Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
introduce the microbes into the soil. Some of these microbes ultimately survive and multiply in the
soil, where they have a beneficial influence, mainly through their ability to break down wastes and
suppress pathogens, thereby improving soil quality. Introducing uninoculated food waste to the soil
won't have this same effect. In addition, raw food waste will release greenhouse gasses when it
starts breaking down in the soil. Dr. Teruo Higa, the creator of EM, has stated that “kitchen refuse
decomposes if simply buried in the soil, giving off offensive odors, evidence that degenerative mi-
croorganisms are at work. EM added to matter in this condition brings about a change in the micro-
biological equilibrium, causing dominance to shift away from degenerative to regenerative strains
of microorganism. Under these conditions, organic matter no longer gives off offensive odors.”
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Full scaleability: you can ferment a little or a lot
Bokashi composting can be scaled up or down in size depending on the needs of the end user
without requiring any extra work or processing. In contrast, the effectiveness and work required for
a traditional aerobic compost pile will vary with size.
A traditional compost pile needs to be about one cubic meter in size to work effectively. If it
is any smaller than that, the pile won't build up enough heat to break down properly, and anything
larger than one cubic meter will generate a lot of heat, requiring different, more energy-intensive
management strategies. So traditional compost piles can be scaled up in size, but the tradeoff is
more labor and/or more time required to get to a finished product. And they can't really be scaled
down much smaller than a cubic meter without requiring more monitoring and time.
With bokashi composting, size is not an issue. The amount of mass being fermented has no ef-
fect on the final product; large amounts will ferment the same as small amounts. All bokashi sys-
tems need to be able to do two principal things, regardless of size: drain excess fluids from the
system and maintain anaerobic conditions within the system. If both those conditions are met, it is
possible to ferment one pound or ten thousand pounds of waste using the same process. As long as
the environment is maintained, then the steps are the exact same, regardless of size. No extra en-
ergy, equipment, or water is required to compensate for increased size.
No turning required and no extra water needed
In traditional composting, organic matter is broken down in an oxidation process, so you periodic-
ally have to turn the pile to introduce oxygen to other parts. Turning also moves the contents on the
outside of the pile to the inside, where they can heat up and break down. Now, could you manage
that same pile without turning it? Sure — but not without increasing the amount of time it will take
to obtain finished product. A static, semi-aerobic compost pile may take up to a year to fully break
down into finished compost. It also runs the risk of going to the bad side of anaerobic, because air
isn't being constantly introduced to the center of the pile, and this could ultimately create odors.
Since traditional compost piles are usually exposed to the open air, you may have to add extra
water to them throughout the process to maintain the proper moisture level, so they heat up and
the contents are broken down properly. Some of that water will drain right through the pile into the
ground, some will evaporate, and some more will be absorbed by the pile and used by the microor-
ganismsthatbreakdowntheorganicwaste.Regardless,additionalwaterisrequired,someofwhich
will leave the system in one form or another, so it has to be replaced somehow.
