4. Educate & inspire master gardeners
Experimentation with something new
Demo how to get started
Evangelize – spread the word and spread
Bokashi – you will dig it!
5. Is Bokashi
◦ Japanese “gesundheit”
◦ An Asian greeting
◦ Japanese pickled plum
◦ Fermented food
6. How many pounds of food waste does a
family of four throw away in a year‟s time?
◦ 50 pounds
◦ 200 pounds
◦ 1000 pounds
◦ 500 pounds
7. What is the percentage of food waste in our
landfills today
◦ 2%
◦11%
◦7%
11%!!
11%
Not only does it fill up the
◦ 5% landfills, it putrefies or
doesn’t decompose at all…
8. ANN
Dip your sashimi in it
Clean your fish pond
Improve your garden
Reduce septic system maintenance
Add to your protein shake
9. Naturally occurring microorganisms collected and
cultured in Asian countries for centuries.
Application of cultures to crop soils minimized need
for inorganic amendments/fertilizers/pest sprays
Dr. Higa, Univ Ryukyus, Japan, isolated
microorganisms* in 1982 making
producing inoculant called EM1.
Rapidly ferments waste while suppressing growth of
dangerous organisms and pathogens.
10. Diameter of Stem*
It Works! 4
3
2
Biomass* 1
0.5 0
0.45
water Chem Fert EM Bokashi
0.4
0.35
0.3
0.25 Seed Pod
0.2
Plant
0.15
0.1
0.05
0 Soil Microbial Density**
water Chem Fert EM Bokashi 4
3.5
3
2.5
2
* Yuka Nakano – BYU - 2007 1.5
** Photosynthetic bacteria 1
Lactobacillus 0.5
0
Yeast
water Chem Fert EM Bokashi
13. ◦ Bokashi liquid that is drained off can be used to
Undiluted - put it down your drain or toilet
Diluted - water your plants (100 to 1)
You MUST drain liquid!
◦ What IS Happening in the Bucket?
Science of the process: anaerobic, „good‟ microbes
eating „bad‟ microbes, pickling
What‟s that fuzzy stuff on my Bokashi?
14. Pros
◦ Uses cooked and raw food, dairy, fish, citrus
◦ Fast (as little as 6 weeks)
◦ Space efficient, neat, clean, tidy, little smell
◦ Can do indoors
◦ Less demanding than regular composting
Con
◦ Cost of equipment, bran
◦ Emerging practice, less documentation
16. Here‟s What We Told You
◦ Described a new way to improve your garden
◦ A new way to dispose of food waste
◦ Bokashi process
◦ Equipment needed
Ecological Importance
◦ Sustainability
◦ Reduce landfill through recycling
◦ Improves soil quality
◦ Reduces pesticide and fertilizer pollutants
We have provided:
◦ Resource List
◦ Glossary
18. Bokashi Resource List
Some excellent sources of information on Bokashi, what it is and how to use it
http://www.prokashi.com/
http://www.bokashicycle.com/about.html
http://bokashi-blog.teraganix.com/
http://www.bokashicomposting.com
Case Studies and Teaching Manual
http://www.emhawaii.com
Recipe for making the Bokashi Bran
http://www.the-compost-gardener.com/bokashi.html#axzz2JO9waxwf
EM1 Effective Microorganisms: What they are & What they do
http://www.the-compost-gardener.com/em-1.html
Pros and Cons of Bokashi composting
http://www.the-compost-gardener.com/bokashi-composting.html
Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOO1_jNKbKw (How to capture and culture natural soil microbes)
http://www.bokashicycle.com/videos.html
http://www.bokashicomposting.com/bokashi-precompost-trench-method/
19. Bokashi – Japanese word for fermented organic matter
Compost – Organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer
and soil amendment
Fermentation – A metabolic process whereby electrons released from nutrients are
transferred to molecules obtained from the breakdown of those same nutrients
Inoculation – the placement of something that will grow or reproduce
Inoculants – materials used in the inoculation process
Pickling -also known as brining or corning – the process of preserving food by
anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it
in an acid solution, usually vinegar (acetic acid). This procedure gives the food a
salty or sour taste. In South Asia, edible oils are used as the pickling medium with
vinegar.
Probiotics – live microorganisms that may confer a health benefit on the host
20. Our esteemed mentors, Kathy and Emma
Phil Quinlan for Audio Support
and …….
PLEASE! Refer all COMPOST TEA questions to
Phil
Editor's Notes
Need to announce Bokashi without saying what it is …. Need another intro idea
Does anyone know who does that song? …. It’s the New Radicals… and the segue here is that we will be talking to you about something that’s maybe not radical, but some would say experimental, and it’s at least something that’s emerging. Chef Bo-Ka-Shee.. Our pre-eminent expert Professor EMI… actually pronounced EM1; academically inclined Sally Soil who recently changed her name from Doris Dirt, she keeps us grounded; and Mike Robe … a little working guyThere will be gratuitous use of pictures and music
To help you pronounce …. Bo as in (anyone know this man?) …. And Kashi as in cereal. Hint, Bokashi is not cereal. What we are about to discuss isn’t UC approved; even so, no heckling is allowed!
Educate and inspire --- not yet UC sanctioned. Experimentation … part of the fun of gardening is trying new things.
1). There is no sneeze acknowledgement in Japan. No “bless you” no “gesundheit” 2). Namaste is the greeting used in India 3). Umeboshi – tastes great with rice! 4). Correct!
Astoundingly, a family of four throws away a half a ton of food per year.For the next week or so pay attention to the food waste you either put down the disposal or throw away. You will be very surprised at the volume!
Family of 4 not commercial enterprisesIn addition to putrefaction and decomposition, rotting food waste releases noxious gases into the atmosphere.The cost of handling food waste is the 4th largest expense in our cities after education, police and fire protection55% of food waste is landfilled, 30% recycled, 15% incinerated. EM website, Hawaii.com
On this slide change from interactive mode… asking the audience to going through bullets… we haven’t told them what Bokashi is yet!
Typically found in forest soils … used in Koreas and Japan for centuries. Empirical evidence of efficacy as both a soil amendment and something that killed evil organisms. Kathy will hold up a bottle of EM1The process by which complex organic compounds, such as glucose, are broken down by the action of enzymes into simpler compounds without the use of oxygen. Fermentation results in the production of energy in the form of two ATP molecules, and produces less energy than the aerobic process of cellular respiration . The other end products of fermentation differ depending on the organism. In many bacteria, fungi, protists, and animals cells (notably muscle cells in the body), fermentation produces lactic acid and lactate, carbon dioxide, and water. In yeast and most plant cells, fermentation produces ethyl alcohol, carbon dioxide, and water.Phototropic bacteria, lactobacillus, yeast
Lactobacillus – Lower PH inhibiting pathogenic microbesYeast – Fermentation startersPhotosynthetic – allow other microbes to coexist, fix nitrogen
compost starter: bran, microbes and molassesBucket can have divider and weighted material to ensure anaerobic processBucket with spigot and handleInnoculated Bokashi wheat or rice branPotato masherPlastic spoonFood waste (no paper, but meat is OK)LET’S BUILD A BUCKETWhat goes in?Food waste of all kinds, including dairy products (need to drain off liquid), meat and bones, citrus, any cooked foodsLayered with Bokashi branRepeat, repeat, repeat until bucket is fullDraw off liquid every few days—no air, no liquidNo liquids, moldy foods or paper
No smellClosed containerComplementary to trad compostingNitrogen doesn't escape like trad compostingActinomycetes lactobacillus in bolas hi juice Cake, hot dogs, bread, peppers, salad Ratios not as important C:N ratios don't need to be exact Smaller pieces better 2inch layers Alternate bread and moist food Prokashi.com 800-1000lb year food wasted… could be Bokashi’dFailure: good quality bran - bran s/b dry, cider or vinegar smell - failure to keep oxygen - every 3 days drain White spots - beneficial fungi Foods may look the same when done but its not the same, structurally it's decomposed Micro-organisms quite a bit Deep penetration Really can't go too long Bokashicycle.com Bokashi feeds the microbes in soil Reduces greenhouse gases Vermin not attracted Vinegar smell -- furry looking material Bury 1ft deep. 3 ft long mix with dirt
Decomposition of organic matter (including organic wastes and residues) and the improvement of fertilizer effectsRecycling and increasing availability of plant nutrientsFixation of atmospheric nitrogenSuppression of soil-borne pathogensSolubilization of insoluble nutrient sourcesProduction of polysaccharides and overall rich microflora to improve soil aggregation
INTRO: We’ve shown you how to make the bran, how to build and maintain the bucket …now …how to use it/PROLOG: Note cautions about where to bury
Ecological importance cannot be understatedSchools using this ….Master Gardener role is sustainabilityReduces need for fertilizer and pesticides
Make a couple of comments about one or two of the videos…. Especially talk about prokashi and Korean Natural Farming, beneficial microbe cultivation. Mention that our presentation is out on the MG 2003 Document site.
