Interview with a bokashi maker
We would like to thank Heidi for the great reception to us and the project, her time spent on the interview, and her bokashi donation.
What is your reason to use bokashi?
“Because I wanted to
start doing composting when moving to a new house, and I thought bokashi was a nice and easy solution to deal with food waste.”
How long have you done this?
“For about half a year.”
Are you using bokashi for growing plants?
“Yes, for both soil making and to fertilize pot plants”
Any negatives of having bokashi?
“The only one I can think of is space. Although the bins aren't big, they still need to be stored somewhere, and the “soil factory” may take a lot of space.”
Do you feel it is expensive?
“Not really, and bokashi bins have already gone down in price since I bought mine. The EM bran costs some money, but as I sell bokashi tea online, I pretty much earn enough from that to buy more bran. Also, I save money on buying soil and fertilizer, so in total it's an economic gain. Trondheim municipality is rewarding 1000 NOK to buy bokashi buckets, and I applied for that after buying mine, so the only thing requiring personal money from me now is the bran. It is also possible to buy homemade bran online, and this is cheaper.”
Where did you learn about it?
“I don’t really remember, but I came across with it online when researching composting solutions for our new house.”
Any tips for people new to bokashi?
“It’s important to do your research before starting.”
Any unexpected experience in the beginning?
“There weren’t any particular things that were unexpected, because I was well prepared before starting. Not all buckets are the same, and since the bucket doesn’t contain the same thing each time, it will look different, smell different and ferment differently each time. I bought a bucket from a guy who just “didn’t make it”, and failed to do it right. Nothing was wrong with his bucket because I managed to ferment it just fine, so I suspect that he didn't use enough EM bran or perhaps didn’t close the lid properly. I also had another bucket that started smelling, but that was because the lid wasn’t sealed properly, and let air in. I got a new one from the retailer.”
What food do you put in?
“Everything goes into the bin, my household is eating meat and that is also going in there. I have a small bucket to collect scraps throughout the day and at the end of day I put it into the bokashi bucket.”
Where do you have the bucket?
“Right now it's in the kitchen on the floor, but I am planning to put it into a cupboard soon.”
Does it have any smell?
“No. The only time it did smell was that episode with the broken lid, and one time when I put a bunch of mussel shells directly into the bucket. After talking to a friend who is also doing bokashi, I was advised to dry the shells and crush them a bit in smaller pieces before putting them inside. That seemed to have helped.”
Note: during this conversation Iselin was in the same room as the bokashi buckets and nothing could be smelled even though she opened up the bucket right before Iselin came inside.
How long do you use to fill the bucket?
“Pretty fast, the 2-3 week cycle seems to fit us well.”
How long does it take to ferment it?
“2-3 weeks, then I switch to the second bucket.”
What do you do with the solid waste?
“I make soil out of it. I have a couple of boxes with soil inside and in the wintergarden, and also dig it into the garden when it is not frosty outside. There was one time when I didn’t use enough soil for the composting, and also filled the area up with bokashi tea afterwards, which ended up with a nutrient overkill of the plants and they died. So I advise anyone to be careful about that.”
What do you personally use the tea for except selling it?
“I use it for my pot plants, and also give it away to family and friends. I heard that it’s possible to make bio coal from it, but haven’t done it myself yet.”
How to store bokashi tea and how long it can be stored?
“I store it in the fridge, and I heard that it can be stored there for a long time, at least until the next season. It’s possible to freeze it. The bokashi tea that you are taking is about a month old.”
Have you used it with hydroponics, or considered it?
“I’ve heard about hydroponics and was supposed to participate in a course about it before Covid-19 quarantine came. I haven’t thought about using bokashi for it however, it seems like an interesting idea. I suggest you further sift the bokashi tea before putting it in the hydroponic, to prevent plant debris from entering the system.”