.
Yes Wendi , some inoculant make the tumblers work fine .Thank you for the education....
Traditional composting uses heat to destroy pathogens. Bokashi composting uses beneficial microbes which keeps pathogens from cultivating due to its acidity. That 2 week "pickle" inoculates your food scraps with beneficial microbes including lactobacillus, beneficial yeast, and hopefully PNSB's (purple non-sulfur bacteria). This is what allows you to safely add meat, bones, fat and other things that are left out of a traditional home compost. You can check your bucket with ph strip paper to make sure that your ph reaches below 3.6 if you are worried about this. I'm really happy when mines tests at a 3. When you add the 2 week "pickled bokashi" to soil, the microbes in the soil will change the ph back to neutral over time. That's why you need to wait at least 2 weeks before planting. You can also test this with ph stip paper. I am careful to thoroughly rot any weed seeds separately as I would expect many seeds might survive the fermentation process, particularly if they can survive a digestive tract.
Thanks
I don't know where I went wrong :( Ít has been months now and my bokashi compost is still not broken down completely. Parts that kinda have look nothing like yours or that of any creator I have seen on UA-cam. They look and smell like sewage sludge...
It isn't supposed to be completely broken down after a filled bucket has been sitting for 2 weeks sealed in the bucket. It finishes breaking down after you fill a trench you've made in your garden with it. However I have found mine breaks down slowly in the bucket also and I partly think after reading the comments, it is due to my not compacting it enough to get all the air out after I add food scraps to it -even though I use the SD Microbes lid and the fermented grain.
I don’t think it takes 3 weeks, that’s too long. It takes about 10 days if you use the fermenter spray or additive. Also, are you sure just because your scraps has a gray or other coloured mould you won’t be able to add to the bokashi mix? That sounds a little restrictive or prescriptive. I’ve watched many other videos and they don’t say that. Just wondering that’s all. 🤔
I just go by as suggested. Reason for not putting moldy food in is to to be cautious -- prevent it from taking over the good bacteria. 3 weeks is considered fast as normally I think. What you put in it, size of materials is also a factor.
@@wendiland thanks a lot for the advice. I rewatched your video again and I think I get it now. 🙏😁
Your composting is good but the worms will not survive in the heat of the composting process and most of the worms will escape so i suggest when the heat cool down then add your worms what you think?
That doesn't make sense. What is vermicultuee, then? Works thrown into what amounts to s complete bin, with a spigot at on one end somewhere. No?
Im assuming you live in palos verdes or southbay, from the ice lettuce vid. Are you aware that the city of rpv is getting rid of the last japanese cactus farm on the hill near the pv light house? What a shame, maybe you could help bring awareness on your channel by letting everybody know about the history
Hi. It's like burying someone. Some evidence remain. Lol
How did the Japanese use this method for hundred of years without a bokashi bran supplier?
Of course everything has to be made somehow, and not all suppliers make it the same way. I'm sure it's possible to make something better than this at home too.
How different are the videos about bokashi in Spanish. If you are looking for information in Spanish about bokashi, it is always using manure, molasses, yeasts, etc. and using a shovel outdoors. While in English they are the same using buckets? , they have already purchased the bokashi and only introduce kitchen waste. So it's not really like making bokashi.
Very good tutorial, tq.
Pls don't touch your hair, all the good bacteria goes up there too. 😂
Its so funny that many people r making a fuss of it even though its nothing new and its basically 'Soil Composting' or composting under the soil ehich is the easiest and most effective way....
If only those lids weren’t $37…
check out the work of paul stamets
Compost is not soil humus yes soil not!
Boop
Probiotics
Why don't you use gloves
Use paper towels to keep top clean and dump used towels in bin
Paper towels do go in the bin as well as nails and hair.
Interesting, but needs to be much more concise.
Boring
Talk too much 😢.
Too much talking
Gosh , you talk too much,
She wastes so much time. Good if she got to the point Eventually.
sawdust. use that with ur food
My friend's mom was from Kyoto and she used to take coffee cans,and fill them with dog crap. She would bury them for several years I was told. When it was finished,it bore no resemblance to feces at all! It was odorless,and looked like good soil.
What would you call this method? Is this common in Japan?