Bokashi composting questions

Bokashi composting is an anaerobic process that converts food wastes into an amazing soil amendment.
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rosbeal
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This is for Andrew, We have been using the bokashi system for a number of years but we have a few questions:
1) we always found it produced quite a smell. Is this because we didn't drain off the leachet??
2) when we dumped the bokashi into our greenhouse garden beds it included the leachet, would this have a negative impact on the seedlings we later planted here?
3) When we've filled a number of 5 gallon buckets, we dump these into a 25 gallon sealed garbage bin. There the bokashi would sit ripening without any drainage. Is this similar to the larger blue drum you displayed in your video? How long can the bokashi sit in such a drum?
4) when you bury the bokashi in the garden beds, are you disturbing the soil eco-system?
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Andrew
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1) yes, the leachate produces quite a smell
2) you should remove the leachate before applying to the garden. Dilute the leachate down until it does not smell and then use it to water your plants. It can also be added to a compost tea in the same manner, dilute until no smell. I would recommend ensuring it very, very dilute before applying to young plants.
3) We drain our 5 gallon buckets before dumping into a larger drum.
4) We apply minimal disturbance. Dig a shallow trench and then distribute the bokashi covering with a few cm of the removed soil. If animals go in, bury deeper and bear in mind a very hungry animal will resort to digging even unpalatable things up.

Apologies for the late response!
rosbeal wrote: Wed 02-Feb-2022, 18:13 This is for Andrew, We have been using the bokashi system for a number of years but we have a few questions:
1) we always found it produced quite a smell. Is this because we didn't drain off the leachet??
2) when we dumped the bokashi into our greenhouse garden beds it included the leachet, would this have a negative impact on the seedlings we later planted here?
3) When we've filled a number of 5 gallon buckets, we dump these into a 25 gallon sealed garbage bin. There the bokashi would sit ripening without any drainage. Is this similar to the larger blue drum you displayed in your video? How long can the bokashi sit in such a drum?
4) when you bury the bokashi in the garden beds, are you disturbing the soil eco-system?
Matt
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Hi Andrew,

Our Bokashi is going pretty great at the school, we have only used vegetables and fruit cut offs so far, and it has produced a LOT of leachate -- I have diluted it down and used it on some of our perennial herbs, and we are hopeful it produces amazing herbs for us!

My quick question is about the bucket of diluted leachate - I had about 2 ltrs of leachate, and I diluted it down with 5 or 6 gallons of water. Can that bucket just sit at room temperature for a long time and still be fine? Or does the leachate "spoil" at room temperature? It started foaming on the top, so much that it reminded me of like a homebrew beer, and it made me wonder if it spoils and I should use it right away or what.

Thanks!!

Matt
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Andrew
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Biologically, time will change the population of what is living in the leachate. The longer is sits the more dormancy/death it goes through. I wouldn't worry about storing it -- we still find it effective even when it has sat for months, has been frozen or has gotten too hot. For best results, use fresh, but don't be worried if you can't use it right away.
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