What is Bokashi composting? Bokashi is odourless composting that you can do right from your kitchen. It's a great way to turn your kitchen scraps into nourishing liquid fertiliser and compost. Bokashi uses good bacteria to ferment the waste inside the airtight bin. It breaks it down without scraps rotting or getting mouldy. The result is liquid fertiliser (Bokashi juice!) and partially fermented compost solids. Benefits of Bokashi It's perfect for apartments or small households where space is limited. It can handle meat, dairy, citrus, and onion (which worms don't like) but you can t add any garden waste. A Bokashi bin will work well in conjunction with a worm farm or compost bin. While a Bokashi bin has many environmental benefits including reducing the amount of recyclable waste sent to landfill, it s best to avoid food waste in the first place. Try planning your weekly meals in advance and buying only the ingredients you need for those meals. This will not only reduce the amount of food waste you produce, but also save you money! What you need to get started Bokashi bin Bokashi spray or Bokashi grain Food scraps What can I add to my Bokashi bin? Food scraps including vegetables and fruit Cooked food leftovers Meat without bones (cooked or uncooked) Tea bags Old flowers Tissues What shouldn t go in my Bokashi bin? Large amounts of liquid (no milk or fruit juice) Large bones Garden waste Rotten or mouldy food Pet poo
How to get started 1. Choose a cool location, out of direct sunlight, to store your Bokashi bin. Bokashi bins are virtually odourless and insect free, so they're ideal for the kitchen. If you have a sunny kitchen, keep it under the bench or in a cupboard. 2. Store the Bokashi spray in a cool, dark place. 3. Cut your food scraps into small chunks. 4. Add the scraps to your bin, up to 15mm thick layer. 5. Spray your food four to five times with the Bokashi spray. If you are using the Bokashi grain, add enough to evenly cover the layer of food. 6. If you have lots of waste; repeat steps 4 and 5, ensuring you use the spray for every 15mm layer of food scraps you add. 7. Squash the waste down as much as possible to reduce the amount of air in the bin. 8. Replace the lid, ensuring it is closed tightly. If air can get in, food will begin to rot instead of pickle and can start smelling. The contents should have a slightly acidic smell, like pickles. If you see some white mould in the bin don t worry, that s good bacteria. Bokashi juice fertiliser As the food scraps break down, they will produce a liquid packed with micro-organisms. Use the tap on your bin to drain the liquid (Bokashi juice) at least every few days. Bokashi juice is great for fertilising plants and is highly concentrated. Dilute 1 small cup of Bokashi juice into a 10 litre bucket of water and your plants will love you for it. It's also a natural drain cleaner in its undiluted form. Pour a little down the sink once a month to help prevent algae build up. The good bacteria will also help to clean our waterways. If you go away on holidays you can leave your Bokashi bin to ferment. Make sure you add extra spray and check that the lid is airtight.
Harvest time It usually takes a household of four people who eat at home most nights about three to four weeks to fill a 15-20 litre Bokashi bin. When your Bokashi bin is full you can either leave it to ferment further (and swap in another bin), or empty it out immediately. Important! Before you start using your Bokashi bin again, make sure you wash it out between uses. There are a couple of different ways to do this: Bury it Bury the contents under soil, and within a month it will blend in with the soil, gifting nutrients, microbes and enzymes to your garden. When digging a hole or trench try to avoid the roots of plants, particularly young plants. A hole of 20-25 cm is deep enough. Mix the compost with soil, and add a layer of soil on top to fill the hole. Feed it to the worms If you have a worm farm, your worms will love Bokashi food. They may ignore it at first, but be patient; after a settling period they will devour it. Put it in the compost bin If you have an outdoor compost bin, the partially composted solids from your Bokashi bin will fit right in. Remember to maintain your compost bin s balance by mixing lots of leaves and green organic matter in with the Bokashi food. If you find you are filling up the bin too quickly, or want your scraps to break down more before emptying them out, consider getting a second bin and rotating through them. While one is being filled, the other can continue to ferment. Just remember to keep tapping off the Bokashi juice for both bins!
Troubleshooting My bin is starting to smell; what should I do? Bokashi bins should smell slightly acidic. However, if it s smelling bad then the waste is probably rotting instead of fermenting. Bury your rotting waste underneath some soil, wash the bin thoroughly, and simply start again. To avoid this happening again make sure you: close your lid properly so the bin is airtight add enough Bokashi spray tap out the Bokashi juice frequently keep the bin in a cool area There is white mould in my bin; is this normal? Yes, this is normal. It s a by-product of the good bacteria breeding (so seeing white mould is a good sign). You don t need to change anything. I can see blue-green mould in the bin; this is good? This is not a good sign; it means your waste is rotting instead of fermenting. Bury your rotting waste underneath some soil, wash the bin thoroughly, and simply start again. To avoid this happening again make sure you: close your lid properly so the bin is airtight add enough Bokashi spray tap out the Bokashi juice frequently keep the bin in a cool area Need more help? If you have any questions regarding your composting, get in touch! Facebook: Twitter: Email: facebook.com/zoosvictoria twitter.com/zoosvictoria zoosvic@zoo.org.au