I am no expert and actually just purchased the things to start my first Bokashi bucket. It seems a lot of organics users are supplementing with Bokashi composting. It would be nice if we could get a thread and make it a sticky or one of the more experienced users start one? Think it would be nice to share all kinds of info on the subject.
If Im not mistaken, there was another thread on the subject somewhere in the higher learning sticky. I know what you are looking for though, might be cool to get some compiled information from those who actually have used it on a regular basis. I tried making my own a while back with wheat bran and IMO. I didn't get to take it all the way through though. EDIT: Here ya go. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/556450-beneficial-indigenous-microorganisms-3.html#post6945614
<sup>Started my Bucket today with 2 gallon buckets. I have a worm bin so Im not producing enough waste to fill up a 5 gallon. Threw in banana peels, leeks, coffee grinds, kale, potato skins. See how this goes.</sup>
I do bokashi...just started a few months ago but am excited when I will use this in my next re-amend. I unfortunately do not have a worm bin so this was my next alternative. I run two 5 gal setups so I can always have some collecting/pickling. I ran one and its now compost but im enriching a specific spot in my outside land before I start pulling it out. Maybe another month and itll be good.
Im hoping that Wak might pop over since he's had successful run with it in his recycled soil. I particularly want to know how fast it breaks down in indoor soil since we typically dont have alot of bugs breaking it down like outside.
I plan to put my finished bokashi in an indoor Rubbermaid and let it decompose by covering with my organic soil. The thought being I will have two different types of humus when amending my next soil. Worm Castings and Bokashi compost. I will keep you guys updated on how well this works.
2-3 weeks and it looks like the soil that you mixed it with. ~ 4 1/2 gallon bucket of fermented material mixed with enough soil to fill a 30 gallon Rubbermaid tote. If you've mixed any of your own home made compost into the soil that you use/recycle/reuse, there's plenty of "bugs" from outside. Several weeks ago, I added some crab shells (birthday dinner, thanks baby!!!) to a Bokashi/recycled soil mix that was already in the works. There were a lot of shells, and I just kinda threw them in the container and mixed with my hand. So there were shells exposed at the top of the soil. When I checked a few days ago, the shells were covered with mites, chowin' that shit down. All hail to the indoor shredder mite!
http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/932354-my-simple-bokashi-compost.html?hl=bokashi http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1113166-bokashi-bran.html?hl=bokashi
I use mine to feed my worm bin, 5 gal is all I can fill at a time and still have stuff to go to the outside compost. They really love this stuff, I put it in and bam they're all over it! By the time I've fed the 5gal I've got enough to start the next. I didn't make my own, I bought some to start to see how I liked it ( to many projects already ) and I do like it.
RAB, I was thinking of this idea the other day just throwing my bokashi bucket into a worm bin (thought about buying that worm factory), but wasnt sure on the odor cause that pickle/vinegar hits my nose in all the wrong ways lol thats why mines buried outside. Do you have your worm bin indoors and if so how is the smell when first dropping it in?
Okay...so Im thinking that I can just use one of my SIP buckets and do a run with it. Already set up pretty much the way a purchased bucket would be correct? Only thing missing is the liners I see in some buckets but as long as the bran makes contact with the scraps I should be good right? Im probably going to just buy a few packs of bran off the prokashi site...I don't really have time to make another batch of bran...maybe too lazy even. Any thoughts?
The way I made my bin was two (2) gallon buckets stacked. I drilled about 8 holes in the bottom of one and put it in the other. Layered my mix, covered with wax paper and pressed down. I then took plastic wrap and put it over the rim before securing the lid. We shall see how this works. I also bought my own Bokashi. $15 for a bag that looks like it is going to last a long time isn't a bad deal.
^ I do similarly with homer depot 5 gallon buckets, only difference is I use a trash bag inside to help push down and prevent air from getting inside along with the lid sealed in between fillings. So far so good, I got my bokashi from teraganix 5 lbs for 28 bucks shipped, not bad considering 2lbs cost 25 bucks shipped from them lol. Good quality bran so far and 5 gal will last me several buckets
I will from now on purchase from Bryan McGrath in the future. Like his videos and always like to support the self-employed. I will look into placing trash bag liners. My question there is how is the juice draining from the bag?
You both would do well to make a real inside "top", instead of using wax paper/plastic bags to cover/push down on the material. It allows you to push out more oxygen. These are facultative anaerobes we're dealing with here. The less oxygen present, the better they work. I made one out a piece to wood (with a handle) cut just a bit smaller than the inside space of the bucket. I don't think the round buckets do, but make sure they don't taper towards the bottom of the bucket when measuring for your cut. You will wind up with space exposed to oxygen by the time it gets to being full. Anyways, then I just took a piece of wax paper and stuck it to the wood with some of that removable putty adhesive stuff for attaching posters to walls. You can even put a rock on top to push even more oxygen out of the material. I think he uses it to cover his material like you do with the wax paper.
I saw the ones that are on the prokashi web site also. that's the one that I was going to purchase last year but he had issues with shipping. The liners inside look like cardboard with some type of paper or plastic on them. I cut one from a big box and just shaved it down to fit in my bucket and put a weight plate on top...but as can be imagined, it will degrade over time so Im looking for something more durable like the wooden one you made Wak. YourGrandfather also did a really cool idea in his journal for the bucket he uses to collect pressed plant syrup. Its made from concrete. He made it for a different purpose but its pretty much along the same lines.
More specifically, YGF made a PRESS from concrete not a bucket, to keep weight on his plant material. Was thinking of something along the same lines for maintaining a seal in a bokashi bucket.
I need to make one but time restrictions have had me hard pressed to use anything but ky garbage bag sealed and oushed of air. I have seen all the sites where someone took an old handle and attahced it to an old ceramic plate that worked well too. The possibilities are endless I think. I just covered my bokashi site with about 6" of leaves to insulate it. The weather is chilly now at night and today is maybe 68 so I wanted some way to keep the heat in