Brilliant Bokashi Bran!

Well this is the latest craze in composting from Japan called Bokashi, and you guessed it, I'm straight in there with them to try this out. Bokashi means fermented organic matter, and is a miracle of very old technology that will allow ALL kitchen food waste to be recycled and also produce liquid plant food and compost as a byproduct.

So basically you can start a typical compost heap with a few basics from the kitchen, add some grass cuttings and a good place to dump it all in the garden and after a while it will all rot down. Well hopefully!... However, there are some definite no - nos about what is not allowed to go in there including all processed foods, dairy, eggs, meat, bones etc etc as this will upset the nitrogen balance, attract pests and make the compost yukky.

However, with the help of a few helpful microorganisms and some powdered bran, all sealed up in a special air tight container known as a Bokashi bin, nothing is off limits as to what goes inside that bin! Having heard about this online and done my research there are loads of places to buy this from but none of them are cheap! Luckily many councils are now seeing the potential benefits of many composting practices and Southampton are able to provide subsidised composting materials , including bokashi! Cool! (Check out if you can get them at this recycle-now website)!

So basic principals... add food waste to bin; add handful of bokashi bran mix; squash down to squeeze out all the air; replace air-tight lid; repeat until full up then leave to ferment for 4 weeks. Periodically drain off the super bokashi juice from the tap at the bottom and feed it to the garden or house plants. After the bin is fermented, then chuck all the lovely fermented contents on the normal compost heap and it will quickly help speed up the normal composting process and break down into rich compost.More photos of contents and results soon!
T x