Bokashi is less about composting then about fermenting. Perhaps this article will answer some of your questions.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Bokashi

Hi: Thank you . . . kimmsr . . . My question is more about anaerobic composting than bokashi. I want to use anaerobic organisms to compost wastes in a closed container.

Most ppl use bran innoculated with EM. I wonder if I can skip the bran and just spray EM directly on wasted and compost anaerobically.

I read the article you gave me. It says nothing about composting without the bran. I wonder if I can compost directly with bactibacillus (ie not use innoculated bran, but just spray EM solution directly on waste).

Thx!

cheers.

Put the waste in the closed container and the anaerobic guys will take over.

Anaerobic digestion is used often, but generally in containers that can capture the methane gas generated by that digestion. Before embarking on a closed anaerobic digestion project I would find out if any pressure build up in that container could occur and if so what provisions might need be made to release that pressure so the container would not explode.

Here is a link that might be useful: Anaerobic Digestion

The original question Is valid and should be answered. I am currently trying to do exactly that and found this question by searching google. I have made my own homemade "em" just as the op describes and have filled one bucket (5 gallon) with weed scraps cut up to bite size pieces. Every few inches I heavily sprayed my "em", and pushed down hard to keep as much air out as possible. I filled this in one day about 10 days ago. I also have a food scraps bucket going where I am doing the same thing with the addition of a plate covering the 8 inches or so of material, and gradually adding to it.
Both buckets smell good, the weed bucket has a profusion of white mold growing on top. The food scraps bucket seems to be wetter. I should mention that at this point I have only been putting in the food bucket the kind of things that would go into a thermal composting setup, that is no meat, and other cooked food, fats and such. I should also mention that I have activated the "em".
I am curious if the process will kill the weed seeds. I believe it will but I have thus far been unable to answer. One poster above mentions methane build up, I am not smelling anything like that and bokashi buckets are not normally capped tight afaik. I have not done regular bokashi composting in the past so this is definitely new to me, though I have been fermenting various food stuffs.
I also question what to do next. It is my assumption that the weed bucket could be dried and used just like normal bokashi bran, substituting the cut up inoculated weeds for inoculated bran. However this method of laying down scraps and spraying with activated "em" seems easier to me, and seems to be yielding an interesting product. If I had chickens the bucket could go to them and they would likely find it appetizing and healthful. I suppose just burying it is my most likely option. I wonder if the op has tried anything yet.
I will say that I believe this line of inquiry has potential. It is very easy for one. It also maintains far more material then thermally composting. Because of its ease it would be something that anyone could do even on a very small scale. I am sensing the potential of the activated "em" for other things. I have been using it to "clean" my hard floors. I think it could be used in a vegetable rinse in the sink to help clear potentially harmful microbes. I would suggest keeping this thread alive or starting a new one for those willing to experiment and learn. This is the kind of bacterial we want in our soils in our bodies. I have a lot to learn.

It makes sense to use a media to dry and store for most people. Maybe if you work in a laboratory you might skip a step.

I use newspaper as the media and it works fine, IMHO. It does take some time to separate the soaked pages and hang them up to dry.

I tried bokashi for a year and gave it up. Too hard to tell if there was a benefit. Burying my fruit and veggie wastes directly in a hole is simpler than going thru bokashi first.

I skimmed a couple of scientific articles without learning much. Didn't tell me much as a backyard tomato grower if one study found 17% more root development for bok choy, or whatever.

I have absolutely no expertise or experience with bokashi, and I don't practice it. But, from what little I do understand it is essentially a lactic acid bacteria fermentation process that may be aided by certain yeasts (think sauerkraut, or better yet natural sourdough). If done properly there shouldn't be any methane production - the products of sugar metabolism by lactobacillus are lactic acid, alcohol (ethanol) and CO2. Done properly the acidic pH will kill other undesirable microbes.

Has anyone tried the traditional sourdough approach - take a portion of the product from a freshly finished batch and use it to inoculate and start a new batch?

This post was edited by TXEB on Thu, Aug 1, 13 at 20:16