Bokashi bins??

Hello all

We're thinking of getting a couple of Bokashi bins to reduce our kitchen waste (our bin collections are only forthnightly and my god does the bin stink!! :eek and to improve our compost.

Do any of you have one of these? Are they any good? Can they be kept outside or in a garage/shed? We have no room in our kitchen so cannot keep it there.

Any advice greatly received!!
Thanks all

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is a "Bokashi Bin":D

 

its a miracle bin! :D

well its like a small compost bin but u can put EVERYTHING in it from bones to cooked veg and even cheese and then u add a sprinking of bokashi bran, seal it and within a few days/weeks its all musch and liquid!

better explained here tho near bottom of page... http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/composting/additional_bins.html

 

Yeah, not something I will be dashing out to buy, I dont think. Thanks.

 

doesnt anyone else have an opinion on these bins? anyone actually have them at home? are they any good?
thx!

 

We had them, but I warn you now they stink to high hevean when you lift the lid.

We wanted to be able to compost meat and all the other things you can't put directly on the compost heap but in the end we gave them up as none of us could cope with the smell when it needed emptying. (it smells like old sick!):(

 

I am with you on this one Pete.

 

I am on my 3rd bokashi filling, I am extremley pleased with mine. I think they should only smell vile, if insufficient bran has been used. Mine always smell very reasonable, but I dont eat meat, so maybe as no meat products go in that might help. But saying that I dont hear from other people that their buckets stink.. I am still using a general bucket in the kitchen, so when thats full I then add it to the bokashi bin which is stored in my adjoining garage.

It seems to break down much quicker than normal kitchen waste in a compost bin.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Bokashi bin did not smell at all while keeping it in the kitchen, although I probably did use too much of the bran.
I wasn't brave enough to use the liquid fertiliser that it produces on my plants, but I did put it down my drains ( apparently it should keep them clear).
I couldn't decide where to bury the "pickled" waste in the garden, so I will probably add it to the compost bin.

 

Well I wish I knew what we were doing wrong with ours. We got through mountains of bran using more and more to stop the smell, it did improve with more bran but it still stunk, especially after leaving it to sit before burying it.

I might have perservered with it a bit longer but I couldn't cope with the moans from the rest of the family everytime they had to lift the lid off!

 

Did you press everything down with the plunger thingy?
It is an anaerobic process.
I think that some people cover the waste inside with a plastic bag to exclude even more air.

 

Didn't have a plunger thingy with mine, but yes did try our best to push it down but perhaps it wasn't enough!

I must admit the lids where a bit rubbish, they would pop back off in one corner maybe that was it?

 

Yeah, my lid popped off at one corner too.

This is the kind of plunger that came with mine.

It did start to smell at one point when I hadn't poured off the liquid.
Also, I read that you shouldn't use rotten or mouldy food.
I found this site quite helpful
http://www.bokashi.com.au
There are quite a few youtube videos on the subject too - one showing how to make your own bran. (Search on www.youtube.com for bokashi)
As I already mentioned I've still to introduce it to the garden.
But I've been impressed so far.
HTH