Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT BOKASHI COMPOSTING
involves working with living sys-
tems — specifically, a symbiotic collection of microorganisms used to break down organic mat-
ter by fermenting it into a living, beneficial soil amendment while limiting harmful by-products.
These microorganisms are doing this in the “wild,” outside of a laboratory, so conditions are differ-
entineachandeverysituationandresultswillalwaysvarytosomeextent.Youcangenerallyexpect
the same thing to happen every time, but it won't always happen exactly as planned because the
variables—temperature,kitchenwastetypeandmixture,moisturelevel,branquality—arealways
slightlydifferent.Itisourjobascomposterstowatchthechangesandresultsandmakeadjustments
accordingly. Overall the process is very forgiving, and it is pretty hard to totally screw it up. And
even if you screw up the fermentation the organic matter will still end up feeding the soil.
The first time that you compost your kitchen waste don't expect to open the bokashi bucket
and see black or dark brown compost, the image most people conjure up when they think of com-
post. This process is different, and the end result is different too. Remember that composting with
bokashiisafermentationprocess,sothematerialcomesoutofthebucketlookingmoreorlesssim-
ilar to how it looked when it went in (think pickles or
kimchi
). It only becomes rich black humus
when it is mixed with soil and further broken down by the soil biota. When we ferment food waste,
we are simply speeding up the front end of the process.
It is important to note that anytime you compost, regardless of the method, input size matters;
smaller objects will decompose faster than larger objects. By decreasing the size of something, you
increase the total surface area that is exposed to the various decomposers. Also, cutting a material
opengivesthedecomposers afoothold.Fruitsandvegetable skinshavenatural compoundsinthem
