While it is okay to add one or two moldy slices of bread into a bokashi bucket, too much of it can spoil your batch. Never add liquids like milk or juice because the excess liquid can cause an unpleasant anaerobic smell & make it go bad. Some other no-nos for bokashi composting are:
- Soda cans
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic
- Glass
- Styrofoam
As most paper products contain hard crunchy cellulose, it can take a bit of time for the bacteria to digest. Be mindful with some paper cups because the inside lining of some may actually contain plastic. Cardboard boxes, brown packaging paper or newspapers that are non-glossy or uncoated with a thin plastic film should be fine.
What Foodstuff Is Okay to Put in Bokashi
Unlike thermal composting or worm composting, you can put in pretty much any organic materials in a bokashi bucket. As an analogy, think of it like a human stomach in one way or another.
All food waste that people don't usually recommend putting in a worm bin can be thrown in safely in bokashi. And of course, without any disgusting smell.
Materials like these are all fine:
- Meat/fish/seafood
- Cooked/uncooked foods
- Diary/cheese
- Fruits/veggies
- Bones/egg shells
- Onions
- Citrus
It's okay to throw in some cheese burger or left-over pizza pieces. But again, don't add in too much liquid milk or expired milk because of its runny texture. For bones, it's a good idea to smash them up before putting in. This helps speed up the re-action.
For the fruits that may hold quite a bit of water, air dry them for some time before throwing in. Or add in some more browns. This keeps your bokashi batch's moisture within a good, balanced level. Going a bit dry is actually safer than making it too wet, which can cause a foul smell.
From our personal experience, our first batch turned out to be quite watery because of the high fruits and veggies content.
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But from this we learned something about moisture.
Let's Go Bokashi-ing
As you can see, bokashi-ing is very simple & easy. Everyone in the house can jump in on the fun. Just remember some no-nos & you're good to go. No soda cans, no OJ, no plastic cups, no tin foil. And you're basically set for success. Hope this brief post has given you some ideas to get started & enjoy the results!
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