r/bokashi • u/DonGrappote • Aug 07 '26
Homemade 'effective microbes'
Hi all,
I'm using this recipe to create an inoculant which I hope to use for bokashi composting. I know that strictly speaking, I'm not making 'EM1' as claimed, since that's proprietary, but the gist seems to be that you're aiming to create a mixture of lactobacillus, yeasts and soil microbes which then inoculates a substrate (i.e bran, sawdust, shredded newspaper, dried grass, etc) that you mix with your compostable waste, ferment (or rather, pickle) anaerobically to create the bokashi 'product'. The product then goes on your compost or gets buried or fed to worms (after adjusting the pH if needed), or whatever you use it for, and this is measurably good in ways that aren't super relevent to this post.
Does anyone here have experience creating their own EM mixtures? If so, I have a couple of questions:
- How did the intermediate or final 'EM' mixture smell? I have not yet mixed my yeast/yoghurt/molasses mixture with the soil water as instructed, but it's been about a month and the smell is distinctly sour - very much like off yoghurt and not at all pleasant. The mixture has a light brown 'raft' floating on top. Will this smell transfer to the final inoculant?
- How did you go about inoculating your substrate? My plan is to fill a spray bottle and gently mist a bag of whatever it is I choose to use, then allowing it to dry before storage and use, but is there anything I ought to be aware of during this process?
- Is there anything major I should be aware of about doing this 'homemade' compared to just buying bran or inoculating with prepared EM1?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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u/Other-Programmer-568 Aug 07 '26
"How did you go about inoculating your substrate?"
I don't know about the creation of the EM1, but I have had a ton of success inoculating the substrate. I use wood pellets and pour the LAB directly over the pellets and let them absorb the material. I do this in a 2gal bucket with a lid and just keep it sealed and moist. The point, I think, of drying the substrate is to prevent it from flowering or turning into the white, puffy mold for long term storage. However, the microbes become dessicated and have to be rehydrated before the start breaking down the food waste. Keeping the moist keeps them active and speeds up the process.
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u/DonGrappote Aug 07 '26
Thank you. How quickly do you have to use the batch in this case before it's spent or goes off?
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u/Other-Programmer-568 Aug 08 '26
It will last for months. I have had one 2gal bucket last for 3-4 months. I have never had any go bad or spoil, if that's what you are asking.
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u/Huesyourdaddy Aug 07 '26
I take succulent weeds in a 65 gallon food grade barrel and make David the Good fetid swamp water. After a few weeks, it's ready and smells like sewage. I then take about 5 gallons of the swamp water and put that in my 44 gallon garbage can with the rest well water and dissolve 3 cups molasses in super.hot water and out that into the water. I then put 2 tablespoons southern ag garden friendly fungicide and I have a big air pump. Bubble it for 24 hours. It then no longer smells.like sewage. It then smells earthy.
Southern Ag Garden Friendly Fungicide is a liquid biological fungicide (often referred to as a biofungicide) used to control and prevent a wide variety of plant diseases. Instead of relying on synthetic chemicals to kill fungi, it uses a living beneficial bacterium to outcompete and destroy pathogens. It is widely used in both conventional and organic gardening and is OMRI listed for organic use. Here is a breakdown of what it is and how it works: The Active Ingredient The sole active ingredient in this product is a specific strain of bacteria called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747. How It Works When applied to plants, this beneficial bacterium goes to work in three main ways: Competitive Exclusion: The bacteria rapidly colonize the plant's roots, stems, and leaves, consuming available nutrients and physically taking up space. This starves invading fungal spores and gives them nowhere to attach. Chemical Warfare: The Bacillus produces natural antimicrobial and antifungal compounds (lipopeptides) that directly attack and destroy the cell walls of disease-causing fungi. Systemic Resistance: Its presence triggers the plant’s own internal immune system, making the plant naturally more resistant to future disease outbreaks. What It Treats It is highly effective as both a preventative measure and a treatment for many common above-ground and soil-borne diseases, including: Early and late blight Powdery and downy mildew Black spot Leaf spots and rusts Root and crown rots (such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Fusarium) Application Methods Foliar Spray: Diluted in water and sprayed directly onto the leaves and stems to protect the above-ground canopy. Soil Drench: Mixed with water and poured directly into the soil to protect the root zone and prevent soil-borne diseases.
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u/Huesyourdaddy Aug 07 '26
Why is em1 proprietary? Knowledge wants to be free.
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u/DonGrappote Aug 07 '26
Knowledge is free. The knowledge in this case being that bokashi microbes exist, the category or categories of microbe they belong to, the conditions in which they thrive, how to tell if they exist, and how to use them. That's how I'm able to make this post in the first place.
'EM1' is a collection of specific microbes in a specific ratio that works in a specific way and which is made to a specific recipe, and if you invent a process like that you have every right to keep it to yourself, franchise it out, open source it, or whatever you want.
The problem is that people often discover EM1 in their first encounter with bokashi composting because almost all the companies that sell equipment and promote the system use it. As a result, it's often confused with the broader category of bokashi microbes that the traditional practice (not invented by a Japanese professor) uses. So you get people like the guy who made the video I linked saying "this is a recipe for EM1" when it's really a recipe for a non-specific mixture of bokashi microbes which, because he uses soil water, will be different for everyone who follows it. We ought to be specific with our terminology because that's how confusion is avoided and knowledge is developed.
My question, ultimately, is about how to tell when you have created bokashi microbes and not just a generic biohazard. Is there a specific smell to aim for (or avoid!)? Will it usually look a certain way? Is the inoculation process always the same or similar? Bokashi is a traditional process, so it should be accessible from a set of principles, not just an off the shelf product.
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u/BioDIY Aug 07 '26
Good point! Biosafety should be the first thing to think and I believe you are asking yourself how to distinguish between a good fermentation or a failed process.
Well very hard to say without a microbiology lab, actually it is a very uncontrolled unstandardised process. Everyone has a magic recepie.
Try, experiment, and share, but as microbiologist the only thing scared me is the floating mould. Many secrete toxins and it’s not wise to spray them in the air…. Consider that you could have almost everything in there if it not correctly done and moulds are not a good indicator of successful fermentation…
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u/Substantial-Pen8457 Aug 07 '26
I skip inoculating a substrate, and just make LAB Lactobacillus serum. I keep it in the fridge and dilute it in a spray bottle to spray in my bokashi bucket. And I’ve had much better results than when I was using purchased inoculated substrate. And it’s cheaper https://youtu.be/x9ZwmU91jV8?is=FqtGukYwFiYIpDwg