Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 8.1:
Bokashi leachate.
Users with a double-nested bucket system — where the leachate drains from an upper bucket
nested into a lower bucket — have to be careful when checking the leachate. In these systems, the
user accesses the leachate by lifting the upper bucket up and out of the lower bucket, where the
leachate collects. This exposes the leachate to the air, so it is important to collect all of it from the
lowerbucket.Everytime.Evenifitisasmallamount.Ifyoudon't,youruntheriskofthatleachate
going rancid and smelling — smelling really, really bad.
Now that you have the collected the tea, what do you do with it? You can apply the tea to your
plants as a biologically active soil amendment. How well does it work? The jury is still out. Some
peopleloveitandhavehadgreatsuccessusingbokashiteaontheirplants.Ihaven'tseenanyreally
noticeableeffectsonmyplants,soIdon'tuseitonthem.Theextrahassleisn'tworththerewardfor
me. I basically collect the tea just to keep the bokashi bucket from accumulating too much liquid,
which can lead to problems. Then I usually just dilute it and dump it indiscriminately on my lawn.
That may seem like a waste, but again, I haven't seen any tremendous effects that justify the extra
effort of putting the bokashi tea on my plants. Maybe it is the composition of the bokashi bran I am
using, maybe it is the organic waste I am fermenting, or maybe it is something else I can't identify.
That said, I have had numerous people swear by the tea and tell me they have seen great results
from applying it to their plants. So it apparently works from some people. And those people are
using the same exact bran that I am using, so go figure. If you do try to use the bokashi tea, then
worst-case you waste some time; best-case you find something that really helps you out. The sys-
tem will produce tea anyway, and you have to dispose of it one way or the other.
