How to Make Bokashi
To make your own you need these ingredients.
- EM, effective microorganisms - some people try to save money by
using their own microbe concoction. This does work to some extent but
from what I see it looks like they get going with just the lactic acid
bacteria. Yeasts may or may not be present and I pretty sure the
photosynthetic bacteria are missing altogether. For me I recommend
buying your microbes to ensure you get the three types of microbes
including several strains of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and
photosynthetic bacteria.
- Molasses - you can use either the type you'd find at the grocery store or the feed store.
- Water with no chlorine residues. You can use tap water as long
as you leave it sitting out for at least 24 hours before using it.
- Wheat or Rice bran
- Mixing tub or tarp depending on how much you're going to make
- Airtight container to hold your bran while it ferments.
- Time
Recipe for 10 Pounds of Bokashi
- 4T - 60 ml EM-1 or equivalent microbes
- 4T - 60 ml Molasses
- 10 cups - 2.5 liters water - no chlorine residues
- 10 lbs - 4.5 kg bran
Dissolve the molasses in the water. Add the EM microbes. Put the bran in
a container big enough to hold it. Add the liquid and stir it up well
with your hands. The mixture should be damp enough to hold together when
you squeeze it into a ball but not so wet liquid is dripping from it.
Adjust the moisture by adding either a bit more liquid or more bran.
Put the damp bran into an airtight container.A dark garbage
bag in fine. Squeeze out all the air and fasten the top securely. Let it
sit in a warm place out of the way for a minimum of two weeks. It's
okay to leave it longer.
There may be some white mold on the fermented bran at the end of
the two weeks. This is good. If however the mold is black or green it
means either some air got in or the material was too wet.
For storing long term dry the bran well. Ten pounds of bokashi
would last the average family 6-10 months. Properly dried it can be
stored for several years. Store in an airtight container out of direct
light.
You might decide to get together with friends and make a big
batch at once. Here are the amounts you need to make 50 pounds of the
bran. For a family this would be enough for several years.
