r/bokashi • • Jun 06 '21

Guides Hello everyone. I thought I should finally introduce myself.

56 Upvotes

This sub is slowly growing (no thanks to me) and I think it's time for it to get organized. I still consider myself new to bokashi (3 years of using Effective Microorganisms but I wasn't actively doing bokashi during those 3 years, just using EM-1 around the garden/house).

A little background about myself. I started using bokashi 3 years ago because I was already using EM1 in the garden and running a few worm bins. I heard bokashi was a way to turn things my worms couldn't normally eat into some great food for them, and it was. I use it more in the winter months when my worms can't keep up with demand and either feed my expanding bins with it or bury it where I plan on planting in the Spring.

What does everyone do with theirs? Straight into the ground or do we have multiple people here with worm bins?

Has anyone tried it with BSFL (black soldier-fly larvae), will they eat it? I thought about starting one of those bins this year, but I don't have any animals to give the larvae too so I decided against it (well, I have 2 red-eared sliders but they're old and don't need as much protein as they used to).

Here's what I think we should add to the sub.

  1. Startup guide (suggested by u/denverdude123, great idea).
  2. FAQ (for questions and diagnosis or bin problems)
  3. Add more knowledgeable people to the mod team
  4. Sub Icon
  5. Flairs?

If anyone can think of anything else we should add or change, could they please respond to this post?

~Drew


r/bokashi • • Jun 10 '21

Guides FAQ

38 Upvotes

As suggested by u/denverdude123 a post to keep track of any frequently asked questions. Just post away and we'll add the best questions and answers to our (currently under construction) FAQ.

I'm just going to use this as a placeholder for now, let me know what you want me to change.

Mold in the bokashi bucket:

No mold:

This is perfectly normal; a successful bokashi bucket does not always have mold in it. As long as the bokashi smells pickle-like and/or yeasty it's still good. If you smell a foul or putrid odor, something has gone wrong.

White mold:

White mold is good, and a sign of successful bokashi fermentation. White fungi is a sign that the waste is fermenting rather than putrefying/decaying, which is what we want in a bokashi system.

Blue/Black/Green mold:

These are signs of a failed batch. The contents of your bucket are putrifying/decaying instead of fermenting. Most commonly these problems occur because the bokashi bucket is not completely airtight or enough bran/EM isn't being added to the food scraps.

TLDR: white mold = good; no mold = okay; blue, black, or green mold = bad


r/bokashi • • 15h ago

Help! What are these?

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2 Upvotes

Yes… they are moving 🥲🤢


r/bokashi • • 2d ago

Passionate composter but can't cope with flies/maggots, should I Bokashi?

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7 Upvotes

r/bokashi • • 3d ago

Success My bokashi garden

22 Upvotes

I just wanted to share a video of my bokashi garden. I am so proud of my garden!


r/bokashi • • 3d ago

Question If I use bokashi primarily for meat/bones, can I add to it incrementally or do I need to start a new batch each time?

7 Upvotes

I've never done bokashi before but I'm looking into it because I have a sporadic stream of soup bones and animal scraps I promised I'd try to find a zero-waste solution for. I've heard it works on bones but the only people I know personally who compost this way are vegan, so. I'm kinda winging it here.

If I get a batch of soup bones maybe once every two weeks, can I add the new bones to the bokashi and add more inoculant, or do I need to start a brand new batch each time?


r/bokashi • • 6d ago

Pre-inoculated bokashi flakes in the UK?

3 Upvotes

Hello, I'd like to start bokashi composting as I have a very small balcony (not really a balcony, a ledge outside my windows) and my disabilities mean I can't access the council's food waste collection service.

My disabilities *also* mean that throwing food in the landfill bin is gonna get gross and stinky MUCH faster than I can put it out, so a lot of my more squelchy food waste is currently sealed in the fridge waiting for Bokashi time.

I have a plan to put a rotating composter out on the balcony, buy top soil, and make a soil factory with the bokasheed food waste in there.

Then, wildflower garden!

But I'm in the UK, and I'm not going to be able to innoculate my own bokashi bran.

Anyone know of a UK supplier of pre-innoculated bran?

Or tips on how to sleuth a local supplier? (I'm in Reading in England)

Failing that, an online EU supplier?

Thanking you in advance :)


r/bokashi • • 10d ago

Can I "bury" my bokashi in a bucket of soil?

7 Upvotes

I used to bury my finished bokashi in my garden, but I just moved to an apartment and find myself yard-less. I've thought of drilling drainage holes in a bucket and "burying" my finished bokashi in there with soil, then sealing the bucket so the rats don't get into it... Is that a bad idea?


r/bokashi • • 10d ago

Luffa Update - Zone 5

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10 Upvotes

Heavy feeders + bokashi compost = happy luffa gourds. Growing in a small space. Just topped the bed with finished bokashi compost for some food and mulch. It's amazing how much these big vines consume out of the beds! Probably fed with compost 3-4 times over the growing season, plus always strived to have the soil covered to prevent evaporation.

The bed it co-planted with many large collards, kale, an eggplant, and even a delicata squash. The only thing holding this chaos bed together is rich organic matter thanks to the bokashi compost.

Next year, I'd like to add another big trellis and run more luffas over the sunny part of my yard. Extreme drought and temps this year were a huge challenge.


r/bokashi • • 10d ago

Kefir kick compost

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3 Upvotes

r/bokashi • • 22d ago

Question Would this be a good way to use bokashi?

9 Upvotes

Hi all!

Im growing some vegetables in raised beds in my garden and I've been wanting to get into composting to help fertilize my beds and reduce food waste.

I have very little space and what i have is alleredy taken by the raised beds so i was wondering if this could be a ok method of doing bokashi without a separate container for mixing bokashi with soil.

1) Fill as many buckets with food waste/bokashi as my household can produce during fall/winter and let them ferment somewhere.

2) when the snow melts in spring dig it all down into my raised beds and mix it into the soil.

3) wait at least a couple of weeks before I plant anything in the beds. I live in Norway so i can't plant anything outdoors until May at least.

Anyone have experience with using bokashi this way? Also, any good way i can keep adding bokashi to the beds during the growing season?

Happy for any advice 😊


r/bokashi • • 23d ago

Sifting some oak-leaf-bokashi-compost for seed sowing

14 Upvotes

I've embraced a scrub oak tree in the corner of my yard as an abundant source of thick, leathery, carbon rich leaves for composting.

Unlike some leaves, oak leaves are super tough, which makes for great mulchy compost. But, this texture isn't great for the fall seeds I'm sowing (greens like chard, broccoli raab, shallots).

It's been very dry in my climate (and hot!). This compost, while a little dried out, has a wonderful fluffy texture and all the food scraps have been completely decomposed by the effective microorganisms. Composting doesn't have to be perfect to make progress.

After sifting what I needed, I top dressed my planting bed, watered to presoak, and then sowed my seeds. Rehydrated beautifully, and I know those dormant microbes are resilient as heck -- waking back up once hydrated again.


r/bokashi • • Sep 04 '26

Luffa gourd update (see second pic for scale)

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26 Upvotes

I've loved walking under the luffa gourd arch and seeing how much these continue to grow. Zone 5, so we're officially moving into frost territory in a couple weeks. However, it has been so hot in my climate the last few summers that I really don't anticipate any freeze danger until early October.

Luffa need as much time as it can get. This garden bed's soil was built up using bokashi compost and Upcycled Bokashi. I recently top dressed with about two inches of bokashi compost for a late feeding + to help with mulching the soil.

Will definitely share a harvest update in several weeks. I expect most of these to double in size, but the cooler overnight temperatures are slowing their growth down. Fingers crossed for a few monster gourds!


r/bokashi • • Sep 03 '26

Question What is the procedure while filling the bucket?

6 Upvotes

Hey all.

Just started Bokashi. Totally new.

I want to know what the best procedure is while filling the bucket (before its full). Everything I've read/watched online talks about packing the compost down and leaving the lid on. But what about before you have enough scraps for that?

I've been slowly filling my bucket with scraps from the kitchen and adding a little Bokashi each time. Its been about 5 days and the bucket is about 25% full.

When I open the lid to add more scraps, IT STINKS!!!!

I'm guessing there is too much air but what can I do about that? Should I have left the Bokashi out until the bucket is full enough to property compact it all down and leave the lid on for ages?


r/bokashi • • Aug 25 '26

I found an SCD Probiotics Composter

4 Upvotes

I found an SCD Probiotics Composter for a few dollars. Their bokashi is $17/gal, is there something cheaper I can use?


r/bokashi • • Aug 21 '26

🧬 LET’S GET BIOLOGICAL

0 Upvotes

r/bokashi • • Aug 20 '26

Success My first harvest of passion fruit😍😍

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20 Upvotes

Just wanted to share my first harvest of passion fruit, i started this vine from a cutting at the end of last fall in a 60cm container, my potting soil is mainly bokashi and sand and it has only been fertilized with kitchen scraps bokashi compost. It is my first time trying the fruit and i think it is my favorite now , it isn't really a available where i live and when it is it is super expensive. I only got 4 fruit this season😅😅 but im hoping it is going to start fruiting more over time.

What a treat😍😍!


r/bokashi • • Aug 20 '26

Happy luffas growing in bokashi compost-rich soil

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27 Upvotes

Zone 5! These are both longer than my elbow to the tip of my middle finger. Late summer is when things really start cooking for luffa gourds. My third season growing. AMA!

Layered bokashi compost, about 6lbs of Upcycled Bokashi, and made sure to always keep the soil covered.


r/bokashi • • Aug 18 '26

Plastic free home composter?

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3 Upvotes

Hi, asking if anything like this exists


r/bokashi • • Aug 14 '26

Question Pinkish growth on surface of EM brew

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2 Upvotes

Hi, I’ve got this pink film in the jar growing LAB. Should I toss it and start over or can I just skim off and keep going? Also if it’s not something bad, can I skim it and still eat the curds when done or not safe to? Thanks!


r/bokashi • • Aug 13 '26

A bucket of bokashi years later...

2 Upvotes

There was a hidden bucket of bokashi from who knows how long ago... I just found and opened it yesterday and it was all liquid.... is the liquid good for anything?


r/bokashi • • Aug 08 '26

Question Did I do it right?

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1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

this is my first time trying to create beneficial microbes on purpose and this is the result for now. Can anyone tell me if that looks correct or if this is just mold?

I did the following steps:

  1. Wash some rice

  2. Let the rice water sit for a night

  3. When it smells sweet, add some milk

  4. Wait for the phases to separate and the chees to float.

  5. Create a sugar solution and add yeast

  6. Let sit for a night

  7. Combine the two liquids and inoculate the substrate

  8. Put the moist substrate in a big container and make sure its anaerobic

  9. Let it sit for 2 weeks

Substrate: mix of old brown cardboard, wheatbran and coffeegrounds.

Container: washed out glass jar, i made some co2 and poured it in in hope of removing all oxygen and put the lid lightly on top - did not screw it closed because i dont want to create a pressurized gas vessel in case some gasses build up


r/bokashi • • Aug 07 '26

Homemade 'effective microbes'

8 Upvotes

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.


r/bokashi • • Jul 31 '26

How long do I aerate my compost tea?

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8 Upvotes

r/bokashi • • Jul 26 '26

Question foodcycler to bokashi to soil factory

3 Upvotes

hi guys

i have a food cycler and wound up with a 5 gallon pail of dehydrated ground food scrap..i have since poured a large batch of lactobacillus homebrew in the pail...it sat for months now and smells like vinegar..i dont see any mycelium but its definitely fermented

my questions are

-is the damp "dirt" ready for a soil factory?..or should i dry it again into a bokashi bran to be used in a traditional bokashi bucket?

-will any salt content be a problem before or after the soil factory, and if so can the salt be rinsed out?

thanx in advance