Bokashi? Myth or fact?

So I was convinced bokashi was the way to go for another source of nutrients for my plants. But after a read of this:

http://www.gardenmyths.com/bokashi-composting-myths/

I'm now not so sure

What do you guys think? Those that have tried or used it or those that haven't.

I tried it for a while but completely abandoned it. It is much easier for me to just dump my kitchen scraps in my worm bin and let them do all the work, versus keeping a 5 gallon bucket full of scraps in my kitchen and then havingto bury it and wait 2 weeks till it is composted. The worm bin processes food in about the same amount of time and all the goodness is easy to retrieve when I need some castings. Also, I'm not stuck having to keep purchasing or making bokashi grains every month or so.

I choose the path of least resistance when it comes to gardening...worm bins are just easier for me and the end result is as good or better as bokashi.

I'm highly skeptical of the whole adding grokashi/bokashi to the top of your soil to see white fuzzy mycelium appear. The same effect can be achieved using plain oatmeal or a number of other grains and i'm not sure if using bokashi in soil mixes increases the breakdown time of other soil amendments as the bokashi process thives in an anaerobic environment.

I'm using it. Have been for the entire grow. And up until my recent pH issues. My plant was looking healthy.

I'd tried using a worm bin last year. Summer heat killed two lots of refills. Despite being put in the coolest spot I could find out of the sun.

That's kind of why I went and bought a bokashi bin to begin with. Got tired of buying worms.

I've done a similar thing for a long time, sans "effective microbes". I throw my food scraps in a 5 gallon bucket with some already seriously bioactive compost, mix it all up, and let it sit for a couple weeks as I add more on top. It accomplishes exactly what bokashi does, it ferments the organic matter and starts breaking some of it down. Then I throw it in my compost bin. I've found this stuff gets broken down a lot faster if you pre-compost it, such that I've got a much better ratio of finished castings and compost in my worm box whenever I go out there to collect, makes it easier to get a good amount of compost.

shadow_moose said:

I've done a similar thing for a long time, sans "effective microbes". I throw my food scraps in a 5 gallon bucket with some already seriously bioactive compost, mix it all up, and let it sit for a couple weeks as I add more on top. It accomplishes exactly what bokashi does, it ferments the organic matter and starts breaking some of it down. Then I throw it in my compost bin. I've found this stuff gets broken down a lot faster if you pre-compost it, such that I've got a much better ratio of finished castings and compost in my worm box whenever I go out there to collect, makes it easier to get a good amount of compost.

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I've been doing the same as you and I would agree it seems to accomplish a similar effect as bokoshi and makes the scraps disappear that much faster once they're added to the bin.

JDMase said:

So I was convinced bokashi was the way to go for another source of nutrients for my plants.

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Are you under the assumption that bokashi is a source of nutrients or were you planning on using it as a compost accelerator?
I think some people think of bokashi as a soil amendment, when its original intent was a "pre-compost."

waterproof808 said:

Are you under the assumption that bokashi is a source of nutrients or were you planning on using it as a compost accelerator?
I think some people think of bokashi as a soil amendment, when its original intent was a "pre-compost."

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I was under the impression it was used as a nutrient feed from the fermented liquid, and as a soil additive to begin with, reading some posts though it does seem to be a misconstrued point.
I was kind of intending to make my own "super soil" and use bokashi as an ingredient in it.
In fact I intend my super soil to be a mixture of native soil in my allotment and leaf mould due to a ted talk I saw about leaves being the only source of nutrient a plant could need.
I have looked into the benefits of comfrey and would like to implement that into my site.
All this along with hugelkultur albeit a small test grow as logs arent easy to get around here.
Let me know your thoughts. I'm new to organics but want to learn as much as possible for the spring

i have used it since 2011. i make the bokashi in buckets, ferment them with kitchen scraps. compost the kitchen scraps, mix in the soil. mix bokashi in the soil. feed my worms with fermented scraps. i make layered aerobic compost as such ; carbon/carbon/nitrogen layers and repeat until one meter high and one meter wide. in between EVERY layer of carbon or nitrogen i add a half gallon minimum of bokashi. but again, i make the bokashi too.turn it once a week and use after 3 weeks. maintain moisture content etc. i also use it in rapid leaf composting cram-stuffed in a storage tub and turned weekly.

JDMase said:

So I was convinced bokashi was the way to go for another source of nutrients for my plants. But after a read of this:

http://www.gardenmyths.com/bokashi-composting-myths/

I'm now not so sure

What do you guys think? Those that have tried or used it or those that haven't.

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I have read many of his MYTH BUSTERS and I have concluded he just wants to be argumentative. He makes many assumptions in his analysis.

I have used bokashi in my soil bins when I refresh the soil. Along with Dr. Earth nutrients, worm castings and Lobster meal. Nothing is magic - but I find it helps composting materials.

In no till kashi is good for ramping up soil biology to break down topdressings. Kashi can do this very fast. Allowing more nutrient availability for your plants especially in smaller containers where you may have over grown your plant. Kashi is also used in Earthboxes. These become 10 gallons of compost and amendments that need an accelerator.

I wouldnt use kashi for just composting unless i lived in an apartment in a city. A little one gallon bucket can be dumped into a 10 gallon soil pot and break down the compost that away. If you have a 2 plant grow in your apartment, then a 1 gallon kashi bucket can do wonders. put a layer of soil in the bottom of your pot, ad the half pot of kashi, then cover with soil wait 2 weeks and plant in it. do it for both containers. DONT use fabric. By the time the plant roots reach the kashi it will be broken down. Proly would only need to water.

And obiously im stoned and didnt realize we just necro'd some 4 year old thread...

m4s73r said:

In no till kashi is good for ramping up soil biology to break down topdressings. Kashi can do this very fast. Allowing more nutrient availability for your plants especially in smaller containers where you may have over grown your plant. Kashi is also used in Earthboxes. These become 10 gallons of compost and amendments that need an accelerator.

I wouldnt use kashi for just composting unless i lived in an apartment in a city. A little one gallon bucket can be dumped into a 10 gallon soil pot and break down the compost that away. If you have a 2 plant grow in your apartment, then a 1 gallon kashi bucket can do wonders. put a layer of soil in the bottom of your pot, ad the half pot of kashi, then cover with soil wait 2 weeks and plant in it. do it for both containers. DONT use fabric. By the time the plant roots reach the kashi it will be broken down. Proly would only need to water.

And obiously im stoned and didnt realize we just necro'd some 4 year old thread...

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I still find your response to be contextual and informative. I'm always gathering "tools" and their best applications!

If you have access to bulk wheat bran you can inoculate a 50 lb bag and make your own bokashi for less than $1 a pound. That's inexpensive compared to the $10 a pound or more much of it is being sold for online.

I've done bokashi before. I didn't find the extra effort provided any extra benefit and was more of a hassle than anything. But I have a backyard and vermicomposting pile and a worm bin.

My understanding is that Bokashi is not a source of nutrients,.but source of Microbiology. Thus, if not properly done, or done from a pour source of microbes it wont be effective.

Luckyluciano744 said:

My understanding is that Bokashi is not a source of nutrients,.but source of Microbiology. Thus, if not properly done, or done from a pour source of microbes it wont be effective.

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Bokashi is just rice bran that has been soaked with lactobacillus. You could save time and money by just making LAB serum and watering it into your soil.

Kashi is good stuff. I use this.

PadawanWarrior said:

Kashi is good stuff. I use this.

Gro Kashi - Probiotic Amendment

POGro Kashi FREE SHIPPING on select Gro Kashi! If you want to add Effective Microorganisms to your soil you could purchase cheap bokashi bran from overseas or you could get an Artisan Crafted United States Made Product with Lot's of extras that put this product on the top shelf and a tremendous...

buildasoil.com

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Artisan crafted

PadawanWarrior said:

Kashi is good stuff. I use this.

Gro Kashi - Probiotic Amendment

POGro Kashi FREE SHIPPING on select Gro Kashi! If you want to add Effective Microorganisms to your soil you could purchase cheap bokashi bran from overseas or you could get an Artisan Crafted United States Made Product with Lot's of extras that put this product on the top shelf and a tremendous...

buildasoil.com

Click to expand...

did they stop producing it?