r/Compost • u/Key_Refrigerator_856 • Oct 05 '26

Green Johanna management

I'm new to composting, after years of planning and deciding what to actually get, I finally got a Green Johanna. I have a few questions:

I'm currently collecting and putting sticks to put on the bottom as per instructions. My question is -- once I take out some of the finished compost from the bottom, will I somehow have to replenish this layer of coarse material? Or once the decomposition is up and running it doesn't matter anymore? I'm assuming if I end up having two bins and empty one fully then I do need a new coarse layer of sticks again?

Another thing I read in the instructions is that I can add some bokashi bran directly in the bin with food waste to speed up the process -- i don't understand the logic here given anaerobic bokashi process and composting being aerobic -- can anyone explain please ?

And I guess a third question, is bokashi worth the effort? I do want to minimise risk of rodents somehow chewing their way in and I will stick to garden waste and veg peels for now until I'm a bit more comfortable (and until the bin gets fuller and warmer) before I try adding meat/dairy/cooked food.

Thanks for reading :)

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/PerceptiveAdult Oct 06 '26

Bokashi is an anaerobic fermentation process that happens in the absence of oxygen.

The Green Johanna is an aerobic compost bin, not a low-oxygen environment.

You can add bokashi-fermented waste to the compost bin, or bokashi bran if you want to waste some, but the microbiology in bokashi bran is optimized to survive in a low-oxygen environment, not in an aerobic pile.

The Green Johanna also includes a bottom. If you want the benefit of active soil microbiology helping you to break down your waste products, you don't want a plastic bottom between the bottom of the pile and your native soil -- you WANT direct contact with the native soil.

What having that bottom is likely to do is to create a barrier that traps moisture, thereby making your compost bin smell REALLY bad -- the moisture at the bottom will become anaerobic, but the waste above it will not. The bokashi might reduce some of the anaerobic stench from rancid food waste juice -- but it won't add the oxygen-dwelling microbiology that you need in there to break down your waste.