Bokashi Value Pack (18 litre)

Details

This is our recommended start-up system for Bokashi composting. It includes 2 of our Bokashi Buckets and 1kg of Bokashi Active Bran - all loaded with beneficial micro-organisms - plus Instructions.

18 litre

Q: What sort of compost do I get out of my Bokashi Kit? A; Bokashi is more about "pickling" your waste than actually composting it. The Effective Micro-organisms in the bran activate as it gets damp and this ferments your waste. This means the end result once you have filled the bin and waited for about 2 weeks looks pretty much the same as when you put it in... However this fermented waste is very different to your original waste and will smell "pickly" and the key thing is once you put it into a trench in your garden or compost heap it it will be exposed to the air and will break down very very quickly. At the same time this material is not attractive to vermin.

Q; What sort of waste can be used in the Bokashi Kit? I understand majority of it is kitchen waste (meat, fish, fruit, vegatables), can paper be used such as junk post mail, magazines and so forth? A: You can ferment all kitchen waste but it would be pointless to add paper as the Bokashi doesnt compost the waste it ferments it – pickles it. Paper does not smell and so you would add this to a conventional composter without a problem. In our office we use a Bokashi Bucket for all our lunch scraps, fruit peelings etc and then we shred all our paper waste for packaging.

Q: How do you know if the waste is broken down by the microbes from the bran? A: The waste is not broken down – its fermented and you can tell very easily as the whole thing has a sweet pickly smell to it. The process is all very easy. As you fill the bucket you add a sprinkling of Bokashi. Once its full you start on another bucket leaving the original to ferment over the time it takes you to fill the next. In most people's experience that takes about two weeks.

Start off your Bokashi composting with one of the buckets. Keep adding your waste mixed with the Bokashi Active Bran until this bucket is full, then set it aside and leave it for a fortnight.

After this you can safely add the contents to your conventional composter or dig them into your garden where they will compost amazingly quickly. Meanwhile you can carry on composting using the second bucket.

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Customer Reviews

excellent, would totally recommend for flat-dwellers Review by rosamundi

Review

I live in a second-floor flat with no outside space, so a traditional composting system is a bit useless. I have had one of these for about a month and it is excellent. No smell (yes, I have been accosting guests and demanding to know if they can smell it, in case I had become acclimatised), takes up very little room and has made an impressive difference to the amount of waste that I throw away. I have an arrangement with friends and neighbours who do have gardens to give them the end result.

I think it is an excellent system and I would recommend it to everyone. Review by Alison Turner

Review

I have been using the Empowered Composter for several years and I have never had problems with the tap, I have had problems with the lids, but I am sure that is because I stack my bin in use on top of the brewing one.
It has been a god send in reducing our waste food output and rots down very quickly when in the composter. My only problem is the smell when you drain off the fluid.
I think it is an excellent system and I would recommend it to everyone.

I have been using Bokashi buckets for over 18 months Review by Linda

Review

I have been using Bokashi buckets for over 18 months. I am looking to buy a third bucket as with a family of 4 we do fill once a fortnight and could do with leaving longer in the bucket. They do smell a bit when you open the lid, so I keep them outside the back door. I find I use less bran if I keep the cooked food waste and scraps in the kitchen and put a layer in to the bucket once a day rather than filling as we go. We put our pickled waste in the compost bin along with our raw peelings etc. When we emptied the compost it was great, though we found some white fat deposits that we binned and remains of chicken legs. We stopped putting larger bones in but it breaks down anything smaller and try not to put big lumps of fat like the drainings from a duck or trimmimgs from a raw chicken, every thing else left after cooking goes in. We have had no vermin problems and what is better we don't get a smelly council recycling wheely bin and the associated summer maggots.

The thread does not hold when the screw is tightened. Otherwise great. Review by Ann Morgan

Review

November 09. Heather are you sure that the problem with the taps dripping is fixed? We bought a month ago and seem to have a drip problem. The thread does not hold when the screw is tightened. Otherwise great.

I've been using two buckets for some time now Review by Jack Yeatman

Review

I've been using two buckets for some time now and - I'm happy to say and touch wood - have had no problems. When a tap leaked slightly I found the answer was to take it right out (when the bucket is completely empty !) and replace it carefully, making sure threads aren't crossed. No problems with smell - that of the drained-off liquid is quite pleasant. Probably depends upon the sort of food you eat ! I was actually surprised at the strength of the handles, considering the considerable weight of a full, pressed-down bucket. I was really concerned about the disposal of food waste, and this has been the ideal solution.

5 stars for everything except the tap! Review by debbie seazell

Review

5 stars for everything except the tap! It was loose on one of them (wouldn't catch) and I lost the internal nut in the compost heap!! now use a wine cork in the hole. Can anyone help me with a replacement?
love my bins, what with chickens, have no food waste at all in my household rubbish - and a very fertile veg plot.

Have had my bins for a few years now and I not only stilll use them I love them. Review by Clare

Review

Have had my bins for a few years now and I not only stilll use them I love them. They were a christmas present from my mum and I have to admit to thinking it was a strange gift but I have completely changed my mind! I keep them outside the back door - as I have a tiny kitchen - and fill them once a day from an indoor caddy. I put the pickled contents into my normal compost bin and it makes the whole bin break down so quickly. Only problem that I have is that on one bin it is quite difficult to get the lid on properly but that is probably just because it is getting old.

I think this is a wonderful way of composting kitchen waste Review by Iwan Edwards

Review

I think this is a wonderful way of composting kitchen waste - i am yet to see the benefits on my veg patch, but as far as dealing with food waste - it is very good. my only complaint is that the handles are a bit flimsy and feel as though they could break any time. - were it not for that I would have given it 5 stars

This product might just save the world! Review by Jonathan

Review

This product might just save the world! Well maybe not but if everyone Bokashied there would be one hell of a lot less waste going to landfill.
With two young children we do have rather a lot of food waste, particularly when they decide one week that they hate whatever food it was they loved a couple of days previously. All the cooked waste, bread, meat etc goes in the Bokashi (the rest goes in our worm cafe) and the reduction in volume of household rubbish was far larger than I would have ever believed. Not only does it reduce waste going to landfill by producing great compost it also makes you more aware of how much food you are wasting and in our case we have reduced that too. Initially we filled a Bokashi bin in under 2 weeks - now it takes 3 to 4 weeks.
The bins are a bit big to keep in our kitchen so they live in the garage. This means it seems to take quite a bit longer than the recommended 2 weeks for the contents to become pickled during the winter when it is pretty cold. The liquid that is drained off really does cure smelly drains too.
If you buy nothing else, buy Bokashi. I'm certainly no Eco-warrior but I do know that landfill is pants and this is a step in the right direction to reducing it.