How Bokashi composting upgraded my system.

Cleaner, more efficient and quicker composting.

A gardening friend told me about bokashi composting several years ago.

It blew my mind a little bit, and like most new ideas, it takes a time to turn my mind around the information and digesting (ahem) until I begin to add the process to my routine.

Now it’s an essential part of our daily life, at home and in the gardens.

Had to include a nice wholesome veg growing image to accompany this piece. Is it only me that will click on images of fermenting veg?

So whilst now chopping up veg peelings and the slops of cereal bowls is as routine as morning coffee, I will aim to adopt a beginners mindset assuming that you may have heard of this, and there is not as yet, a bag of bran and industrial catering buckets outside your back door.

The reason this process has become ingrained, is simply that it really works. Adoption of such appeals to my values of connection and synergy, with the circular system whilst increasing microbes and adding nutrients back into my soils.

What is it?

Bokashi composting is a way of taking your kitchen scraps and leftovers, and turning them into a sweet smelling, highly nutritious compost ingredient. It means ‘Fermented Organic Matter’.

You know how your kitchen food bin can smell totally gross, no matter that you slosh it out every week? Well bokashi compost smells actually really nice. Really.

At one point, the dirty rats had got in through a cracked bit of the council food bin (since it was thrown down by the dustman) and started having a party. Tossing the stuff they didn’t want to eat, to get to that they did. Vermin also liked to enjoy the peelings in the heap as a lovely place to nest. We haven’t got either of these problems now.

How I use the pre-composted material.

1. Adding to my compost heap as an accelerator. Already partially composted and ‘effective microbes’ in action, this kicks off the rest of the heap decomposing. And as I say, vermin are no longer attracted to the material, despite it still looking somewhat as it did when it was first added to the bucket.

2. Adding to my (new this year, homemade) wormery

3. Burying into sweet pea and runner bean pits

4. Lasagne composting in situ.

How I make bokashi compost.

(with non ‘that company’ links and videos!)