Video Pictures - Bokashi Fermenting and Burial of Food Waste and Pet Waste
Sustainable Cycling of Food and Pet Waste
Bokashi fermenting perhaps more accurately described as acidic anaerobic fermentation
is a simple and effective method of rapidly metabolizing organic waste. This can be done
at almost any scale and results in virtually all of the nutrients including carbon going
back to soil within a matter of days. No heat, gases or methane are produced in this
process which takes place within sealed fermenters.
We will show you how to rapidly, efficiently, and safely recycle organic waste. There is an abundance of organic waste and it can be far more efficiently handled at home or on the farm. Homeowners can enrich their soil and will note the savings in garbage bills because waste is not being put at the curb or in a can to be hauled away where no good will come of it.
Farmers can re-establish their markets locally with better crops and produce when they process culled waste from local food processors and return fermented wasted organic material efficiently back to soil.
Transport costs are lower and a dependence on chemical fertilizers can be realized. Nutrients derived from Bokashi (acidic anaerobic) fermenting are not so readily leached out of the soil and many farmers have noted fields where Bokashi fermenting is in practice appear under lower pest pressure compared to those fields where abundant chemical fertizliers and pesticides have been used in practice.
The videos address as examples each of the three general waste streams typically encountered - Residential food scraps and waste, Pet Waste (Dog and Cat), and Industrial Commercial (restaurant, schools, etc) waste.
Residential Food Scraps and Waste
Dog & Cat Pet Waste (including Litter) Disposal
Sustainable Farm Industrial Processing of Waste
Bokashicycle and New Earth Farm (Hillsboro, OR) have established an efficient cycling
of waste moving from the restaurants back to the farm in the form of food scraps that are
fermented and put back to soil to support subsequent produce used in the restaurant by
chefs who prepare meals for their customers.
Food waste material is collected and inoculated with bokashi culture mix. It is then
shredded and placed in 55 gallon fermenters to ferment 7 - 10 days. The fermented
product is then allowed to drain and subsequently spread on the farm land to be tilled.
Fermented food waste tilled in the soil is virtually indistinguishable from other soils
within 7 - 10 days after tilling except for the fact it is enriched.
After 14 days in the soil crops are planted again in the enriched soil completing the full
cycle ---[farm produce to consumer]---[waste back to farm]---[new produce back to
consumer].
This cycle is far less costly than traditional composting and is 10 times faster than
composting. The process does not generate heat or gases. Methane producing microbes
do not tolerate the conditions of acidic anaerobic fermenting. Greenhouse gases are
eliminated in the process in stark contrast to composting operations. Water , a precious
resource is conserved and never added to support the processing of waste. Traditional
composting consumes water.
In summary, Bokashi fermenting on a commercial scale is far less costly than composting
and it is more efficient. Foul odors are virtually eliminated. And the process results in soil
enriched in nutrients and microbes.
End of Farm Videos
Assembly and Use - 1 Ton Bokashi Fermenter Off-loading Machine
A machine capable of handling 1 ton of bokashi fermented product is available to assist operators in collecting product from their 55 gallon fermenters. It is assembled easily for use in harvesting Bokashi Tea.
This machine allows farmers and managers to process 4 55 gallon barrels of waste material at a time. One operator can assemble and disassemble the machine and easily harvest tea and bokashi end product for field applications.
Bokashi fermenting with 55 gallon fermenters is fast and efficient returning virtually 100 % of the food waste nutrients to enrich soil and expand microbe diversity and numbers. Each 55 gallon filled fermenter will weigh about 450 pounds. The off-loading machine makes the job of processing end product efficient with safety.
Bokashi Culture Mix...Observations and uses
