Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Urban cohousing communities -- do you compost?

[nancybtoo (nancybtoo]

I have been intrigued by Bokashi but haven't tried it.

Bokashi is a fermentation- it's made the same way you make sauerkraut.

I was curious about the possibility of methane generation during fermentation.

Here's what I found (from 
http://www.envirolink.govt.nz/Envirolink-reports/1-NLCC1/1014-GSDC94/) :
> The issue of non-CO2 GHG production as part of the fermentation process and 
> land spreading needs to
> be carefully considered, both theoretically and empirically. The limited 
> literature indicates that
> methane is not produced in significant amounts while no information on nitrous 
> oxide has been
> found. There may be variation in GHG production, if they are produced, between 
> different production
> systems, e.g., starting material, inoculants, temperature etc.

A microbial ecologist could probably explain better than I can why bokashi 
fermentation does not produce a lot of methane. From my brief research 
temperature and the C/N ratio of the added food waste are important. To get a 
lot of methane you need a high temperature (130 degrees fahrenheit) and moderate 
C/N ratio (30/1). Bokashi fermentation takes place at room temperature with a 
feedstock C/N ratio of 10/1.

One of the intriguing aspects of bokashi fermentation is that it likes high 
nitrogen materials like meat scraps. For many people those are problematic in 
compost. And yet because of the large amount of nitrogen, meat scrapsare also 
valuable in the compost.

I will write a separate post aboiut our successful composting operation here at 
CoHo Ecovillage in Corvallis, Oregon.

Nancy


On 2/25/2013 4:58 AM, david bygott wrote:
> We have been using the "Bokashi" system for years and find it effective. All you need is a 
> few airtight buckets (you can buy online "gamma-seal" twist-off lids that are easy to open 
> and close and fit on any 5-gal bucket) and the EM (effective microorganism) culture, which also you can 
> find online. There's no smell (unless your bucket leaks!) When we fill a bucket we set it aside for 3-4 
> weeks to allow the anaerobic fermentation to progress, before digging it into the garden, so you need 
> about 4-5 buckets to keep that rotation going. The process can handle just about any food scraps, 
> including eggshells and chicken carcasses, but NOT plastics, and some items like large bones and 
> avocado skins & pits don't decompose. Here's a starter link:
> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/03/bokashi-this-is-not-your-fathers-compost/
>
> David Bygott
> Milagro Cohousing