No room? No problem! A guide to ‘bin’ or Bokashi bin composting
Ideal composting method for indoor and small spaces
What is Bokashi bin composting?
Bokashi is Japanese but the word apparently doesn’t have much to do with composting. It means ‘shading’ or gradation’, perhaps meaning the altering of state of the organic matter itself. The word bokashi has been borrowed to mean a kind of anaerobic fermentation of food waste. So when I use the term ‘bokashi bin composting’, I’m referring to the process of making pre-compost through the anaerobic fermentation process.
Dr. Teruo Higa, the man who came up with the optimal mix for effective microorganisms (EM) in the 1980s, initially got really ill due to agrotoxic use while studying orange farms. His EM formula is now widely used to inoculate Bokashi bran, used in this composting method.
Pre-compost? How does it differ from compost?
After spending 2 weeks in the bokashi bin with a generous amount of bokashi bran, the end product from bokashi bin composting is called bokashi pre-compost (wow, how many times can bokashi be used in a sentence?) It won’t look very broken down or anything close to soil-like compost but rest assured, the anaerobic microbes have worked and are working their magic.
Pre-compost means that the organic waste is not yet fully broken down but the process as begun. To complete the composting process, some people choose to bury the pre-compost in their garden or a big gardening pot. Others make a ‘soil factory’ mixing the bokashi pre-compost with soil (1:2 ratio). You can also add this pre-compost to a worm composting system, taking care to add a small amount first with lots of brown materials so that the pre-compost doesn’t alter the pH of the worm bin too much and that the worms become accustomed to the new materials before adding more.
How does it work?
You’ll need:
- A bin or a bucket
- Wheat bran, rice hulls, coffee grounds, newspaper, dried leaves
- Effective Microorganisms (EM), commercially sold in a form of a bottle but you can also make it yourself
Can I do this without the bokashi bran?
You can technically do this without the EM. This indoor compost bin seems to work well for the pre-compost process but after 2 to 3 weeks, you would still need to deal with the pre-compost by burying it or adding it to a soil factory or a wormery. I would recommend grabbing a handful of dried leaves or native soil around your neighbourhood (just make sure there are no chemical fertilisers or pesticides!) and adding it to your food waste in the bucket. Dried leaves and native soil are teeming with beneficial microorganisms.
World-saving microbes!
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