I Tried Bokashi Composting for the First Time

A few months ago, my friend, Flip, gave me a bokashi composting kit from GreenSpace. I’ve never heard of it before so I was really curious how it works.

Bokashi composting is a process by which organic materials such as fruit peels, meat scraps, or dairy are quickly fermented using bokashi bran in an air-free environment. It is said that bokashi composting is an effective method to use to build healthy soil and improve the health of your plants and is used by professional gardeners, as well as novice gardeners who want to start a garden or improve the quality of their existing garden.

I’ve just recently started gardening so I wanted to try bokashi composting because it seems faster than the usual composting process that I do. The kit didn’t come with instructions, but you can easily find one online. I read a lot of blogs and watch Youtube videos before I started doing my own just to be sure.

What You Need for Bokashi Composting

You will need a few items to get started with bokashi composting.

Bokashi bran

This is the fermented bran you will need to layer between the food scraps/waste. The kit from GreenSpace includes a small bucket of bokashi bran. If you don't have one, you can easily buy it online or from any garden supplies near you.

Bucket/s

You will need two different-sized buckets for bokashi composting if you plan on doing the DIY route. But if it’s your first time, I highly suggest getting one from GreenSpace because the bucket design itself is ready to use.

Here's how I did it:

Since I have a lot of space in the backyard, I just dug a hole which is about 12 inches, and buried the fermented material from the bucket. If you don't have access to one, you can also use another bucket or any container of your preference as an alternative pit. In 2-4 weeks, you can already use the bokashi enriched soil.

I have completed the entire process but only got to document until burying all the fermented material on the ground. I will be making a second part update to show you how the soil looks like after 2-4 weeks.

My observations:

It doesn't smell

The first thing I immediately noticed is the smell, or the lack thereof. There's still that distinct fermenting smell associated with composting, but not too overpowering. It smells like pickles and vinegar for me.

Lack of insects

I expected the bucket would attract flies and other insects, but the result is actually quite the opposite. Upon research, I learned that it is due to the highly acidic condition brought about by bokashi fermentation. In these acidic conditions, flies and other insects can't survive.

The process is quick.

The one thing I loved the most about bokashi composting is how quickly you can use the soil. The entire process is quick. I got to use the bokashi-enriched soil after 2 weeks and used it to plant some vegetables in the garden.

Bokashi tea is an effective fertilizer.

After about a week or two, you will start to notice excess fluid at the bottom of the bucket. This excess fluid is called a bokashi juice or bokashi tea. You can use the bokashi juice, diluted with water, as a fertilizer to your plants. I would say that it is an effective fertilizer because my leafy vegetable plants look really healthy.

Final Thoughts

I would say that bokashi composting is the most efficient process to make compost. The fact that I can plant directly on the fermented material in just a couple of weeks is a game-changer. If you are just starting out, I highly recommend trying it.

For me, the only downside with this method is getting the bokashi bran. I live far away from the city and even though I can order one online, it takes a long time for parcels to arrive here.

Perhaps, this is finally the time to try making my own bokashi bran.