bokashi

[woodchuck]

Oct 21, 2009 14:27:26 GMT -5 davidintx said:

Woodchuck, one other question. Are the grass clippings put in fresh, or do you let them dry out a day or two after cutting?

It's best if the clippings are a bit dry.
I accomplish that by letting the lawn get taller than normal, mowing clippings on to the lawn at a height that's a bit higher than normal. I mow and bag the clippings at the regular height the following week so there's a mixture of both dry and fresh clippings.

Oct 21, 2009 14:27:26 GMT -5 davidintx said:

Also, I am assuming that you pack the clippings tight just like you do the bucket inside the house. The drum would require quite a bit of shredded newspaper wouldn't it?

Yes, the clippings must be packed tightly.
It actually doesn't take must bokashi confetti, it's just insurance.
The clippings will naturally ensile when packed tightly and air is excluded.

<Woodchuck>

[ceeray]

I may be saying the same as what is stated above, in my experience it's possible to bokashi kitchen scraps and what-have-you by layering it with reasonably fresh grass clippings and/or mustard/brassica clippings in roughly equal proportions, with the putrefactive kitchen material liberally smothered by grass and brassica leaves that are covered in beneficial lactobacilli, actynimycetes and yeasts. I used fresh clippings from the mower or from a fresh grass pile, but the key I believe is that these clippings should be from healthy plants. The grass in the bokashi from these experiments had this rich, vibrant, deep green colouration when it was opened up some months later. I spread maybe 20 gallons in a relatively infertile 20 x 3 foot bed in the fall and planted some spuds a few inches deep the next spring and harvested roughly 50 lbs of nice spuds with no hilling, which I thought was pretty decent.

For folks that are into indigenous microbes, I found that it's possible to culture various things like seeds and herbs I buy from the store that could come from anywhere in the world by simply filling a glass jar 1/2 full and then filling to 3/4 full with pure water and putting the lid on loosely, or tightly but opening twice a day to release gas. The jar should be in a warm spot like 90-100F and after usually 3 or 4 days the pH should be below 4. I had access to a microscope and saw some pretty interesting things depending on the sample. Sometimes they would go bad but I figure those were just bad samples grown in an unhealthy environment. Ideally I would think it would be best to culture the best microbes from within the bioregion, from organic farms that are growing similar things to what I would be. I've read that indigenous microbes are particularly useful in dry low humus areas, where we want to build humus with plants like grasses.

[lavandulagirl]

Ceeray - where are you geographically?

I was wondering, in your microbe experiments, you say you used seeds and herbs from the grocer... are these for sure local to you? Also, do you find that this is a economically sound way to achieve microbial growth, or might there be less expensive media, say, weedy growth, or non-edibles like certain indigineous flowers? What about fungal growth, like non-edible mushrooms? I get tons of those this time of year, when the weather pattern brings some moisture.