Bokashi Bran & Bins - Composting for Living Soil

Bokashi composting is a Japanese-inspired method that ferments food scraps in a sealed bin using bran inoculated with beneficial microbes such as EM-1. Instead of rotting, the scraps pickle over about 2 weeks. The fermented material is then buried or added to soil, where it breaks down into rich compost within another 2 to 4 weeks. Bokashi handles meat, dairy, citrus and cooked food that regular compost heaps struggle with.

Most kitchen food waste can go in, including fruit and vegetable scraps, citrus, onion, cooked leftovers, bread, rice, meat, fish and dairy. Keep out excess liquids such as soups and milk, anything already mouldy or rotten, and non-food items like plastic and paper towel in large amounts. Large bones can go in but break down slowly, so they are best broken up or left out.

Sprinkle a handful or 2 of bokashi bran over each layer of scraps, adding a little extra for meat, fish, dairy or large loads. Press each layer down firmly to remove air, then close the lid tightly.

A healthy bokashi bin has a mild, sweet-sour pickled smell, which is the sign that lactic acid bacteria are fermenting the scraps. White, fuzzy mould on the surface is also a good sign. A putrid or rotten smell, or blue, green or black mould, usually means air got in or not enough bran was used. Add more bran, press the scraps down firmly and make sure the lid is sealed.

Drain the liquid from the tap every 2 to 3 days so the scraps do not sit in it. Dilute it 1:100 (or to the colour of weak tea) with non-chlorinated water and use it within 24 hours as a liquid feed for garden beds and pot plants. Never apply it undiluted to plants.

You still have options. Mix the fermented material into a large tub or pot of old potting mix, cover it and leave it 2 to 4 weeks to become soil you can reuse for pot plants. You can also add it in small amounts to a worm farm or compost bin, give it to a friend or community garden, or put it in your council FOGO bin where food waste is accepted; check your council's rules first.

Once the bin is full, leave it sealed to ferment for about 2 weeks. After burying the fermented material in soil, it usually breaks down into compost within another 2 to 4 weeks, faster in warm weather. By comparison, a traditional compost heap often takes 3 to 12 months.

A worm farm uses composting worms to digest scraps aerobically, while bokashi ferments scraps anaerobically in a sealed bin using microbes. Worms dislike meat, dairy, citrus and onion, but bokashi handles all of them. Worm farms produce castings and worm tea continuously; bokashi produces a pre-compost that must go into soil, plus bokashi juice. They work well together, as small amounts of fermented bokashi can be fed to worms.

Our bokashi bran is made fresh in small batches with EM-1 on Tamborine Mountain. For best results, use it within 3 months of purchase. Store it sealed in a cool, dry place out of direct sun.

Kai Kai Farm is not certified organic. The bokashi bran is made with organic wheat bran, organic molasses, sustainably grown pine sawdust, gypsum and water, inoculated with genuine EM-1 from EMRO. It contains no synthetic additives or preservatives.

Yes, but keep it completely separate from kitchen bokashi. Pet-Kashi uses a dedicated sealed bin and a bran with zeolite to lock in ammonia odours. Once the bin is full, leave it to ferment for 10 to 14 days at around 20 degrees Celsius in a sheltered spot outdoors, then bury it in ornamental garden beds only, never in vegetable, herb or other edible areas. 
 

Yes. The Kai Kai Farm 15L bokashi bin uses the same single-bucket design as the Bokashi One bin, so replacement lids, grates, handles, taps and compactors fit both. Stainless steel upgrades are also available, including a juice-catching bowl, compactor and bran scoop.