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  • From: Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Make your own free bokashi starter | bokashicomposting.rtfd - bokashicomposting1.pdf
  • Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:34:05 -0400

[LACTOBACILLUS SERUM FOR MAKING THE BOKASHI POSSIBLY CAN BE MADE USING
VEGETABLE SOURCES,
I.E. REJUVELAC (Google the term, rejuvelac, seed cheese, youtube videos)
INSTEAD OF MILK]

Make your own free bokashi starter | bokashicomposting.rtfd -
bokashicomposting1.pdf
http://bocashi.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/bokashicomposting1.pdf

Welcome!
September 12th, 2008
The website http://bokashicomposting.com/ is dedicated to the use and
promotion of Bokashi composting using FREE naturally occurring
beneficial indigenous micro-organisms (BIM)!
Bokashi composting need not be expensive!
No need for expensive commercial starters, expensive
cultures, expensive bran or fancy buckets!
Make your own FREE bokashi starter
.
Getting started (Part One) Collecting wild
lactobacillus.
September 30th, 2008
Making your own bokashi starter culture in place of commercially available
EM is incredibly easy
.
My goal from the start was to produce bokashi compost without the use of
expensive EM, bran or fancy buckets.
The most important component of the commercial EM in relation to bokashi
is lactobacillus bacteria, the others are secondary (if at all necessary)
and
can be cultured in the bucket when conditions are favorable.
I culture my own lactobacillus serum starting with a rice wash water
solution.
Making the serum is amazingly simple.

I mix one part rice thoroughly with two parts water (1/2 a cup to one cup).
Mix thoroughly and vigorously
. Drain.
The resulting water should be cloudy
.
Place the rice water in a container with 50-75% head space allowing plenty
of air to circulate. Cover lightly (air should be able to move in and out
of the
container) and place in a cool dark spot for 5-8 days.
At the end of the wait the mixture should smell mildly sour
.
Strain out any particles.

I mix one part rice thoroughly with two parts water (1/2 a cup to one cup).
Mix thoroughly and vigorously
. Drain.
The resulting water should be cloudy
.
Place the rice water in a container with 50-75% head space allowing plenty
of air to circulate. Cover lightly (air should be able to move in and out
of the
container) and place in a cool dark spot for 5-8 days.
At the end of the wait the mixture should smell mildly sour
.
Strain out any particles.
Getting started (Part Two) Purifying the lactobacillus.
September 30th, 2008
Put the finished rice water solution in a bigger container and add 10 parts
milk (I use skim).
DO NOT seal tightly, the gases must be able to escape.
Allow 14 days for a complete ferment,
most of the solids in the milk will float to the top revealing the
yellowish serum.
Strain off the solids.
You now have purified lactobacillus serum.

Getting started (Part Three) Newspaper bokashi.
September 30th, 2008
Instead of using expensive bran I ferment newspaper to use between the
layers of compost in the bucket.
I take one part lactobacillus serum to one part molasses to six parts water
.
(label and freeze any extra serum)

soak a bunch of newspapers thoroughly in the mixture and drain well

I place the soaked newspapers in a 2 gallon zip lock baggie, remove all the
air and seal

Coming Soon: Setting up an inexpensive newspaper
bokashi bucket.
Yogurt whey as a starter culture.
September 30th, 2008
If you don’t want to take the time to collect your own free indigenous
lactobacillus starter culture
(Parts One and Two), you can use live active
yogurt whey, the yellowish liquid drained when making yogurt cheese.
Simply replace the one part of lacto serum in step three with the yogurt
whey.

Starting a newspaper
bokashi bucket.
October 1st, 2008
After the bokashi newspaper has thoroughly dried, it’s now the carrier for
the digestive lacto bacteria. I bought inexpensive snap-top buckets from
Wal-Mart for about $5.00 each,
the lids snap on and off easily, especially with the addition of a little
olive oil
rubbed around the rim. I don't bother with a drain....I place 1 to 2 inches
of dry absorbent material
in the bottom of the bucket (peat, shredded newspaper, or clean sawdust)
and pack well.
To start the bucket I place a piece of the bokashi newspaper on top of the
absorbent material, just enough to cover....then I start adding waste
(chopped up)...up to a 1/2 inch layer at a time...add a piece of newspaper
between each and every layer until the bucket is full....packing each layer
well helps ensure a good fermentation. (I use a potato masher.)

That’s about all there is to it.
I’ve been experimenting with adding a tablespoon of healthy garden soil
to the bucket after it’s started well (4-5 days) to culture more of the
naturally
occurring anaerobic digestive microorganisms, but I’m convinced it’
s not necessary
.
The bokashi compost with just the lacto decomposed quickly in
the garden and in my worm bins.

Newspaper bokashi secrets.
October 17th, 2008
Well, not really secrets, mostly common sense.
I’ve never had a failed newspaper
bokashi bucket when following these
simple rules
1. Start the bucket with a 1 to 2 inch layer of absorbent materials.
(shredded
newspaper, peat, sawdust or something similar.)
This layer will soak up any
excess nutrient drainage. (There’s nothing wrong with faucet buckets, other
than the expense. I just prefer to keep things as cheap and easy as
possible.)
2. Start your newspaper bokashi bucket with a layer of high carbohydrate
waste.
This jump starts the fermentation process ensuring success.
3. Place a piece of newspaper between each layer of waste. Make the layers
no more than 1/2 an inch think. This ensures that the beneficial bacteria
will
spread throughout the waste quickly
.
4. Chop the waste into small pieces, if possible.
This gives the bacteria a larger surface area to feed upon. It also leads
to faster fi
nal decomposition or digestion when your bokashi is buried, added to worm
bins or added to an
aerobic compost pile.
5. Compress the layers of waste tightly
This helps exclude air and helps
transfer beneficial bacteria throughout the waste rapidly
(I place a piece of bokashi newspaper on top of the waste and press with a
potato masher)
there’s no mess as with bran bokashi. )
6. Never add spoiled waste to a bokashi bucket. Rotten and moldy waste will
introduce rogue organisms that can cause a bucket to fail.
7.
Always close the lid lightly to exclude air
8. Do not add excess amounts of fluids to your bokashi bucket.
9. Collect waste throughout the day and add to the bucket at the end of the
day. This minimizes exposure to outside air.
10. Add waste at least once a day
It’s usually not a problem to skip a day or
two occasionally, once the bucket is well established.
Good luck with your newspaper bokashi!!!!
Newspaper bokashi, instead of expensve bran

Instead of using expensive bran I ferment newspaper to use
between the layers of compost in the bucket. I take one part lactobacillus
serum to one part molasses to six parts water.
(label and freeze any extra serum)
I soak a bunch of newspapers thoroughly in the mixture and drain well.
I place the soaked newspapers in a 2 gallon ziplock baggie, remove all
the air and seal.
Place in a cool dark spot and wait 10 days to 2 weeks to get a good
fermentation.
After the fermentation process I separate and dry the newspaper.
It’s now the carrier for the bacteria. After the bokashi newspaper has
thoroughly
dried, it’s now the carrier for the digestive lacto bacteria.
I bought inexpensive snap-top buckets from Wal-Mart for about $5.00 each,
the lids
snap on and off easily especially with the addition of a little olive oil
rubbed
around the rim.
I don’t bother with a drain....I place 1 to 2 inches of dry absorbent
material in
the bottom of the bucket (peat, shredded newspaper, or clean sawdust) and
pack well.
To start the bucket I place a piece of the bokashi newspaper on top of the
absorbent
material, just enough to cover....then I start adding waste (chopped up)...
up to a 1/2 inch layer at a time...add a piece of newspaper between
each and every layer until the bucket is full
....packing each layer well helps ensure a good fermentation.
(I use a potato masher.) That’s about all there is to it.
I’ve been experimenting with adding a tablespoon of healthy
garden soil to the bucket after it’s started well (4-5 days)
to culture more of the naturally occurring anaerobic digestive
microorganisms, but I’m convinced it’s not necessary.
The bokashi compost with just the lacto decomposed
quickly in the garden and in my worm bins



  • [permaculture] Make your own free bokashi starter | bokashicomposting.rtfd - bokashicomposting1.pdf, Lawrence London, 03/24/2013

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