… The basic recipe is to take a source of dry manure (chicken and
goat) and mix it with a source of carbon (coffee hulls) and some soil and
then start adding the extras. … three bags of ground charcoal, a bag of
rice germ, a bag of agricultural lime, a gallon of molasses, and also a bag
of finished bocashi as a starter. You mix it all together with enough water
for 50% moisture and then you mix and monitor over then next 7 days.
Essentially you have made a big pile of pickles for the earth. Not only
does the bocashi add activated minerals, but the main function is to
improve the microbial balance in the soil. It is sort of like an
acidophillus pill for the soil. …
One strategy to replenish and maintain soil fertility involves the creation
of bocashi. This highly effective and inexpensive natural fertiliser can be
made from readily-available materials, including manure, coffee pulp, or
rice hulls, together with yeast and molasses. These are then mixed with
healthy soil. The yeast feeds on the molasses during a 15-day fermentation
and decomposition process, aided by mixing manually twice-a-day. The
bocashi mix is then added to crops, and yields either match or improve upon
those obtained with chemical fertilisers – at a fraction of the cost.
<http://newspaperbokashi.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/centraam.jpg>
A young farmer inspects his maize crop, which has benefited from the
application of bocashi
(Note: This is another example of “cutting the EM hype”, as the method
described is a simple farm compost recipe. It involves fermenting to avoid
putrefaction. No more, no less. In this case, using yeast.)
<http://newspaperbokashi.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/nica1.jpg>INGREDIENTS:
ingredients for making 16 sacks of compost in 15 days.
5 sacks rice hulls or dried grass or leaves
5 sacks fertile soil
5 sacks cow or chicken manure or both
1.5 sacks carbon (charcoal from fire)
23 lbs. semolina
10 lbs. lime
5 lbs. sugar
172 lb. yeast
optional: spent coffee grounds
CONDITIONS OF COMPOST SITE:
choose a spot protected from the sun, wind, and rain or prepare outdoors
and cover with black plastic. Work in a site with firm ground bemeath.
PROCEDURE:
Layer the materials, keeping in mind a good mix between green and brown
materials. Water should be added to drier layers, not building the pile
higher than 50 centimenters.
Mix the sugar and yeast in water and pour lightly and homogenously over the
top of pile and mix to spread the mixture to all parts of pile, thus
beginning the fermentation.
Once finished, begin to turn the pile twice daily for 5 days and then once
daily for 7 days.
Let the pile sit for 3 days.
The pile should always feel moist and warm in the center.
Test pile to make sure everything is well mixed and decomposed.
Place compost into sacks, protected from sun and rain until used.
The compost should not be left for more than 3 months.
(Note: This is another example of “cutting the EM hype”, as the method
described is a simple farm compost recipe. It involves fermenting to avoid
putrefaction. No more, no less. In this case, using yeast.)
The *original* site for *Newspaper Bokashi Secrets* and an alternative to
the *expensive bran and EM Hype*, was http : / / bokashicomposting.com/. It
was temporarily down during March and April 2010, but is now definitely
gone. In its place is just another site selling that expensive bran and
bucket hype. In appreciation of the work of the author of that
original site, see his Original posts (Google cache for February 2010)
below, reorganized. OR download
Bokashicomposting.pdf<http://bocashi.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/bokashicomposting1.pdf>
For a more comprehensive version on bocashi, rural and urban (in Spanish)
see Bokashi (Pre) Compostaje domiciliario <http://bocashi.wordpress.com/>
September 12th, 2008
This website [the original 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!
September 30th, 2008 Source: the now extinct
http : / / bokashicomposting.com/
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.
September 30th, 2008 Source: the late http : / /
bokashicomposting.com/ (extinct)
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.
October 1st, 2008 Source : the now extinct: http :
/ /bokashicomposting.com/
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.
Oh, 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.
October 17th, 2008 Source : the now extinct: http : / /
bokashicomposting.com/
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 final
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.