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To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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Posted by mensplace 7 (My Page) on Fri, Nov 20, 09 at 21:44
| I am sincerely confused. Some Bokashi providers say they have around 12 organisms while others claim up to 100. I have the wheat bran and am ready to go. What is the difference between the products, or should I just take some of my homemade yogurt with over 12 strains, some my brewing yeasts, hops, gypsum, salt, special sugars and molasses after a batch of stout making, and some of my compost which was made with a broad range of starters and manures? Not being at all facetious, but totally confused between all of the starters. Too, what is the ceramic powder and purpose? IF one product is the best, then which one offers the broadest range of cultures and does it even matter? I am ready to buy and get this first batch going, but not at all sure which and why?
Thank you for your tolerance! Seems like it is harder and harder to tell between science and faerie dust, starters, EM, and all that passes as something else to sell..or maybe even real science..or is vermiculture the way, or a fish under each plant. Still amazed and , yet, strangely fscinated with all that gets added to the soil in the name of science..peudo or otherwise, but , HEY, it just might make folks feel better, or it might actually work Who knows. At the feed stores and nurseries I have been looking at the polthora of all that COULD be added to our soils. It would be interested to list all the possibilities.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| Trouble is, I still don't really know what differentiates one starter from another, why the huge difference in the number of cultures and, honestly, which one to start with. My concern stems from a background in composting that consistently states that toxic, carcinogenic, and other dangers lurk in anaerobic environments, especially in a time when eColi, Botulism, MRSA and other pathogens and bacterias are growing more and more resistant to antibiotics. As I write this, my wife has a tube in her face to drain the staph from such an infection while taking a cocktail of antibiotics..not an exaggeration, but a fact. Hence, my interest in assuring that that which goes into my garden to produce food or be handled in the process is safe. If some advocate on YOUTUBE, just making your own starter, then I would prefer some certainty or explanation of exactly why the variance between 10 and 100 cultures that would assure an understanding of what is best, safest, and how a dangerous anaerobic environment is prevented. Not, being a cynic, skeptic, critic or any other nefarious intent. Is such information available? |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| Hay, Jack, The Secret of Life is Under the Ground! (ANAEROBIC!) You are on a right way! |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| Many people here on Soil forum think that aerobic compost is good and anaerobic compost is bad. Culmination of this thinking was the idea of Elaine Ingham to put compost in the water and aerate it with the pump. She call it "science" but don't beleif in words. It is as far from science as I from God. LOL. Nature don't like aerobic compost. Whenever a huge pile of organic matter occur there will be flyes or worms which put this OM into anaerobic environment immidiately - into their intestines. The key to successful gardening (and to the human's health) is anaerobically fermented food. I advise you Dr. Teruo Higa and his concept and practice of Effective Microorganisms (aka EM). He definetely understand the difference between 10, 100 and 1000 microorganisms. In reality he thinks in absolutely other categories. He thinks just 2 main concepts: regeneration and degeneration. He thinks by processes! The more I think about it, the more I agree with him. In reality, I think, he doesn't sell microbes.
He sells simply idea of anaerobic "composting". Read all that he wrote and then come back here after 2-4 years of study. |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| Trouble is... Where you have gone?
Is it really so bad, your trouble?
LOL. (Between us, when trouble comes, brains stop thinking...) |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| I believe Bokashi is THE way to go. As far as making your own Bokashi that can have mixed results and will probably require a lot of hit or miss practice. I would suggest purchasing bokashi that is made specifically with the EM1 microorganisms that were developed by Teruo Higa. He researched what specific microorganisms created an ideal (my words) environment to balance the soil. The theory being that if you add a lot of beneficial microorganisms to any soil or water it will dominate over the "bad" ones and restore balance. He has written a number of books and I suggest if you have more questions you read these. Regular composting is good but not really good enough, in my opinion. It still contributes to green house gases by creating methane from the rotting waste. It also is much more energy intensive and you cannot compost all of your food waste. With bokashi you can compost all meat including bones, dairy, eggs as well as fruits and vegetables. The key is to make sure you bury it deep enough. Approx. 6" deep. Also in order to prevent "bad" bacteria you must make sure you let in as little air as possible. The bucket must have an airtight seal and you should only open it once a day and put your entire days worth of food waste.I recommend checking out the website bokashicycle to get more info and possibly purchase your bokashi. It is much easier to buy bokashi than make it yourself and the price, with labor included is about the same. The recipes for bokashi may vary but the ingredients are basically the same and are similar to bread and beer. |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| I think Bokashi is a waste of money. My compost has millions of organisms that go there for free. And anaerobic digestion isn't bad, it just smells that way. |
RE: To Bokashi or not to Bokashi, that is the question.
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| The question is whether you prefer to innoculate your soil with specific strains of microorganisms or whether you want to depend on the wild strains in your local environment. The latter is much cheaper and less labor intensive |
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