Bokashi is the process of fermenting waste organic matter in an anaerobic environment with Effective Microorganisms (EM).

Bokashi is the process in which organic material is fermented. You put waste organic material into a bokashi process and at the end you produce a Bokashi ferment that can be applied onto or into the soil as well as being used to feed worms or added to other composting methods to enhance the process.

By adding EM to organic material and creating an anaerobic environment to make Bokashi, you achieve a number of things;

1. Reduce odours

2. Reduce / eliminate pathogens

3. Destroy weed seeds

4. Reduce losses & putrefaction

5. Ferment / Decompose organic matter

6. Produce a number of Amino Acids, Vitamins, Enzymes and other beneficial metabolites

7. Create a pre-digested, nutrient dense, food for the soil

They are one and the same.

By fermenting you are decomposing. The chemistry definition of fermentation is the extraction of energy in the absence of oxygen.

The extraction of energy is caused by microbes breaking down complex organic structures, such as glucose, cellulose and even lignin, to create smaller soluble structures such as volatile fatty acids.

Fermentation is a form of decomposition.

Over time, anaerobic processes have been consider negative or less preferable yet anaerobic processes play a vital role in every day society providing multiple benefits.

Think about some of the foods we eat, bread, wine and cheese or sauerkraut, Kifer or Kimchi. On farm anaerobic processes take place in the form of silage making.

Anaerobic decomposition, or fermentation, is a way of preserving organic material. In these situations, the microbial populations have been manipulated to ensure fermentation takes place. If the microbial populations are not manipulated correctly, putrefaction or rotting can take place.

Both aerobic and anaerobic processes have an important role to play and both contribute to the diverse microbial populations needed for a healthy and fully functioning world.

Aerobic and anaerobic processes and microbes can be good and bad. Having a diverse selection of both ensure future resilience.

Just to confuse everyone even more, not all microbes fall into the aerobic or anaerobic categories.

There are a large group of microbes that are considered facultative. These facultative microbes can switch between aerobic and anaerobic processes. This makes the facultative microbes extremely important in creating a resilient microbial population that is capable of handing even the most extreme conditions and environments.

To demonstrate the extreme and ever changing environments we need microbes to be able to endure we only need to think of the soil. During the winter, soils can be frozen solid or even waterlogged for months at a time. It’s the exact opposite in the summer when soil microbes have to deal with drought and / or rising temperatures.

In this respect, Bokashi is very much like traditional composting. There are a few guidelines you need to consider and follow but it’s not rocket science. in fact, getting Bokashi to work for you is almost always, cheaper and easier than composting.

Yes you need to consider moisture content and “browns and greens” (C:N ratio) is still a thing, but the reality is that Bokahsi, like composting, is not an exact science and you can manipulate the process to create an end product more suited to you and your requirements.

Yes!

It is true, sometimes you might need to make a small change to make Bokashi work for you but we promise that if you want to try it, you’ll be able to with minimal effort.

We have a number of people making and using Bokashi with every single person doing things slightly differently.

There is no simple one method fits all but that’s where we come in. Having made Bokashi at home, in schools, in restaurants, in the garden, on the allotment and even on farm or at commercial waste sites, there is a simple, easy and very affordable way to make Bokashi that can fit you.