Hey remember how excited I was about this kitchen composter? It was a disaster. Disaster! We bought some bokashi at the ACE in East Atlanta, shook it on in between layers of food scraps and coffee grounds and the composter betrayed us! I can’t even describe the smell that came out of this thing when we opened it. What went wrong?? I’d be willing to give it another chance, but I need some encouragement. I can’t risk almost barfing on the kitchen floor again. For now, we’re back to collecting scraps in a bowl and dumping them in the bin out back.
Booooo!
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Bummer! I’m always afraid something like that will happen so I won’t even attempt a compost pile even though I really want to.
Our outdoor compost heap is doing just fine…this bin is an indoor sealed one. We have some ideas about what went wrong and want to try again. If you have a yard, it’s totally easy!
Hi Becky,
There are a number of factors that can cause a bad batch of bokashi.
Share your thoughts about what you think went wrong and I’ll try to provide some feedback/advice.
Cheers,
Al
We purchased the bokashi at ACE in town, though my hubby has doubts that it’s “real” bokashi? We were really hoping to find a local supplies. I also wonder if neglecting to drain the “tea” from that bin caused the problem…maybe it was too wet? I’d love to figure it out, since the bin wasn’t cheap!
Hi,
Hmmm, hubby could be right. Did you get a bag of bokashi when you ordered your kit from SCD? Did that work okay?
As the bucket fills it should smell sweet, fermented not putrid.
If there was mold in the bucket, it should be white. Blue/black/green mold means that the bokashi microorganisms are not doing their job, probably dead or non-existent.
There’s a mix of opinions regarding the tea and whether it has to be drained regularly or not.
Al
P.S. What is ACE?:-)
We didn’t….the store had something that sounded right – effective microbes in a shakey bottle. I have it at home, but I can check on what exactly it was tointe!
It smelled…like something I can’t even describe. Horrible! :(
The mold was white, at least!
ACE is a local hardware store :)
PS – Thank you so much for all of your feedback! I’m really bummed it didn’t work out but totally ready to try it again armed with the right tools!
I can help you get the right tools. Send me an email for more deets….
Al
EM from a hardware store? Like Al, I’d love more details (he’s the expert, I’m just fascinated). But that’s the first place I’d have looked for the cause of failure; I’ve seen microbial solutions for sale at janitorial supply centers–drain cleaners, septic treatments, even something billed as an odor-eater–but they’re NOT the same thing as EM-1, which is what you want for bokashi.
Hope you don’t give up on it; when it works, it works well.
DSF
Sure! This is the stuff I used:
http://www.dirtworks.net/Compost-Maker-Table.html
From what Al was saying, it probably was a big part of the problem. :( I’m going to order some bokashi from the site where I got the composter and give it another shot!
Well, the great Al’s always right, so it’s no surprise he’s so very correct this time. But I can see why you thought it might work—what with retailers calling bokashi “compost” (which it isn’t, technically), and the Bonide label bragging about its great quantities of bacteria… I’m sure you’re not the only person to have tried this or some other compost activator in a bucket and been appalled/disgusted/whatever by the result. Ouch!
If you’re using the EM bokashi bran, it’s pretty hard to make a bucket fail. (Though it can be done if you try. -G-) There’s one bit of advice they don’t give with the basic instructions, but should: add standard compostable items for a day or two before adding any significant meats, dairy, or oils. EM bokashi can handle that sort of waste, but fat and proteins slow the ferment, so unless you’ve got it going _first_, you might get odors.
Happy bucketing!
Oooh thanks for the advice!
Hi D.S.,
Uh, thanks for the endorsement. It’s very humbling to know I have a fan.:-) Email me so we can talk more about the fun of bokashi composting.
Al