Bokashi composting
So, about the compost addiction... I have compost heaps, I have the wormery and I also have bokashi bins. I don't use them as fully as I should, but this will be the year!
Bokashi is anaerobic composting using microbes, usually with inoculated bran and is generally used for food waste. Garden waste will break down but as bokashi bins tend to be small you might as well save the space for food that is otherwise not compostable.
Waste is mixed with inoculated matter, kept tightly covered and then left sealed for a couple of weeks before emptying. It will smell pickled but look pretty much the same when you empty it but is 'pre-composted'. You can add it to a wormery (perfect combination if you have limited space or no compost heap), mix it into a compost heap or dig it into a convenient part of the garden. I try to avoid digging but I've read that Alys Fowler starts her runner bean trench with it and I might try something similar this year. Wherever you put it it rots down really quickly because it has already started to decompose.
You can keep the tubs inside or outside, as convenient and it can be done in any seal-able container but one with a spigot is helpful as there will be leachate. Well, two actually because one should be fermenting as you fill the other.
The good news is you can put pretty much any food waste in apart from excess oil and mouldy food, both of which will interfere with the fermentation process. You can add cooked and raw meat, small bones, dairy- all the things that you can't put in wormeries or compost bins.
The bad news is, the cost of the inoculated bran adds up, making it an expensive way to compost. There is a solution however- more on that in a bit...
Mix your scraps with enough inoculated bran to lightly coat and then press into your bin, covering with another handful of bran. Keep filling and pressing down, trying to avoid air pockets. It should be kept as oxygen free as possible but don't worry unduly. You can cover it whilst it's in the tub to reduce contact with the air if you like but I don't bother.
When it's full sprinkle with a final layer of bran, seal and leave for 10-14 days somewhere out of direct sun.
You'll need to drain the leachate off a few times whilst it's fermenting and this makes a good fertiliser, very well diluted (about 1:100) or you can add it straight to the compost heap where it will add nutrients and will probably speed up the process.
Most satisfyingly, as it's full of enzymes, you can use it in a dog poo digester instead of commercial septic tank fluid and even, apparently, to unblock drains. I made a digester in our last house for the dog poo and will eventually get round to putting one in here.
So, the solution to expensive bran? Newspaper. You can ferment sheets of newspaper in a mixture of whey and molasses (those microbes need the sugar rush!) and then either shred it or leave it in small rectangles, which is what I do, using the paper to press it down and help to keep the air out.
Recipe in next post...
Bokashi is anaerobic composting using microbes, usually with inoculated bran and is generally used for food waste. Garden waste will break down but as bokashi bins tend to be small you might as well save the space for food that is otherwise not compostable.
Waste is mixed with inoculated matter, kept tightly covered and then left sealed for a couple of weeks before emptying. It will smell pickled but look pretty much the same when you empty it but is 'pre-composted'. You can add it to a wormery (perfect combination if you have limited space or no compost heap), mix it into a compost heap or dig it into a convenient part of the garden. I try to avoid digging but I've read that Alys Fowler starts her runner bean trench with it and I might try something similar this year. Wherever you put it it rots down really quickly because it has already started to decompose.
You can keep the tubs inside or outside, as convenient and it can be done in any seal-able container but one with a spigot is helpful as there will be leachate. Well, two actually because one should be fermenting as you fill the other.
The good news is you can put pretty much any food waste in apart from excess oil and mouldy food, both of which will interfere with the fermentation process. You can add cooked and raw meat, small bones, dairy- all the things that you can't put in wormeries or compost bins.
The bad news is, the cost of the inoculated bran adds up, making it an expensive way to compost. There is a solution however- more on that in a bit...
Mix your scraps with enough inoculated bran to lightly coat and then press into your bin, covering with another handful of bran. Keep filling and pressing down, trying to avoid air pockets. It should be kept as oxygen free as possible but don't worry unduly. You can cover it whilst it's in the tub to reduce contact with the air if you like but I don't bother.
When it's full sprinkle with a final layer of bran, seal and leave for 10-14 days somewhere out of direct sun.
You'll need to drain the leachate off a few times whilst it's fermenting and this makes a good fertiliser, very well diluted (about 1:100) or you can add it straight to the compost heap where it will add nutrients and will probably speed up the process.
Most satisfyingly, as it's full of enzymes, you can use it in a dog poo digester instead of commercial septic tank fluid and even, apparently, to unblock drains. I made a digester in our last house for the dog poo and will eventually get round to putting one in here.
So, the solution to expensive bran? Newspaper. You can ferment sheets of newspaper in a mixture of whey and molasses (those microbes need the sugar rush!) and then either shred it or leave it in small rectangles, which is what I do, using the paper to press it down and help to keep the air out.
Recipe in next post...
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