Bokashi

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Permaculture

Here’s the ferment recipe I use on my gardens.

BOKASHI

Bokashi is Japanese for ferment.

 

It is a compost starter that has been especially devised by a couple of Japanese scientists. Aerobic and anaerobic microbes are cultured and these are actually similar to cheese bacteria. The soil added to the recipe should be your own for optimum results and some good compost or soil conditioner can be added as well.

All manure and food stuffs need to be broken down by enzymes and bacteria. Bokashi will gently help speed up this process.

  • 1 kg rice or wheat bran
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 lb of medium grain white rice
  • several cups of water

Soak the rice in water for a few minutes, swish it around with the hand and drain the rice water into another bowl. Add the sugar or a little molasses to the rice water to assist fermentation. Leave to ferment for a week. It should become active before the next step.

  • Mix some of the rice water into the rice bran and add about 100g of your own soil and mix well until just moist. The mixture should be just wet enough to stick together when squeezed.
  • Leave in a plastic bag excluding all air, seal tightly and leave for seven to ten days in a dark place.
  • Spread onto a tray and allow to dry slowly in the shade.
  • The bokashi can be stored in a plastic bag or container but do allow the mixture to breathe.
  • Use approximately one teaspoon to a good handful of vegie scraps.
If you would like to add manure to your garden beds then make sure the beds are empty. Apply the manure and sprinkle some bokashi over it as this will help to to break down very quickly. Make you sure you water it in well and cover with a good layer of mulch. You can plant your seedlings after about three weeks as the bokashi breaks down the manure very efficiently. A word of caution if you are thinking of using horse manure. Horses are wormed every two months and their manure will be adversely affected by the chemical residue. The soil microbes will also be killed of so make sure you source organic horse manure or wait until a few days after worming horses to collect the manure. If you would like to source organic horse manure then contact Lois Wattis on 0404 857272 at Ninderry.

 

(GOOGLE and do a, search for ‘bokashi’ for more recipes)