Why Bokashi? - Bokashi Composting - page 2

When you compost using bokashi you need to introduce beneficial microorganisms to the food
waste to start the fermentation process. This can be done using a dry carrier such as an inoculated
carbon source (e.g., wheat bran) or a liquid form via a microbial spray (e.g., activated EM). These
microorganisms then go to work consuming sugars from the organic waste and the fermentation
process begins. After two weeks of anaerobic fermentation, the fermented organic waste can then
beapplieddirectlytoyourgardensoilormixedwithsoiltobeusedasapottingmix.Thesimplicity
of the whole process makes recycling kitchen waste very easy, and is just one of the reasons you
should add bokashi to your eco tool belt.
Meat and dairy are OK
If you were to start adding meat and dairy to a traditional compost pile, you would most likely at-
tract flies, rodents, orboth. This may ormay not be an issue foryouand yourlocation, but formost
peopleitisabigissue—bigenoughthatitcanleadtoneighborcomplaints,stoppeoplefromcom-
posting, or even discourage them from starting.
Can you successfully compost meat and dairy in a traditional compost pile without any prob-
lems? Yes, it is definitely possible and can be done very efficiently, but it requires careful attention
and a well-built pile that is actively managed. If air stops getting introduced to the pile you run
the risk of the meat going anaerobic; it will smell very bad as it putrefies, releasing hydrogen sulf-
ide and other sulfur-containing organic compounds. This is one of the reasons why even the Un-
ited States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises against backyard/onsite composting of
these materials: “this method should not be used to compost animal products or large quantities
of food scraps”. 1 Having an aerobic compost pile requires a fair amount of work, dedication and
knowledge. A lot of people succeed, but many come up short.
Greens and browns and the C:N ratio
Anyone who has read anything about the traditional composting process may only know one thing:
you need the right mixture of browns and greens or it won't work right. This is where eyes start
glazingoverandtheconfusionbegins.Whatisbrown,whatisgreen,howbrownissomethingcom-
paredtosomethingelse?Potentialcompostersstartthinkingandrealizethattheyhavealotofgreen
stuff, but where do they get all of this brown stuff? They might not have a lot of trees in their yard
to supply dried leaves, and more and more people are averse to using cardboard and newspaper in
their composting systems, so they are constantly in search of dried stuff to use as a carbon source.
Foranaerobiccompostingprocesstoworkoptimallyandquickly,youneedtogetthecarbon-to-ni-
trogen ratio right, approximately 30:1. Most people don't get the ratio right, and that is why a lot of
traditional compostpilesfail.Ifyouhavetoomuchbrown,thepilewon'theatupandfungalorgan-
isms will take over, so the pile is slow to decompose. If you have too much green, you run the risk
of the pile going anaerobic and stinking (think pile full of fresh-cut grass sitting in the sun). The
C:N ratio is drilled into people's heads over and over again, but it causes problems. Most people
understand the concept but have problems sourcing all the right components.
When you compost using bokashi, none of that matters, because you do not need to worry
about the C:N ratio. You can compost whatever you have, and what most people have are a lot of
food scraps. These are ideally suited to be composted using bokashi. They are usually sized down
already, and most are easy to ferment in a bokashi system because they contain a lot of sugars. You