Bokashi Part 2

Dairy and meat are ok with bokashi.

katiebear

Yup, I agree with Katiebear--it's OK to mix ALL kitchen scraps with Bokashi and put 'em in the pail. That's the virtue of the method, for me--well, that and all the earthworms that come to finish the job later.
Most, if not all, the Bokashi folks say dairy, meat, fish are fine. These all seem to create lots of nice white mold, at least in my buckets.

What about egg shells? I know you don't get any juice from them, but would the calcium or whatever other minerals are in the shells help improve the bokashi or juice.

Capecod, that's a very good question about having more potent juice if it's darker.

I'm going to try making the holes in my trash sack bigger and see if I get juice. Maybe the hole I made are just too small.

I do think you're right Laurie about chopping up the cobs and maybe shredding the shucks. Maybe I'll just bury them in my beds or should I put them in the compost pile?

I hadn't thought of adding liquid of any kind. I think I add some veges we've had in the freezer. They are so old they have freezer burn. I'll definitely be adding liquid that way. They are encrusted with ice.

Definately add egg shells. You can also toss in paper towels (white is best) and other such scraps. The only things I am careful to keep out are plastic and foil.

kb

I didn't paper towels were an option. What about cash register receipts? Hmmm. This opens up a whole new source of compost.:)

The wetter your bokashi is the more paper you can toss in, including receipts, etc. If it gets wetted it will break down with the other stuff. I compost or bokashi whatever I can to keep it out of the landfill. The great thing about bokashi is that it increases the number of things that you don't have to find other ways to dispose of.

katiebear

Amen, katiebear, and the juice is soooooooooooo righteous!!!!

silverfluter, I don't always get "juice" from my Bokashi buckets. In spite of the planned turnover in the pantry, sometimes the bottom of the grain cannisters will go rancid on me before they are used, so those go directly into the Bokashi bucket.
One cup of rancid barley can soak up a lot of liquid! I just dump the dry Bokashi in the garden or worm bin and start another. The litre of juice I've tapped off of one bucket lasts a long time at the dilution rates. You probably have a larger garden than I do and use it up faster.

Sometimes I run out of the innoculated bran. When this happens, I put AEM in a spray bottle and spritz the scraps as they go into the bucket. This method still pickles just fine (lots of white mold) and produces more liquid.

I don't see an issue with putting the pickled corn cobs into the soil or compost heap.
I have a couple that have been circulating between worm bin trays for a while. When I sift out the worm compost, I put them back in with the next lot of worm food. They break down eventually, but in the meantime, the worms have hollowed them out and like to hang out inside them.

Ok, well then I'll start adding receipts too.:)

Wow, GM you get a litre of juice? I'm looking forward to that.

And it's good to know that I can use AEM when I run out of bokashi. I was hoping the cob and shucks would attract worms, but I didn't know if they would be broken down enough for worms to work on.

I don't usually get a full litre - that was just a particulary "soggy" batch!

Oh, lol. I see.:)

Well, I finally took the corn cobs and shucks out of the bokashi bucket. I dug a hole big enough to hold a cardboard box, cut the flaps off one end and put that end in the hole, added cobs and shucks and then dirt and water. The dirt was already nice and soft when I dug the hole, but I'm sure the worms will still improve on it. After the worms work on it for awhile, I plan on burying a piece of corn cob near each rose and probably tomatoes too.

I left the rest of the bokashi in the sack and added frozen veges and other stuff. Hope I get some juice.

I've been thinking of trying the FPE method. If I do that can I use the stuff the weeds soaked in for juice?

Hi, everyone, I've been lurking.

Of paper towels, I had a friend who was severely allergic to a lot of chemicals and preservatives. She showed me a list of what paper towels have in them, wow! I haven't put them in the compost since then.

News papers might be OK, but not the shiny inserts.

How interesting Molamola - another good reason to buy things that are labelled organic.

Well, glory be, I have juice! I just checked the ph though and it's only 4. Does it have to be 3.5 to be used for foliar spray?

I'm also wondering if we should be handling the ph paper with gloves on. Is it likely that the ph of our skin could mess up the ph paper?

Hi everyone! I am back....for a week or so. I am going to Austin on the 30 to speak at the World Wellness Weekend event. After that, going to Cape Cod to take care of mom...who broke her hip on her way home from Arizona a few weeks back. I tried getting on sooner, but was having problems loading this page and got fed up.

It looks like everyone is moving along well. I do see a couple things to comment on.
Paper products in the bokashi is OK. I don't really use paper towels at home. It seems like such a waste of paper. And, we only buy recycled ones without softeners...which are the main chemicals that are of concern.

Colored papers contain heavy metals from the inks. It is best to avoid putting them in soils or compost.

If you are no touching the part of the pH paper in the liquid, you will not affect the pH paper. Your body pH should never be low enough to affect it anyway, but better not touch that "dunking" end...

This thread is too long to load easily.
I've started a Bokashi Part 3 thread here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/852349/

Please post any further replies on the new thread.

Thanks.
:)