Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

thanks in advance
amber

On Thu, 6 May 2004 10:41:03 +0100, Amber Ormerod wrote:

Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

A caution: it's all very well to think "ooooh, a Japanese
non-smelly composting method", but don't forget that climate
plays a role -- and the hot, wet, near-tropical Japanese summer
is a far cry from cloudy England. To say nothing of the question,
what kind of food wastes are being composted?

Also: I find that whenever some maven starts touting this or that
wonderful ethnic food, composting method, interior decoration
style, take your pick it turns out to be, if you will excuse the
expression, a crock of shit. Usually the hoopla over these things
proves to be nothing but a journalistic gimmick to sell more
magazines or books.

So go into this with your eyes open and your b.s. detectors set
to "highly sensitive".



--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
[change "atlantic" to "pacific" and
"invalid" to "net" to reply by email]

In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
On Thu, 6 May 2004 10:41:03 +0100, Amber Ormerod wrote:

Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

A caution: it's all very well to think "ooooh, a Japanese
non-smelly composting method", but don't forget that climate
plays a role -- and the hot, wet, near-tropical Japanese summer
is a far cry from cloudy England. To say nothing of the question,
what kind of food wastes are being composted?

Some people object to the food that I am cooking for myself on the
grounds that it is too smelly! Bombay duck - lovely, let's have
a panful - and I had some wonderful small squid in Spain that had
been sun-dried (fermenting the while) and were then deep-fried :-)

Also: I find that whenever some maven starts touting this or that
wonderful ethnic food, composting method, interior decoration
style, take your pick it turns out to be, if you will excuse the
expression, a crock of shit. Usually the hoopla over these things
proves to be nothing but a journalistic gimmick to sell more
magazines or books.

So go into this with your eyes open and your b.s. detectors set
to "highly sensitive".

No need. Set it to "low" and it will still go off ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Amber Ormerod" wrote in message
...
Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

thanks in advance
amber

They are not doing anything a properly run wormerie or compost bin is
doing

The bacteria are in these naturally .......add urine to a compost heap
........mix its contents every 3 months and by the end of the year you will
have brilliant compost .......leave it another year and you will have fine
potting compost ........its all down to worms working

"nambucca" wrote in message
...

"Amber Ormerod" wrote in message
...
Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food
waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

thanks in advance
amber

They are not doing anything a properly run wormerie or compost bin is
doing

The bacteria are in these naturally .......add urine to a compost heap
.......mix its contents every 3 months and by the end of the year you will
have brilliant compost .......leave it another year and you will have fine
potting compost ........its all down to worms working



This is the problem. I don't have the physical strength to turn compost. So
I have a wormery for food waste but sometimes I have too much for that or
lots of one thing like orange skins. I was thinking more of a dump it and it
will be compost kinda way of doing it. The info on composting like that is
very vague.

On Thu, 6 May 2004 10:41:03 +0100, Amber Ormerod wrote:

Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells.

"limits smells" implies some degree of pong. Why not make an ordinary
compost heap, which doesn't.

Janet

In article , Amber Ormerod
writes


This is the problem. I don't have the physical strength to turn compost.

You don't need to.

So
I have a wormery for food waste but sometimes I have too much for that or
lots of one thing like orange skins. I was thinking more of a dump it and it
will be compost kinda way of doing it. The info on composting like that is
very vague.

It works. My heaps are about 1m x 1m x 1m. I add stuff to the top as it
comes - stuff being veg waste, paper and carboard, grass mowings, weeds
and anything else which seems rottable (like old cotton or woollen
material). The only mixing I do is to try not to leave grass mowings
more than 4 inches deep - if its deeper than that, at the earliest
opportunity I bury something else in amongst them.

When I've finally used all the compost in one of the other heaps, I take
the unrotted stuff from the top of the newest heap and put it in the
base of the empty heap so as to start a new heap.

It's probably slower this way, but the result is incredibly good
compared with what went on to the heap, and improves the soil a lot if
used as a mulch about 6 inches deep.



--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Amber Ormerod" wrote in message ...
Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

I was given one of these as a present last year.

Filled it up with kitchen waste and Bokashi starter last summer but
nothing much happened. The bucket is quite big and it took several
months for two of us to fill it with waste. A bit of liquid gathered
in the bottom bucket (I diluted this and fed it to fruit) and some
white mould grew on the kitchen waste.

It was kept indoors in the kitchen, but it wasn't very warm.

Left it sealed up over winter. No smell leaked from the buckets.

Opened it up a few weeks ago when I was planting courgettes. There
was a lot of liquid in the bottom bucket, and the contents of the top
bucket were like vomit in smell, appearance and texture (identifiable
lumps of food that turned to mush when I spooned them out). I held my
nose and dug it into the soil underneath the seeds. It was nothing
like normal compost.


I might re-read instructions and try again this year. If I do, I will
make sure I drain the liquid away regularly and chop up the waste
before adding it.


Anyone got any tips?



Bruce

The message
from "Amber Ormerod" contains these words:


I don't have the physical strength to turn compost.

Turning speeds the process, but it isn't essential. If you don't turn
the heap, it works just as well if a little slower.

Janet.

"Amber Ormerod" wrote in message
...
Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food
waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

My impression is that it is simply a method of digging in half
decomposed material and allowing the rotting process to continue
underground.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then
real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

Franz

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 6 May 2004 10:41:03 +0100, Amber Ormerod wrote:

Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for
food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then
real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

A caution: it's all very well to think "ooooh, a Japanese
non-smelly composting method", but don't forget that climate
plays a role -- and the hot, wet, near-tropical Japanese summer
is a far cry from cloudy England. To say nothing of the question,
what kind of food wastes are being composted?

Also: I find that whenever some maven starts touting this or that
wonderful ethnic food, composting method, interior decoration
style, take your pick it turns out to be, if you will excuse the
expression, a crock of shit. Usually the hoopla over these things
proves to be nothing but a journalistic gimmick to sell more
magazines or books.

So go into this with your eyes open and your b.s. detectors set
to "highly sensitive".

I agree entirely with your whole post.

Franz

"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message
...
The message
from "Amber Ormerod" contains these words:


I don't have the physical strength to turn compost.

Turning speeds the process, but it isn't essential. If you don't turn
the heap, it works just as well if a little slower.



I was kinda thinking that might be the case so we got two of the bay
composters to take that into consideration. We had fridge problems after
moving in September and so have been throwing alot of veggies away and I
think this has had an effect like filling the wormery very quickly and ment
there is more food waste in the compost than there would normally be. (hence
worried about the smell and weight. I turned the grass/leaf heap ok)

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

"Amber Ormerod" wrote in message
...
Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food
waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

My impression is that it is simply a method of digging in half
decomposed material and allowing the rotting process to continue
underground.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then
real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.


Maybe I will give the worms more chance.
Thanks again for the advice.

In message , Kay Easton
writes
In article , Amber Ormerod
writes


This is the problem. I don't have the physical strength to turn compost.

You don't need to.

Though it does help get a more even composting action. The top surface
left for a week otherwise ends up too dry and doesn't rot.

I have a wormery for food waste but sometimes I have too much for that or
lots of one thing like orange skins. I was thinking more of a dump it and it
will be compost kinda way of doing it. The info on composting like that is
very vague.

It works. My heaps are about 1m x 1m x 1m. I add stuff to the top as it
comes - stuff being veg waste, paper and carboard, grass mowings, weeds
and anything else which seems rottable (like old cotton or woollen
material). The only mixing I do is to try not to leave grass mowings
more than 4 inches deep - if its deeper than that, at the earliest
opportunity I bury something else in amongst them.

Hmmm... I break all the rules on this one for grass cuttings and add
about 2-3 cubic metres of grass clippings a week to mine. If I have
woody stuff I want rid off I layer it, but if not I pile it high and let
it go. Typically it reaches 70C internally after 3-4days and requires
one gentle turning to put the outer bits into the moist centre. Smells
slightly sweet stale like silage. Once hot it will destroy most woody
and semi-woody stems pretty effectively.

I think the issue it really when you add small amounts of grass at a
time - then it goes anaerobic, smelly, all horrible and slimy..

When I've finally used all the compost in one of the other heaps, I take
the unrotted stuff from the top of the newest heap and put it in the
base of the empty heap so as to start a new heap.

The top is never as good as the bulk - too dry. I do the same. It also
provides and innoculation of the right fungi and bacteria to start the
new heap off well.

It's probably slower this way, but the result is incredibly good
compared with what went on to the heap, and improves the soil a lot if
used as a mulch about 6 inches deep.

Indeed. The problem sometimes is finding places to put it!

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In message , Nick Maclaren
writes
In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
On Thu, 6 May 2004 10:41:03 +0100, Amber Ormerod wrote:

Has anyone come across Bokashi which is suposedly very good for food waste
and limits smells. And its suposed to be quick.

I did find a site about it http://www.livingsoil.co.uk/ but then real
peoples experiences tend to be more useful I find.

A caution: it's all very well to think "ooooh, a Japanese
non-smelly composting method", but don't forget that climate
plays a role -- and the hot, wet, near-tropical Japanese summer
is a far cry from cloudy England. To say nothing of the question,
what kind of food wastes are being composted?

In Japan kitchen waste will be mostly rice. Virtually no fat and a tiny
amount of meat. Nothing at all like a UK diet.

Some people object to the food that I am cooking for myself on the
grounds that it is too smelly! Bombay duck - lovely, let's have
a panful - and I had some wonderful small squid in Spain that had
been sun-dried (fermenting the while) and were then deep-fried :-)

If you like those have you tried "Nattou"? Japanese fermented soya
beans. Think of baked beans in Evo-stick smelling like your dustbin - it
tastes better than it smells but most people don't get that far.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown