Bokashi Composters use a mixture of bacteria, fungi and yeasts to safely compost your kitchen food scraps including meat, fish, fruit and vegetable waste. These small composters (19 litres) are supplied in pairs and will easily handle the kitchen waste from a large family. It is so efficient that even meat and fish scraps can be composted indoors without smelling. Granny Green Gardener has been trialling the Bokashi and this is what she says - "BRILLIANT! I love it because it's so simple and easy to use and it copes with meat and fish waste too."How does it work? "I collect kitchen waste in a small plastic bin (about the size of a small pedal bin) with a tap at the bottom. I put waste in once a day and then sprinkle "magic" bran over the top squidging it all down to make room for more. At the same time liquid is drained off through the tap at the bottom straight down the sink as it keeps the drains fresh. It smells like home brew or strong cider (it can also be used as a liquid feed)."What kind of kitchen waste? "Obviously fruit and veg. peelings including banana, citrus, onions and leeks (which aren't suitable for wormeries), plus teabags, coffee grounds etc. I've put in scraps of meat, fat and fish skins plus my grandson's left over tea and some out of date cream cake! I really like it's versatility. It does seem to be fool proof and I went away for a week and still no smells"When it's full-what then? "Into the 3rd week of filling up and still 10cms to go. The waste is more pickled than decomposed. When full, it can go on the compost heap without attracting vermin or into a wormery where it can be converted by worms into traditional compost and liquid feed. It can also be dug directly into the garden, where it will breakdown rapidly and enrich the soil naturally. If you haven't got a garden don't worry, empty it into your usual bin bag and then you will become aware of one of the biggest advantages of the system- the huge reduction in the volume of waste and no smells!"Verdict. "I'm a Bokashi bore now. It's so easy even a child could do it and it should be brilliant for all the Christmas dinner waste. Could make a good present too- open it in the morning and use it by lunchtime!" The Bokashi system consists of 2 parts :- 1. The Bokashi Bucket (pictured left) - The composter itself is made from 85% recycled plastic and measures only 480mm (height) x 320mm (width) x 250mm (depth). The bucket comes with an air tight lid and has a sump and tap built into the base to allow excess liquid to be drained off. Each Bokashi Bin comes complete with with an airtight lid, handle, drip tray, plunger for pressing down the food, 600g of Bokashi Bran (see below) and a scoop. 2. The Bokashi Bran - The Bokashi Bran is sprinkled over the kitchen waste and contains the bacteria, fungi and yeasts necessary to start the whole composting process. The Bokashi Bran is available in 600g bags which will last approx 2 months.The Bokashi System was developed in Japan and is a unique way of composting kitchen waste. As landfill sites fill up and councils talk about cutting roadside collections to once a fortnight or even charging by weight to take bags away, composting our own kitchen waste is becoming more and more attractive. On a daily basis, simply add your kitchen waste (including vegetable and fruit waste, meat and fish scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds etc) and sprinkle a little of the Bokashi Bran (containing the bacteria, fungi and yeasts) over the top. The bacteria, yeasts and fungi in the Bokashi Bran then get to work on the waste, kick-starting the composting process and eliminating nasty odours. Keep adding kitchen waste and Bokashi Bran, pressing it down as you go until the bin is full. Every 2-3 days, drain the liquid off from the bottom of the bin - this can be diluted down (1:100) and used to feed plants or poured down drains to clear pipes and stop nasty odours. The Bokashi Bins are sold in pairs - once a bin is full, leave it for 2 weeks to ferment and start filling the 2nd bin. After 2 weeks, the full bin will be fully composted. The Bokashi Compost will not look like traditional compost - it will look more like it has been pickled and will have a sweet and sour smell. The 2 bins are then alternated with one bin taking the fresh waste while the other is fermenting. After 2 weeks the Bokashi Compost is emptied out of the full bin and it can then be either composted further or added to the garden :- 1. Add the Bokashi Compost to a compost heap where it will break down very quickly and because the waste does not smell it will not attract vermin. - CLICK HERE to see our range of garden composters. 2. Add the Bokashi Compost to a wormery where the worms will convert the waste very quickly into traditional compost and liquid feed. - CLICK HERE to se our range of wormeries. 3. Dig the waste into the garden (dug into trenches) where it will release bacteria and goodness directly back into the soil.
Bob Crossley ● 7249d