Monday, October 6, 2008

Behold the Bokashi!

I think I am in love with my Bokashi bucket. In case you've not heard of it, Bokashi is a kitchen composting system, where you chuck all your food scraps into an airtight bucket, sprinkle a handful of this micro-organism (not as icky as it sounds - it's like handling wheat bran) and it ferments. After it's fermented (it's far nicer than your usual compost, such smells like pickles), you bury it. The idea is that your food scraps break down and become a rather ace soil conditioner.

Boy, does it work.

I present, for your enlightenment, Exhibit A: tomato seedlings of (pretty much) the same size, planted on the same day, watered the same amount, receiving the same amount of sunshine.



The tomato plant on the left is planted in soil that hasn't had the Bokashi treatment; the specimen on the right is lovin' the Bokashi-enhanced soil.

This stuff is amazing.

However, if you are going to rush out and buy a Bokashi bucket, please buy the orginal Bokashi bucket, which is sold by a family in Marrickville who have put lots of work into building the product up and showing at organic markets etc, etc.

Last week I got a press release from Bunnings announcing that they were selling bokashi systems ... of course at an undercut price (about $30 less for the bucket, I think). And probably made in China. Don't do it, support a small business!

**

A completely unrelated question: is this child exploitation?

10 comments:

M said...

My neighbour uses this system and swears by it. I was a little put of by all the buying required but, jeepers, it seems to work! I will definitely look into this one.

And, no, not child exploitation. Is child development.

M said...

I meant burying required not buying required; although that would be a factor too!

kurrabikid said...

Yeah, I must admit that the burying is not ideal - pretty soon our vegie patch will be at capacity and then things will be interesting!...

Jenny H. said...

Have you tried making an "underground compost" -- my mum does this in her small townhouse garden and swears by it. Dig a hole, tip in your bucket, wait 2-3 weeks until you have supersoil in your underground compost. Scoop it out and put around plants and bushes then go ahead and tip in your next bokashi bucket in the same hole. Cover it well with soil or a plastic lid with a brick on. You can even make the hole big enough to hold a couple of buckets.
Another idea that works well is to take a big plastic bin with a TIGHT lid (50-70 liters, eg toy box size) and mix a bag of cheap potting mix with a bucket of bokashi. You'll get supersoil in no time which is great to use in outdoor pots and spread around plants. (And if you get white mould that's just good!). Give some to your neighbours if you don't have enough pots!!

Melody said...

Wait until your son starts wanting to clean the windows, vacuum and sweep the floor - th elist goes on! These days I make the most of it!! Lol!!!

Yeah, support the small business bloke!

taramichele said...

What a great idea, i only have a tiny patch of grass as an excuse for a garden, but still enough to get some summer vegies happening! Thanks!

Lynne@Oberon said...

Wow, I like the way you compare and contrast. That mega tomato is impressive.

No childre exploitation that I can see. Put them to work, is my philosophy.

petite gourmand said...

that sounds like a great item.
I'm not sure if I've seen that here in canada, but I'm going to look into it.
the garden looks so lush.

Anonymous said...

"I was a little put of by all the buying required"

You can make your own starter.
The expensive bran and bucket isn't necessary.

http://www.bokashicomposting.com

BILLJACKJANE said...

Hi Kurrabi Kid.

Great results in the tomato plant test! Looks like it is definately working and doing the things it should do.