Bokashi Composting with Ecobin

DAY #1 : 

Dec 5th 2014 - "World Soil Day" and my love towards the nature all these years, brought me closer to a smarter way of composting - the Bokashi way - via ECOBIN!

Vijay Satish has been a pioneer in Organic Gardening since many years, had started off a venture on spreading the awareness of composting and getting any 'layman', an easier/ non-fussy way of composting. Thanks to this product, the difference of using its byproduct on my plants is just so visible. No wonder the plants at his home kitchen garden have been thriving since years and we all wondered the secret behind it. ;-) 

Since I have been benefited by it personally, I thought of blogging about it to encourage my fellow gardeners to go for Bokashi Composting.  I have been composting at home from past one year;  HERE is my story of why I began composting. and HERE I have written down some tips and tricks of  composting per my reads on the internet and experience.

I have been pretty much comfortable with Aerobic Composting (a process that needs oxygen to breakdown) and VermiComposting. But the only hitch going this way is that it is time consuming. I explain the details of this later here. So, this time, I was all excited to try my hands at Anaerobic Composting (a process that does NOT need oxygen to break down) - which was "claimed" to be faster - called the "Bokashi Composting".

"Bokashi" is a Japanese word that means “fermented organic matter.” The process includes using "Bokashi Bran" made from bran, rice, wheat mill run (WMR, a waste product from flour milling), used mushroom growth medium, dried leaves, even sawdust, etc.

Okay, so I could not wait and started off on the very first day - Day#1 (ah, could you think of any better way to celebrate "World Soil Day" to heal the soil? :) ) 

Before I begin to write my experience I would like to connect ECOBIN with 3 words - 

• SIMPLE
• QUICKER
• EFFICIENT

Is that not a perfect requirement of any Urban Gardener? 

Installation was easy! 

The kit includes : 

1. Two "Food grade" plastic bins
2. Bokashi bran packets called the 'Magic Microbes'
3. A plastic basket (filter at the bottom)
4. Two Taps (to drain the leachate out)  ...... and the best part :
5. Gloves - this is THE MOST comfortable gloves I have worked with till now; it just slides in and out and feels like our own skin.

Fitting the taps into the bins was any kid's job. I am sure you can follow my pictures the moment you look at it.

Replace your dustbins in the kitchen with ECOBINS! 

After the initial setup, I started using bins as a replacement to dustbin, by filling all my kitchen waste. When I closed the kitchen for the day (off to sleep), I sprinkled ONE tablespoon of the Magic Microbes bran, covered it with a newspaper and pressed the pile for air bubbles to pass through (as this is anaerobic process, it should not contain air gaps in between) and close the lid tightly. 

I did this until Day #5 and I was curious to drain out the leachate. I got about 1.5 liters of nutrient rich leachate (quantity depends on what goes into the bin; if watermelon peels/papaya peels, the quantity of the leachate would be more), that was filled with beneficial microbes. I tried out the leachate on my plants (diluting it with water 1:50 times) and within a day or two, I could easily see the quantity of flowers suddenly increasing in my garden (kitchen and ornamental). 

After about 1.5 weeks the Bin#1 filled up completely and I kept it aside and continued with Bin#2 and frequently used up the leachate on my plants; they were thriving and happier!

When both the bins filled up (3 - 3.5 weeks), it was time for Bin#1 to be be emptied. 

Before that, I again drained all the leachate out.  

After which I had an option to do either of two things :

1. Either use the contents of the bin directly as potting mixture (put it at the base of the pot/container) while setting up new pots.

2. Or proceed to PHASE #2 of bokashi composting - "Layering". The terms may sound very sophisticated, but it just means topping the "existing compost:bin contents:existing compost:bin contents......." on each other. 

You could use a cane basket for this; I used my existing daily dump khambas. (something earthy that can breathe)  If you want to use plastic blue bins, probably makes holes in it and cover the top with a cotton cloth. Refer user guide for more info on it. 

3. Stirring  the compost pile was now eradicated, which was such a relief. We all look for easier way out right? Probably due to lack of time or just being lazy :) 

DAY #38

I was curious to see what's happening with the pile and saw it almost half done.  There was no odor absolutely, however I saw the bigger chunks of veggie waste still visible. 

DAY #50

I go to my composting khamba's just to check the status of the compost. I open the lid and I cannot explain the earthy aroma I got by just opening the lid! (I did not even turn the pile to get the aroma) I took the rake with a BIG smile on my face to check the pile and I found 90% of it was done (except some bigger chunks of food waste, which may take 1-2 weeks more) But my compost was almost ready in just 50 days - which was a record for me all this time! 

See my VIDEO on this experience.

A very prominent change due to the leachate 

I have to mention this here! A 4 year old lemon plant of our tenant's that was not showing any signs of flowering, started flowering just a week after having a dose of this Leachate. This was an under-nourished plant, infested with insects (I removed the infested leaves and branches later on) was kept for me by my tenants to take care of, while they left for their own new home. 

The sudden change from no where to get so many flowers, made me jump out of joy!   :-D 

Pros and Cons of going the Bokashi Bin way

PRO's :

1. Less Effort; Less Time Consuming 

• You replace the wet waste dustbins with Ecobins.
• Turning the pile is now not required - just dump it all and forget it about it for 2-3 weeks. 

2. Quicker Composting Process : We are six of us at home and hence the consumption/wastage is more than a regular nuclear family. When I began composting, my khambas filled up so quickly that I purchased more and more of it.  There was absolutely no problem with Khambas as a product, however the normal time for any Aerobic Composting is minimum 3-4 months. Bokashi composting being Anaerobic, was just so quicker for my convinience. I did not have to struggle to make space for my kitchen wet waste now.

3. The ECOBIN kit includes a pair of Gloves, that is so comfortable and slides smoothly up and down the skin. I cannot feel that I am wearing any gloves, that makes me easier to work with it.

4. No mess of leaking leachate in STAGE2 : Since the leachate is drained out by taps before layering, I did not bother to turn the layered pile at all (as  in aerobic composting) The moisture was just right there - not soggy, not dry.

CON's :

1. My only issue was during Stage-2 that I had to lift and carry the bins to the khamba. People with backache could find this step difficult in Bokashi Composting. However, for Bin#2, I took help of my family members for lifting it. 

While writing this blog, I got an idea for the next time, to use the Gas Cylinder Trolley to move the bins around! (Ah, I think I should blog often to get great ideas? ;-) )

Overall Experience 

Overall, looking at all the pros, this particular "con" does not really stand out and could be tackled out somehow. 

I am yet to use the actual compost though, which I cannot wait for! Probably a week more or so, I will keep you updated about it.

Overall, I am a "satisfied customer" of ECOBIN - thanks to the makers of it, to make composting such a hassle free experience!

People I would recommend it to: 

All!   

Yes, even a beginner who doesn't even know ABC's of composting - you can feel confident to use it. :) 

Each one is responsible to manage their own waste at home by segregating wet waste and dry waste and also follow 4 R's - Refuse, Re-use, Recycle, Reduce) 

With Ecobin, taking care of wet waste just got easier! There are several ways of composting and Aerobic and Vermicomposting is great as well.  But Anaerobic is just faster, easier and manageable by anyone!