Bokashi

Having covered the basics of home composting and how to use a wormery, you may be wondering what to do with the remaining food waste that you seemingly have to throw in the bin.

One answer is "Bokashi". It is a system developed in japan in 1982 and uses an anaerobic process to breakdown waste. It is made up of fermented plant material including wheat bran, sawdust and molasses together with the Effective Microorganisms.

 Bokashi means "fermented matter" and allows foods such as meat, fish and dairy to be treated and then either added to the compost heap or dug straight into the garden soil.

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It can be used to either complement your existing compost heaps or can be used as an alternative method of composting all kitchen scraps for gardens that may not be big enough for the conventional bins.

Bokashi is the biochemical breakdown of organic matter in an anaerobic environment. The "good" microbes out compete the "bad" microbes essentially killing them. The end result is "pickled" organic matter that may look the same but has been altered drastically.

Since it is the "bad " microbes that develop the compounds that emit the foul smell of decaying organic matter and are not present in a properly processed bokashi bucket, there is no foul odour connected with bokashi.

When you purchase a Bokashi system you will receive 2 bins and a quantity of the treated bran to sprinkle on the food waste. It also comes with a paddle to squash everything down with as anaerobic systems require the absence of air to work. Fill one of the bins over a couple of weeks, sprinkling bran as you go, and once full leave to ferment for 2 weeks. Start using the other bin whilst waiting for the magic to happen. A white mould will form over the waste indicating that the process is working and after the 2 weeks empty the contents into the compost bin.