Bokashi composting is an anaerobic process that relies on inoculated bran to ferment kitchen waste, including meat and dairy, into a safe soil builder and nutrient-rich tea for your plants.
Make sure you have a bucket that is fit for purpose. It is easy to make your own Bokashi buckets, but the following key principles must be followed:
Read: How to Make an Inexpensive Bokashi Bucket
Watch:
Managing your solid waste requires you to follow the basic process below:
Continue this process until the bucket is full. It may take you a week to a month to fill up a bucket, depending on the number of people in your household and the amount of food waste you generate.
How much Zenzele Bokashi flakes must I use?
The bucket juice should be used within a day or two after draining from the bucket. The amount and colour of the liquid drained will depend on the type of foods you have put into the bucket. Fruit and vegetables tend to release more liquid than other foods. Do not be concerned if little or no liquid is produced.
Read: What is Bokashi Liquid and How to Use it
It is critical not to use an antimicrobial detergent to wash your bucket as this will destroy the living organisms required to necessary for the fermentation to take place.
The following are signs of success:
The following are signs of failure:
Check that:
In your gardens:
As the fermented food waste is initially acidic take care not to burn roots of herbaceous plants (herbs, flowers and veggies). To prevent this the food waste can first be composted (by using the simple method below) in a hole/trench in the ground for 1 – 2 weeks and then used on delicate herbs, flowers and veggies.
Alternatively you can just bury it (usually a spades depth) around the base of trees and shrubs or add it to your compost heap.
In your compost heap:
Bokashi Organko has a great video series explaining the Bokashi process from start to finish.
This article was adapted from information available on Bokashi4Africa.