Bokashi Compost

If you want to buy a Bokashi Bin, check out your local second-hand marketplace. I bet you will find plenty used or new ones. Bokashi is not composting. You won't get any compost for your garden soil. In a Bokashi bin, the work is done by bokashi bran (inoculant bacteria) in a small container. It is specifically for "kitchen waste". Yes, you can add meat, fish, or dairy. However, it has nothing to do with the natural composting process. You just “pickle” kitchen scraps. The end-products still need to go into the soil for a further anaerobic composting process. You will get a bit Bokashi tea for your plants two weeks after you start it.

I am surprised that I can still see Bokashi Bin available in major channels, like organic markets, DIY stores or garden centers. Ten years ago, I first saw Bokashi bin in Asia. I think it's cute, neat and affordable (20 euros). But after reading the manual, I realized it won't give me the compost I want so I never used it. Ten years afterward, I was still craving for making my own compost. I got two Bokashi bins on Amazon, which cost me 60 euros.  I used Bokashi bin few times and I am totally convinced that Bokashi bin is NOT what I want.  

This is not a cooler.  This is a Bokashi Bin

Pros:

1. It’s small, easy to start, not as costly as a bin, box, or tumbler. 


2. It’s fairly clean and neat. 


3. You can harvest a bit of “compost tea”. It might have some bacteria  and nutrients for your plants. 


4. You can add meat, fish, and dairy products in. 

 

Two weeks after  I started using the Bokashi bin, I harvested some compost tea from Bokashi Bin

Cons: 

1. You need to either keep buying the inoculant bacteria or cultivate by yourself. Unfortunately, each option is either expensive or laborious.


2. It doesn’t really compost your kitchen scrap. You get a little “Compost tea” for your plants. No organic matter, no fertilizer. 


3. You can’t add your daily kitchen waste into the bin. Once you start, it has to be closed, sitting in a cool site for two weeks. Some people buy two bins to contain their kitchen waste every week. 


4. You will need to bury the end-product into the soil for further anaerobic decomposition. Anaerobic decomposition generates methane and odor.

Two weeks after I start a Bokashi bin, food waste didn't get decomposed at all. 

 

Making Your Own Bokashi Bran (it's not easy):