Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
WHENEVER SOMEONE MENTIONS
anaerobic
and
composting
in the same sentence, people
knowledgeable about compost are trained to immediately say, “Oh no, no, no, that's bad.”
This stereotype is a half-truth. Allowing organic matter to go anaerobic and putrefy in an uncon-
trolled environment is absolutely bad and should be avoided at all times. But allowing organic mat-
ter to
ferment
anaerobically is perfectly acceptable. It is acceptable because in the latter case we are
controllingtheprocessusingmicrobesthatwehavespecificallyselectedinordertoobtainadesired
result.Whenweanaerobicallyfermentfoodwastewithbokashi,weareprovidingtheconditionsfor
the beneficial bacteria to dominate and outcompete the putrefactive anaerobic bacteria, thereby re-
moving the reasons for the stereotype — slimes, gasses, and smells.
“Composting” with bokashi is actually a fermentative process, not the oxidative process tra-
ditionally associated with composting. Dr. Steve Diver describes the fermentation process as “the
productionofusefulsubstances(alcohol,aminoacids,organicacids,andanti-oxidationsubstances)
to the nutrient value of the finished product. To make sure that the by-products are good rather than
harmful, we deliberately inoculate organic waste with a specific group of microbes, ensuring that it
is fermented, not putrefied (putrefaction is the production of harmful substances). During this fer-
mentation process, the microbes produce by-products that are able to suppress the microbes that
cause putrefaction and disease:
For example, part of the fermentation process involves the production of organic acids such
as acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic, and lactic acid, amongst others. As the acids are pro-
