Composting is an example of the old adage that one’s trash is another’s treasure. Garbage can be transformed from a yucky mess that you pay to get rid of into a valuable soil amendment that will help your garden thrive!
There are many composting methods, but all have the goal of helping waste materials decompose safely by encouraging beneficial organisms and discouraging pathogens. Some composting methods are more hands-on than others. Some methods work best with yard waste, while others are more geared toward kitchen waste. Some require more space than others.
Today let’s look at Bokashi Bucket Precomposting, as one of the easiest ways to get started with compost. This method works with any food waste, minimizes smells, and takes place in a five-gallon bucket, so it can even be used in an apartment. The food waste is fermented, so the smells are gently sweet or sour rather than rotten – just as yogurt smells more pleasant than rotting food. The key to Bokashi is using beneficial microorganisms that thrive in a low-air environment. Waste packed into an air-tight container takes up less space and keeps those gentle smells contained. Bokashi Bucket Precomposting requires a kitchen container for gathering scraps, a larger bucket for fermenting the waste, and the Bokashi material with the proper community of fermenting microorganisms. The kitchen container can be any container with a wide opening and a fitted lid. You could reuse an empty yogurt container or coffee can, or could choose a more attractive covered container. You simply toss any food scraps into the container with a pinch of Bokashi to prevent unfriendly smells.
When your kitchen container is full you transfer the waste to your Bokashi Bucket, adding about a tablespoon of Bokashi for every cup of waste. The bucket needs a tight-fitting lid, a smaller drop-lid to compress the fermenting food to exclude air as much as possible as the bin is slowly filled, and some way to drain off any liquid that forms. You can use a 5-gallon bucket with small holes drilled into the bottom, and nest that in a second bucket to catch the liquid. You can dilute the liquid for watering plants, or feel virtuous just pouring it down the drain, since it is also a biological drain maintainer.
You can purchase everything you need for Bokashi composting, or can make or scavenge most of it yourself. One thing you will need to purchase are the fermenting microorganisms, which are available as prepared Bokashi bran. With some extra effort you can save money by buying the Effective Microorganisms (EM) as a liquid, fermenting it to multiply the volume 20-fold, and using that to ferment your own Bokashi bran. Bokashi pre-compost can be buried in a future garden spot, mixed with potting soil for later plantings, or added to a conventional compost pile.
The information for this article was taken from the overview of Bokashi Bucket Composting written by Bernalillo County Master Composters. For more information on the Bokashi process, please refer to their article. Much more information on Bokashi composting is also available online.
Kimi Ishikawa is a Cibola and McKinley County Master Gardener who lives in Prewitt. If you have any gardening questions please call: NMSU Cibola County Extension Service Phone: 505-287-9266
NMSU McKinley County Extension Service Phone: 505-863-3432