Bokashi Juice as liquid feed

The use of a Bokashi bin  to turn cooked food into a fermented pre-compost that can be added to a normal compost bin provides a relatively cheap way of composting cooked food waste without attracting rats. It also offers a way of replacing a potentially smelly kitchen caddy with the not unpleasant smell of Bokashi Bran and replaces the task of   tipping untreated food from a caddy into the compost bin or the Food Waste bin (where the council offers a weekly food waste collection) with  that of tipping pickled food into the compost bin.

As a bonus during the fermenting process, the Bokashi bin will produce a liquid known as ‘Bokashi tea’ or “Bokashi juice” which needs to be drained off every 2-3 days. The juice will be a reddish, orangey colour with a  vinegar  or slightly fruity smell. There may be a thin white coating on the surface or white fungal threads floating in the liquid.

This  liquid  contains Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium plus  other nutrients (which may include boron, chlorine, iron,  manganese & zinc) and microorganisms,  from the food waste making it  a good liquid feed or plant  fertilizer  and soil enhancer.( Click  Bokashi bins)   The juice is diluted 1-part juice :100 parts water for bare soil. Earthprobiotic.co.za are more specific in their examples of recommended concentrations for different applications  suggesting 1:100 for lawns, 1:300 for gardens and pot plants, 1:500 for succulents and 1:1000 for any sensitive plants.

The diluted juice can be sprayed or watered onto the soil using a watering can fitted with a rose including the soil  around plants. It is acidic and should not be allowed to touch the  foliage at this concentration although other sources suggests that a dilution of 1:500 or a dilution of between  1: 500 – 1: 000 for spraying onto foliage.

For information and links to other sites at http://www.carryoncomposting.com/416920212