Part 2: Making a Bokashi Aerobic Digester

[@groussac]

I like the format of the camera woman asking questions during the process. You guys work well together. Subscribed.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you for watching and for joining us on our journey.

[@Thoughtspresso]

This is probably one of thee best, most comprehensive and informative videos on the second stage of bokashi. A lot of the garden youtubers really kind of just pass through it, like they tell you about the bucket, and layering it with bran, and harvesting the tea. But probably nobody explains how the soil factory part of it works--turning anaerobic compost into aerobic composting, and preparing it for their worm farms. Probably because a lot of them also just dump the bokashi in a deep dig of soil underneath the garden, right. I saw one that kind of just dumped it into a container of soil for their balcony garden and then that was it. So I really appreciate this in depth explanation. Kinda wanted to tell you because you were saying how long your video was. No, I think it was just enough for the subject matter. Thank you for this!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you @Mmina Maclang Glad the info was helpful and thanks for watching!

[@daciasdiy1861]

I dint even know there was a second stage . SMH . They always show it coming right from the kombashi into the soil or garden

[@garthwunsch]

From one senior to another… well done. I hope every person interested in the first phase of bokashi watches this important video. Too many have no idea how many serious problems they can initiate by putting an anaerobic product into their gardens. You’ve obviously educated yourself very well. I’m a student of Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web school… she would be very pleased with what you are doing to create an aerobic product… the only thing she would take you to task on is the terminology of the liquids you prepared… teas are brewed, typically for 24 hours, and designed primarily for foliage feeding… what you made she would term an extract and it is applied to soils. Teas are very sticky and if applied to the soil, can’t penetrate, as they instantly adhere to the first thing they touch, and aren’t washed down into the root zone. I’m new to bokashi, so thank you for this info. Subscribed!

[@TradingWithHunter]

what if you use a wetting agent, will the microbes still stick?

[@rickfortin5626]

Sure do love your show! You are living my dream. Thanks!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Wow, thank you so much for watching us!

[@Eco-Hustle]

We are inspired to create a Bokashi digester video because of your efforts. Sharing our notes from this video. Hope its valuable to your viewers. Setting up a Bokashi Aerobic Digester 4 things to do with finished Bokashi 1. Bury in garden 2. Add to compost pile 3. Soil factory 4. Compost tea Bokashi needs a period [2-4 weeks] of aerobic digestion. thus a soil factory. A form of passive composting. High carbon ratio bc Bokashi is mostly green materials - No turning - No additional water Soil factory needs: 1st initial stage [use what you have] diversity of biology 2/3 high carbon 1/3 Bokashi - 35 gal Tote - Air flow - Drill 3/8 air holes one inch below tote lip around the top of tote - 5 gal of Bokashi - Leaf litter - Shredded paper - Shredded cardboard - 1/3 bucket of Soil - Worm tea - L.A.B - Eggshells - Biochar [optional] 1st layer - 3” carbon mixture [with soil & liquids] Mix all materials in mix tray 2nd layer - Bokashi lasagna with carbon 50/50 [mix in tray with soil / layer of egg shell / light liquid] 3rd layer - carbon mixture [with soil & liquids] Mix all materials in mix tray

[@BareMtnFarm]

Good job. Well done!

[@danwilkinson2797]

Very well done we are emotionally detached from our waste and don’t understand the potential value that it holds.

[@carlaschmidt3610]

You guys are a great team! 😊

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you so much. Such a nice comment.and thanks for joining along with us. 😊

[@VistasdelMar2008]

Thank you for taking the time and effort to explain this very complex process. I do think, though, that having read some of the comments, that there is confusion about what you are doing - which is stage 2 digestion prior to stage 3 Worm farm. And although you correctly introduced it as Aerobic Digester, for a lot of us (I live in an apartment, and cannot have a worm farm), stage 2 Bokashi could be - a) digester, as you have explained it, b) "soil factory" (less complex) c) "pre-compost" to add directly to an existing compost system and d) direct "trench" method of burying in the garden - least complex process. I think all of these are valid stage 2 ways of dealing with the Bokashi "cake" once the minimum 2 week fermentation stage is done. i.e., a lot of your complexity is due to the fact that you specifically use this stage prior to introducing the results into the worm farm. If I am ever able to get an allotment or community garden I am eager to learn more about the possibilities of worm farms. Thanks again!

[@Khaliqsim]

your content is gold, thank you!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Glad you enjoy it! Thanks for your comment.

[@Eco-Hustle]

Your videos are very valuable. Thank you!!!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Glad you like it! Hope it is helpful. Thank you for your comment

[@karolryba121]

very,very,very ......excellent 33.37min educational film. Thank you.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@JeagerTv]

Fantastic info here! Take notes These guys REALLY know their stuff. Thank you for sharing your methods Bare MTN farm.

[@melissaschnieders7069]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for sharing this - I’m always working to improve my soil and I appreciate the videos ❤️

[@BareMtnFarm]

Happy to help!

[@alexc1105]

I've been throwing my bokashi straight into worm towers or sorts (buried containers full of holes below soil level. I chop it up a bit and throw ground some worm castings with worms and eggs in the centre, then powdered egg shell, coffee grounds and charcoal dust on the top. The worms love it... But looking at your aerobically digested bokashi I feel quite sorry for my worms now.

[@katblyth8153]

Really comprehensive and valuable information, thank you. However, I need to coreect you on one thing: you can NEVER eat too many pistachio nuts!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Kat Blyth I think I need to make biochar out of the shells!

[@jillmcaleese6514]

Very scientific and knowledgeable, thanks.

[@BareMtnFarm]

So nice of you

[@sophiematern8357]

Excellent information 🇨🇦 Good videographer 😀

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thanks! 😃 @Sophie Matern Glad it was helpful!

[@cathyjeon8956]

This is an excellent video and the only comprehensive one I have found with respect to transitioning from anaerobic to aerobic decomposition. This past year I used a soil factory to deal with my Bokashi pre compost. However, once my spent potting soil was used I found myself trying to source additional soil. I also practice no dig so hate burying the Bokashi unless it's in the potato beds after harvest. I was gifted a Jora compost tumbler so thought I would give it a go with the Bokashi pre compost as the leaves are plentiful where I am and free vs trying to source additional soil which is expensive for a soil factory. I mixed the Bokashi pre compost thoroughly with garden soil and a bucket of dried shredded leaves as well as shredded egg cartons. I aerated it well and turned it regularly. By day 2, it was steaming (measured 130degrees F by my compost thermometer) and had a terrible smell which I'm assuming is the "off gassing" you were referring to in your video. It is now day 4 and it still steaming (125F) and stinky. Please help! What am I doing wrong??? Should I not have turned it but rather just left it alone similar to your aerobic digester? Was I supposed to add egg shells to it or does that not matter? I don't brew any special compost teas or anything but sounds like that may not be essential? Would love your thoughts and any guidance!!! Thank you so much in advance!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi there. Bokashi fermented is like a green material added to a regular compost pile. Because it's mostly soft food waste that has been pickled the material usually still has a fair amount of nitrogen in it. The way to get a thermophilic compost pile to cool down is to add much more carbon. So you could add a lot more shredded cardboard or more leaves or any other material that you could use in a regular compost pile that you would consider a carbon source. We've used things like cardboard, rotted sawdust, old wood chips. These things all work pretty well to cool down your pile and simultaneously reduce the off-gassing.

[@cathyjeon8956]

@@BareMtnFarm Ah! Thank you SO SO much!!! I added tons more shredded leaves this morning and hopefully that will take care of the off gassing and terrible smells. Along the same lines, can you explain to me if these thermophilic compost bacteria that produce the heat and off gassing are the same ones in a hot compost pile? And why are they not bad in a hot compost pile? Also, should I not be turning the tumbler - does it just encourage the thermophilic bacteria - is that why you have a static pile? Finally, I'm wondering why you didn't drill holes in the bottom of your aerobic composter? Wondering if I could convert my soils factory plastic bins to something similar to what you demonstrated except my soil factory totes have holes on the bottoms for drainage...I apologize for all the questions but you are literally the first person I've found who actually understands this process (and I've extensively searched the internet as well as asked in all my composting/ gardening groups!)!!!

[@harmac521]

I learned a lot from you those biology terms thanks

[@BareMtnFarm]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching

[@rondianderson4402]

Great share!

[@NorthernThaiGardenGuy]

Excellent process. Will use this for my Bioremediation process of my green wastes.

[@Majorjabroni]

So when it’s time to do a second round of soil factorying, we can use the same bin and the soil from the previous batch? Just add in more carbon between layers of bokashi?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Yes has you add more material from bokashi had enough carbon to replace. What I tend to do is keep two bins going so when one is finished I can move the material either into the garden or throw it into a compost pile. And then refill with more carbon and bokashi. So there's always one in process finishing up and one to be loaded

[@fullmeltfiltration6902]

Very informative videos thanks a bunch!

[@Eco-Hustle]

I set up our digester! Question: Should I worry about introducing insects into our worm bins when we feed our worms with the aerated bokashi? I noticed there are lots of bugs in our digester.

[@BareMtnFarm]

I guess I'm not sure when you say bugs whether you're referring to small flying insects or something else. Usually when you see a lot of insects that are in the bokashi digester you need to add more carbon. The carbon could be in the form of shredded cardboard rotted wood chips or something of the like. If you put a bit more in you'll probably see the insect population drop dramatically. Thanks for watching!

[@Eco-Hustle]

@@BareMtnFarm our soil factory tote is outside in the elements and we are seeing flies and maggots [could have been form the leaf litter], which I know is great, but probably not so great in our worm bins. I sprinkled some DE inside but I was just wondering if you experienced the same. Thanks for your responses 🙏

[@andrejzalec4512]

Bones left over from bokashi processing. you can add to the material from which you make biochar. Mix with wood.

[@Thoughtspresso]

Interesting that fermenting and pickling are methods of both food preservation, and of food decomposition.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Mmina Maclang Great point! Makes me look at my pickles differently: is it fermented or a partially decomposed cucumber?😉

[@itsasickness4939]

I would love to see an update video. In the last couple years I’ve been transitioning to a less laborious garden. Including 24” tall raised beds, drip irrigation on timer, compost tumblers and most recently Bokashi. I also practice KNF, love the results. I have a ton of raw compost material to deal with, lots of tree trimmings, leaves, banana stalks, garden waste and I don’t throw anything organic into the landfill. I would like to continue on this path but the older I get the harder it is. I’ve been mixing my bokashi with finished compost in 30 gallon nursery pots. This looks like a way to streamline the process.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Itsasickness It sounds like you're on the same path as we are. we are looking for effective less laborious ways to work. I might suggest getting some red wigglers working on vermicomposting the bokashi. We have found that they found their way into our digesters and have aided in quickly composting the material. as long as we keep the carbon content up they seem happy

[@itsasickness4939]

@@BareMtnFarm I have a 3 bathtub worm farm so I can add worms, and lord knows I have a surplus of carbon. I’ve been using that surplus for leaf mold but that has very few nutrients so I guess I could use leaf mold rather than compost to mix with the bokashi. That would amp it up right? Also how long should I wait before adding the worms? A couple weeks?

[@BareMtnFarm]

For us the worms are always there. So what we do is give the worms a safe place to run too if things aren't in the right balance for them by only adding fresh bokashi to one side of the digester/bin while the other side has older material. Also at the time of bokashi addition we layer the fresh bokashi mixing in our mineral/biochar powders( formula for us is: 4 parts ground eggshell, 2 parts biochar, 2 parts rock dust or azomite) in each layer while also adding fresh carbon from leaves, rotting woodchips, shredded cardboard etc. This way the bokashi is broken up a bit and the coarse carbon materials help with moisture absorbance and aeration. Over the final layer of bokashi we cover it with 2" of previous compost in the bin plus more carbon. In our rotation we won't come back to adding fresh bokashi to this spot for about 4 weeks. Not sure though it might be faster in a warmer climate. We find at this point the worms have worked it over pretty well and have greatly migrated to newer material next to it. At the time of the next addition is when we remove any well composted materials from the bin to keep things balance. On removal we sift the material through a 1/4" mesh screen and throw any oversize materials plus worms back into the digester/bin. We then use the sifted materials as an addition to our potting soil mix. Sorry for being a little wordy but seemed like the right point to walk through the process.

[@itsasickness4939]

@@BareMtnFarm I appreciate all the information. Fortunately I have a chipper and leaf vac that reduces my carbon to a point that I don’t need to sift. South Louisiana heat helps break things down pretty quickly so I think I’m going to use your system but slightly modified. I put my biochar in the bottom bucket to catch all the liquid and then add that and my rock dust blend to my compost tumbler. I added a handful of red wigglers to two of the digester / soil factories I have that are 5 and 2 weeks today. Thanks again for all the help.

[@troydunn6228]

I kept waiting for you to spray LAB in there lol.

[@Eco-Hustle]

haha me too

[@BareMtnFarm]

I know, but the LAB is already in the bokashi🤪

[@alucard5822]

The best channel on YT about organic farming hands down!!! I have one question: After the 2nd stage in the digester, and so after 3 weeks, it's the final product comparable to the classic thermophilic aerobic compost? Can I use it as regular compost to make a potting mix? Thank you very much Tony 🙏

[@BareMtnFarm]

I have used the finished second stage in my garden or fed toy worm bins.

[@mileawayhoney]

in the beginning no air but in the big box air. I have a big bin but did not drill holes so will it go anaerobic and be bad for garden?

[@BareMtnFarm]

@Fitzy mon its possible the bottom layers could go anaerobic depending on how full you fill it. One thing if you feel its having a problem is you could turn the material several times but make sure the top layer doesn't have any bokashi in it when your finished.

[@mileawayhoney]

cool thanks. I make the grains from rice and milk and so far I get a fair amount of white mold in the box. Looking forward to putting this in garden this spring. your super helpful, thank you

[@mazvitawakatama7496]

What do you use to crush your eggshells

[@BareMtnFarm]

We use an old coffee grinder. Thanks for watching.

[@mazvitawakatama7496]

@@BareMtnFarm thank you will do that

[@shelliejax6527]

I don't have a worm farm so my question would be if I added the bokashi to my regular open bottomed compost bin along with my usual brown materials would it still break down well enough?

[@VistasdelMar2008]

Yes

[@BareMtnFarm]

Agreed, absolutely works by adding bokashi to regular compost bins. Think of it as a green addition.

[@shelliejax6527]

@@BareMtnFarm As an update, I did add my bokashi to my compost bin and it has broken down so well there is hardly any compost left 😂 I didn't turn it at all because I can't and I don't know if it's to do with the fermented element but it hasn't needed to be turned. It's just the best way to deal with food waste and keep it out of landfill. Plus you get a little bit of goodness for your garden!

[@karolryba121]

Excellent material to fallow 5/5. I stared my read wiggler farm this May. This is very technical instruction. Im building dr. jonson bioreactor and planning to use Bokashi in it. Where did you plasiec/metal connection for lumber to do green house?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Karol ryba Unfortunately the company that made the connectors no longer makes these. It was a great kit for a low cost structure. Best wishes on the worm farming!

[@cqammaz53]

Great video. Do you add the worms to the plastic bid or take the material out of the bin to feed your worms? I put my worms into my raised beds with a Folger coffee container so I can add the material into the containers in my raised beds.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Carolyn Qammaz PA We normally remove the material from the Digester to feed the worms but interestingly in the last 2 months we have worms that have found our Digesters and are colonizing them. So I guess that means the stuff is to good to pass on! 😀

[@Microgoon]

Hey there great content! What are some different carbons we could use? If any. Thank you!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Micro Goon we have used egg cartons, shredded cardboard boxes, brown Kraft paper, wood chips, shredded brown leaves just to name few. Hope this helps.

[@maryschroeder247]

Thank you! Could you just put the worms right in to the bin after 3 weeks?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Mary Schroeder you could put the worms into the digester after several weeks if your plan is to make it into vermicompost eventually emptying the entire bin and rebuilding it. What we are doing is allowing the biology to partially digest it, feed a portion to the worms in our worm bin and use the other part to make potting mix for transplants then we continually keep cycling bokashi ferment through the digester while adding carbon sources such as leaf mold, cardboard/egg cartons, and decomposed wood chips as carbon.

[@campdavidsonfunctionaltrai8583]

Do you turn the material during the 3 weeks in the Digester?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Camp Davidson We don't turn the material during the 3 week process we just let the biology work in there undisturbed.

[@daciasdiy1861]

Wow ! I didn’t know that ! I thought it was ready to go at that point ! Smdh . I thought i was doing this so i didn’t have to do this

[@BareMtnFarm]

The digester is for folks who don't have or want to add the bokashi directly to their garden soil. It's perfectly fine to bury fermented bokashi directly in the garden

[@maryannarellano6156]

So setting up the aerobic digester for the 1st time is like inoculating the bin? And are you rotating out the aerobic composted bokashi every two weeks? Thanks so much!!

[@BareMtnFarm]

That is correct. Depending on ambient temps in the winter or cooler months it takes 3-4 weeks versus 2 weeks in the summer

[@rosecosta374]

1papelao de ovos -1folhas secas - 3 terra rica - composto - 1 colherzinha EM em água com 3ccz worm húmus - Composteira em processo

[@jenniferfiss1728]

Do you empty the entire contents of the bin or just try to remove the bokashi layer leaving the cardboard, leaves, and chips?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Jennifer Fiss We remove about 1-2 3 gal pails of material that contains both the decomposed bokashi and decomposed bedding. When reloading a new round of bokashi we add more of the cardboard, leafs, wood chips as carbon.

[@groovin2theblues323]

Feeding worms bokashi. What’s the benefit then say feeding your worms processed food scraps? What difference to you see in the casting between regular worm castings and bokashi castings?

[@sergiovaldez9864]

X2

[@BareMtnFarm]

I haven't noticed any difference in the worm castings from the bokashi digester versus traditional food scraps. The biggest advantage of bokashi is that you can use all the food scraps meat scraps dairy scraps they're all processed basically in a form that the worms can use. So by using the bokashi process through a digester and then to the worms you can utilize all of your food scraps for warm food. In feeding scraps directly to your worms you really need to stay away from things like dairy products meat etc that will have a bad effect on the worms and your worm bin.

[@Beartriple7]

Are you getting any ants or other insects through your air holes into your digester bins?

[@BareMtnFarm]

No ants or other critters, just lots of worms. Thank you so much for your question and for watching.

[@squil35]

I did my first Bokashi bucket. Started off very well, the drainage did not smell offensively- then it changed. One day the drainage was putrid and it gradually worsened. In the dumbest move of the year, I went outside in my frozen solid backyard and dumped it my compost tumbler. Smells like a landfill, inches from my neighbor’s window. (My tumbler is not maintained or balanced at all, so it’s also frozen. I think my only option is to transfer everything to your Husky tote system- I’m hoping that it will contain the putrid smell even a little bit. Besides adding more carbon, will using tons of biochar solve this?? I read about bacteria that function well in the cold in ponds, available on Amazon... I wonder if that would help?!?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @squil35 The imbalance you are talking about is caused by not using enough LAB or bokashi bran. In addition after you load the bucket it's got to be airtight any leaks that allows air in can cause an imbalance too. At this point I would use a very strong LAB solution of 2 tablespoons per quart of water and make enough of this solution to throughly drench the materials. If you have biochar add enough to make it maybe 5-10% of the volume. I would try to get the materials on the ground if possible.Then cover the materials to protect it from freezing. For example, cover with a piece of plastic then insulate on top with whatever, mulch materials you have and make it thick enough to protect it. If the odor subsides in a few days leave it alone for 3-4 weeks for it to age, the bury in a garden bed as conditions allow or mix it into an active compost pile to finish. Hope this helps.

[@squil35]

You bet this helps! I will now stop hyperventilating, lol. Thank you ever so much.

[@brianwnc8168]

I would like to hear your argument for going with an aerobic process versus anaerobic. Everything I'm reading is that using an anaerobic process in the traditional bokashi method produces far less greenhouse gas producing CO2. Who can explain this? I'm trying to find the science on closed anaerobic composting such as bokashi versus open systems that are aerobic

[@BareMtnFarm]

The bokashi system while anaerobic is primarily lactobacillic fermentation. After the two week or so fermentation. When people open their bins they noticed that the material still has the same rough shape as when I went in. However it is now in a sense pickled. Is pretty acidic and that's what keeps the pathogenic bacteria from taking off. So the bokashi method isn't the same as anaerobic decomposition where a whole variety of different and really bacteria protozo is ETC work on the decomposition process.

[@Gepajay]

SIR DO YOU HAVE TO WATER IT ONCE IN A WHILE TO MAINTAIN SOME MOISTURE?

[@BareMtnFarm]

If it feels dry or seems like there's not enough moisture you can and extra water. So is an example if there's too much dry carbon material such that the bokashi doesn't apply enough moisture adding additional moisture to make it slightly damp is just fine.

[@gilshelley9183]

Aerobic bacteria populations can double every 20 minutes. The soil bacteria are always at saturation. You don't need any more bacteria. The bacteria needs more food.

[@brandidannielle]

What would you do with this compost if you didn't have worms? Could you just l we Ave it for longer? Should you turn it or aerate it?!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi Brandi lio We also using the sifted finished Bokashi compost as an addition to our potting mix for bumping up seedlings. In the process of sifting it is aerated then to a typical 4 gal bucket of sifted material we do add 1 cup of basic lime to pH balance it. we let this sifted material sit for 2 weeks or maore before using in the potting mix. All over size materials go back in the digester.

[@jeremiahnatte9249]

I'm sure this works well, but I have found with the Urban Worm Bag 2 I can just toss a 5 gallon bucket's worth of bokashi in there no problem.

[@Desmond000007]

Could you try to grow endophytes from Willow and Poplar branches? Probably using agar gel, ox broth and yeast extract to feed them. There a hundreds of endophytes in Willow and Poplar branches. I dont dare myself, since I have mold allergy and i THINK that some endophytes are toxic to humans.

[@BareMtnFarm]

I have heard of this technique and I think its quite doable. I remember it being discussed with Diego Footer in one of his interviews with Peter McCoy who wrote Radical Mycology. it was quite fascinating. If interested here is the link to his whole podcast on KZbin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGPFeHqYfdClfK8

[@Desmond000007]

Super interesting interview with so much knowledge

[@Desmond000007]

Do you plan to try out the technique sometime?

[@KellenChase]

How important is the egg shell for this step? Is that the main bit that’s fixing the ph issues or does the aerobic step help balance that over time too? Don’t have a large supply of eggshells just now. I’m probably going into a tumbler with primarily shredded cardboard and some weeds / soil / unfinished but highly active compost for a thermofilic process (130f to 140 average) Can you show us phase 3 for the worm feeding? I’ll go hunt for that as well on your channel. This by the way was awesome for someone who is new to bokashi and composting ... and vermiculture but is doing all three and trying to make sure I get it working well :)

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Kellen Chase The eggshell is for PH balance and to ultimately supply grit for the worms. If you had some fine limestone a hand ful of that would work too. Haven't made a video on feeding the worms this but the basics are in goes to the worms after about 2-4 weeks in the digester.

[@49testsamiam49]

great info i hate those gloves lol

[@BareMtnFarm]

They are buggers to get off if they are wet!

[@trininomad9293]

Really like their videos but there needs to be some work on organization. Where is the link to part one? You can put it in the video or in the description. Videos should be sectioned so you can jump around. The playlists are loose and messy. Shame. There is good content here

[@deborahash8812]

Disagree

[@daciasdiy1861]

I’m mad that I’m watching this and didn’t know that there is a second stage