As mentioned in Compost part 1, I use the Bokashi composting system. This uses a bran containing microbes to pickle food waste and speed up composting. I live in a flat, but am lucky enough to have a reasonable sized balcony so have room for both plant troughs and composting bins.

My process is as follows;

1. Cut up and store food waste

Food waste is cut up into reasonable sized chunks. This can include cooked and raw food items, egg shells, hair, coffee grounds. For example I would cut a juiced lemon into quarters, a banana skin would be cut into three or four.  This is so the break down happens evenly. I do not include meat bones, fat or liquids. The material is left in air tight containers, in the fridge, until I have a couple full.

Compost in waiting

2. Put food in Bokashi bucket

The food waste is then transferred to the Bokashi air tight bucket. For each container of food waste placed in the bucket, I press it down with a potato masher, this is important so there is not too much air between the layers, and you can fit more in. Then I sprinkle on a handful of Bokashi bran. The lid is then returned to the bucket ensuring it is air tight. Otherwise the food will rot (in a bad way) and not pickle.

A white mould may form on top of the food waste, this is normal. It should smell quite sweet and almost like a cider. Fermentation is occurring! The tap at the bottom drains off the liquid that will form. How often I need to do this depends how wet the material was and the weather. This liquid is my fertiliser, it’s super strong so needs diluting a lot.

The Bokashi Bucket – This is were the pickling happens

3. Just leave it!

Once the bucket is full. Leave it for a few weeks, or a few months, it will not go off as long as it is air tight. I find the minimum time required is 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile start filling your second bucket.

4. Transfer to compost bin

I have a large dustbin on the balcony with holes drilled in the bottom. A large saucer underneath catches the liquid that will drain out. I need to empty this around every two weeks. It’s a great drain cleaner.

Into the dustbin I put around a quarter of the contents of the Bokashi bucket, then layer shredded paper (it can’t go in paper recycling) and ripped up cardboard (toilet rolls and egg boxes). These additions helps balance the very high nitrate levels and allows air flow. I also layer in green / brown waste from the balcony garden. If I can collect leaves from a park, I add these too.

The bin will need aerating with a stick or large hook regularly. I do this at the same time as emptying the saucer. If the material becomes to compacted it will rot instead of compost.

I cover with landscape fabric to reduce flies and keep the worms happy! It’s quite normal for a compost bin to become part wormery.

The composting in action

5. The final stage

When the material has been in this bin for a couple of months I transfer it to open containers to finish breaking down. I cover with sawdust or cardboard to keep flies off and the worms happy.

The final stage of my composting

6. Ready for the plants

The resulting material is then crumbled by hand to break up any lumps. Ideally it should be sieved with a metal garden sieve. Any thing that has not composted thus far goes back into the dustbin stage to go around again.  Home composting does not get to the temperatures of council composts so things can take a bit longer to break down. I mix the crumbled material with existing soil, coconut coir, or other compost, and top up my troughs. I do not put the material undiluted around already growing plants. It can be too potent and could damage them.

My happy plants

Final thoughts

It took a while to get the process right for me and my space, but I got there in the end. Some batches still work better than others. This is down to the mix of material and the weather. However I am still learning and hearing of new things which might help make it even better. Remember it all gets there in the end, you just have to be patient.

This post has been linked to     “A Green & Rosie Life”

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