Manage household waste sustainably, ... 
spudlydoo
14 y
1,350
http://www.avant-gardening.com/composting.html
It is amazing what household waste can be turned into fantastic compost.
Happy Composting :)
spud- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
14 y
1,302
This is a reply to # 1,696,875Spudlydoo I look forward to your reactions to your Bokashi composting system when it arrives.
Bokashi makes the usual compost procedures redundant.- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
14 y
1,147
This is a reply to # 1,696,891I'm thinking now, that I may need 2 Bokashi units, one for fermenting , one for composting.
This system will be something very new to me, as I am an avid composter of waste for my garden. I use a lot of chicken poop in my composting, as well as hay, newspaper, (most paper products that don't get recycled any other way), and most anything I can find to compost. My garden loves it, the soil which started out as beach sand, (literally, as I live 20 metres from the beach)), and is now a living, breathing, growing organism.
I'm really looking forward to exploring the Bokashi system :)
spud
- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
14 y
1,399
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This is a reply to # 1,697,006Spudlydoo yes you will need at least that many.
However they are easy to make. All mine are either twenty litre buckets or large plastic sealed pallet sized compost bins.
The theory is simple: You need a sealed container with holes in the bottom to drain the liquid away. (That liquid is a very good liquid fertiliser concentrate.) Sit the twenty litre container in a plastic dish which allows the sides of both the container and plastic dish to create an air seal. The 20L container has holes bored in the bottom so it drains. I get the buckets as local waste and buy the plastic dished at Brunnings.
So revising as instructions:
Get a 20L plastic bucket and a dish into which the 20L container fits neatly, creating a air seal between the sides of the two.
Bore ~ 10 holes 3/8 inch holes the bottom of the plastic bucket. Place plastic bucket inside plastic dish and start filling adding the bokashi "saw dust powder" as you fill it up.
Once you have the system going you can use the liquid concentrate as a pour on "powder" making the system that much easier.
Simple and fun. T2
- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
14 y
1,168
MoreThis is a reply to # 1,697,224Thank you very much for the instructions on how to make one of these units, the fancy one I've ordered, I will put in the kitchen for fermenting, but I will also make one (as per your instructions) for the garden. There are lots of things I can recycle to make the composting unit.
I love seeing my plants thriving, it always amazes me how productive a very small garden can be :)
Thanks again,
spud- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
14 y
1,247
This is a reply to # 1,697,297Hello Spudlydoo
The bran ferments can be done in any non porus container.
And productive small gardens yep agreed. One eats what one has grown smart all ways around.- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
14 y
1,196
This is a reply to # 1,697,882Trimnut2, the container needs to be air tight, is this correct. I can get some containers from my friend, (a chef), to use to make a Bokashi unit. So I'm going to give it a go.
I found some good sites on how to make these units: this site has some good technical drawings and is easy to follow.
spud
http://www.summet.com/blog/2007/04/19/homemade-bokashi-kitchen-composter/
Homemade Bokashi (Kitchen composter)
April 19th, 2007 | Projects
Laser cut 1/8 inch acrylic support trayBokashi is a Japanese name referring to intensive composting. This Bokashi bucket was made from a Target brand generic cat litter container, a $5 Coleman igloo spout, and some laser cut 1/8 inch acrylic left over from a picture frame. Similar units sell for over $60, and since we were going to buy the cat litter and acrylic anyways, building our own saved quite a bit of money that my wife promptly spent on 3 containers of special Bokashi starter mix. (I argued that we should just throw in some moldy cheese that we also had laying around.)
The acrylic support tray holds the solid compost above the level of the spout, allowing liquid by-products to collect at the bottom of the composter. The liquid can be used as a powerful plant food. I designed it to rest on the pre-existing plastic strengthening tabs in the bottom of the cat litter container, plus two acrylic supports in the middle. I have included my design here in Corel Draw and SVG files.
Of course, not everybody has easy access to a laser cutter, but you could cut out the bottom sheet using a jigsaw and drill the drain holes by hand quite easily. I have also included an 8.5 x 11 PDF with just the correct outline for the bottom that you can print, cut out, and use as a cutting guide. You'll have to make the stands yourself, the correct height is 88mm or 3.153 inches.
Installing a Coleman igloo spout is a simple matter of drilling the appropriately sized hole, pushing the spout through, and then screwing on the retaining nut and gasket.
I'll leave you with a picture of the finished product assembled:
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Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
14 y
1,309
This is a reply to # 1,697,984I've also found this video, (there are quite a few more on youtube), about Bokashi, I'm itching to get started now :)
spud
More
- Yep you are away now. trimnut2
14 y
1,262
MoreThis is a reply to # 1,697,991Spudlydoo. Yes the containers need to seal but that can be done many ways. For example with many of mine I just lay a plastic bag across the top of the ferment weigh it down so that it has few air pockets, Some I tie the edge down to improve the seal. I have many just with bags and then a layer of stones - miso like. A little oxygen is okay but a constant fresh supply get one in trouble.
- Re: Yep you are away now. spudlydoo
14 y
1,165
This is a reply to # 1,698,004Thanks Trimnut2, you have been a fantastic help with this :)
I'm also going to add the fermentation liquid to my regular compost bin, to give it a boost.
Do you put the liquid directly onto your plants? and do you need to dilute it first, like the worm casting fluid?
your help is invaluable, thanks again :)
spud- Re: Great site for all composting me... spudlydoo
14 y
1,148
This is a reply to # 1,698,013This site has some great information on all methods of composting. Its worth a good look around :)
http://www.kitchencomposterblog.com/kitchen-composter/how-to-make-bokashi
spud- Re: Great site for all composting me... trimnut2
14 y
1,227
This is a reply to # 1,698,017
Spudlydoo Here is where I started on this saga:
http://tribes.tribe.
net/effectivemicro/thread/d6b8fd03-e2c7-4650-a658-51fdf4f013ad
It has a fine way of developing your own cultures. That led me to bokashi.
Re fermentation liquid question in post before last. The fermentation "wee" is highly concentrated. Some recommend a dilution of 1000 to 1. When I use it as part of my liquid feed program I dilute at about 200 to 1.
Trial it and find out what works for you. As I assume you are growing in sands so reducing the concentrations and increasing the frequency would make sense. My soils are much heavier with high natural OM levels.
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- Re: Great site for all composting me... spudlydoo
14 y
1,126
This is a reply to # 1,698,111Thank you, that makes a lot of sense, and yes, I live right on the beach so the "soil" is basically beach sand. I have done a great deal of work, (with help from the chickens), to build the soil up so that it is now very fertile, and full of organic matter.
The good thing about living here is that there is an abundance of seaweed. I'm actually going to experiment with fermenting the seaweed in the Bokashi unit. I add it to my compost now, and as long as I wash most of the salt off, it is very good for the garden.
I will probably start with very dilute solutions, and do a bit of experimenting, (I will keep notes, that is the scientist in me coming out), and post my results.
I would be really interested to hear from others, what they use in their gardens, successes and failures :)
spud- Collecting and fermenting seaweed lo... trimnut2 14 y 1,322
- Re: Great site for all composting me... spudlydoo
14 y
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- Re: Great site for all composting me... trimnut2
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- Re: Great site for all composting me... spudlydoo
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- Re: Yep you are away now. spudlydoo
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- Yep you are away now. trimnut2
14 y
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... spudlydoo
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- Re: Manage household waste sustainab... trimnut2
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