Bokashi Composting

Bokashi Composting is an anaerobic process that uses grain bran which has been inoculated with lactic acid bacteria to ferment kitchen waste. This is not a true compost as it does not break items down completely. However, it is a great head start to making kitchen scrap safe and easier to break down in your regular compost.

Requires

• An anaerobic environment – a 5-gallon bucket generally works pretty great. You can use two if you want to automatically separate the compost tea from the fermented food scraps.
• Bokashi bran

Produces

• Compost Tea
• Fermented Food Scraps

Process

To start a bokashi system, you should take a clean 5-gallon bucket and layer the bottom with about a quarter-inch layer of bokashi bran. As you collect food scraps, add them to the bokashi bucket in a single layer and then cover with another quarter-inch layer of bokashi bran until all of the food scraps are covered and seal the five-gallon bucket.

Repeat this process of adding and covering food scraps until the bucket is full, then let sit sealed for two weeks. After two weeks have passed, you can strain out the liquid from the solid matter and you have compost tea and fermented food scraps. Add the food scraps to the compost and use the compost tea as fertilizer for your plants.

If you wish to strain out the compost tea automatically, you can drill holes into the bottom of your bokashi bucket, line the bottom with cloth to act as a filter, and place the bucket inside another 5-gallon bucket.