Frozen Bokashi

[BarleySugar]

I just went to empty the fermented bokashi bin as we had filled up the other one. Over Christmas it was stood in the garage and I didn't think to move it. I tipped it onto the compost heap, and a frozen lump slid out The old compost that I use to cover it up was also frozen solid, as was the water butt so I couldn't wash it out in the garden. I used plenty of Frebreeze inside, but I bet OH will complain of the smell. Hopefully it will break down OK once everything thaws out!

Interestingly, our Japanese student is very familiar with the bokashi. Although she lives in a Tokyo apratment, they bokashi all their food waste, and it is collected as part of the waste collection weekly. They also have recycling of other waste, as well as the general collection.

[JimmerG]

Hi Barley Sugar,

I'm terribly excited about this Bokashi idea, I got a couple of bins for Christmas, and last night I drew off my first jam jar of 'liquid feed' so its working! I simply can't believe how quickly the buckets fill up - just goes to show how much food we throw away...

I've one question relating to your freezing episode - do these bins need to be at a certain temperature to work properly? I've currently designated a corner of the kitchen - but would they be OK outside during the winter? Would they just take a bit longer to ferment?

[Flytrap]

I don't know the definitive answer but...
As it is a bacterial/fungal process it seems to me that they will not work below a certain temperature. All bacteria/fungi have a temp range in which they grow and 'do their thing'. Don't know what that temp range is for the EM bacteria in the bokashi bran but I doubt it is anywhere near freezing level.
I would have thought that outside was OK in the Summer but doubt the process works very efficiently in Winter and would take a lot longer. On the other hand the cold temps will mean that other bacteria/fungi also don't grow so the food probably won't rot either.
If you fill up your bokashi bins quickly then you need the process to work as fast as possible so you can efficiently rotate your 2 bins, therefore they need to be in a reletively warm place.

[tattiefritter]

The process definitely slows in the winter, I leave my bins outside all the time (though am thinking I may move the next full one into the shed). The upside of the slower process is the smell doesn't seem to be as strong in the winter. There are only two of us in the house and it takes us a while to fill a bin so some of the waste is in there for a while but its isn't as important for us to move through the process quickly.

I completely forgot about my bins for a few months (hidden behind other bins and then putting off emptying them) and just cleaned them out at the weekend - a really unpleasant job! I salvaged some to put on the compost bin but I hadn't realised that the lid wasn't on one of the bins properly and it was full of water and stinking sludge, yuck. I scrubbed them out but there was still a bit of a resident smell for a while so I won't be bringing them into the house to live any time soon.

The lid of one of my bins is a pain to get on to a tight seal but I'll be checking it all the time now as the result of letting the air in was stomach churning.

[BarleySugar]

Mine was only put outside because of Christmas, I usually have space under the kitchen table for both. I find the smell pretty yucky anyway, vomit is how I've describe it, but I get the white mold, so I think it is all going OK. The plastic does seem to hold the smell, but with the lid on it doesn't escape. I have to say I've forgot to go and spread stuff out in the compost bin, but it's raining and getting dark now, so I'll try to remember tomorrow