In this article from the Kamloops Daily News, Deanna Hurstfield is looking to start a bokashi composting network where she lives. It has a good overview of the process.
I need to respond to these lines in the article:
Bokashi seems to offer many advantages, Hurstfield said. The catch? It’s not cheap.
There are bokashi kits available through Internet dealers, she said. The costs of those systems appear to run at about $20 to $30 a month for all the supplies, substrates and microbe mixes.
Here are the costs for the first year of bokashi composting using my system:
Two bokashi buckets:
$85
4 x 1Kg Bokashi*:
$30
Total
$115
Monthly cost:
$9.58
*[two 1Kg bags are included with the bokashi kits]
In the second year or, if you have your own buckets as Deanna does, all you need is the bokashi: $60
Monthly cost: $5
I’ve been generous on the amount of bokashi you need for a year. Although I say that a 1Kg bag of bokashi will last 2 – 4 months, I’ve had customers come back for a second bag after 6 or 9 months, even a year later. Recently, a small office re-ordered a bag of bokashi nearly two an a half years after their first purchase!
While my competitor’s prices probably do come close the article’s monthly estimate for the first year, the cost in the second year is much lower.
"If we can find a microbiologist who can help us figure out what is in there, we can cut the costs even more," she said.
I have neverhidden how to make your ownbokashi which will lower your costs even more. I only ask that you buy the Terra Biosa Friendly Microbes [aka EM] from me.:-)
Over the past four months since we started fostering Chloe, I’ve been noticing the damage to lawns caused by crows and other critters going after the grubs of the European Chafer Beetle when I take her out for a walk.
Last week I decided to do something about it. I created a flyer that I am distributing only to houses that have lawn damage clearly attributable to the Chafer Beetle. It isn’t hard to figure out.
Flyer: [Click for full version]
We don’t need more lawns. Ideally, as the City Farmer says above, we need more vegetable gardens in our front yards like this one,
but if you are going have a lawn, use a grass seed that doesn’t require much mowing or watering. The product above meets that criteria.
So far, I’ve walked between Cambie and Main from 16th to 19th and plan to go all the way up to 24th. Then I’ll do the same route between Cambie and Oak. It takes me about an hour at a leisurely pace and Chloe loves it too.
Without the ability to grow our own food, we leave our children and grandchildren held ransom to buy food on the world market from whatever source, of whatever quality, at whatever price.
Gary Runka,
First General Manager of the B.C. Agricultural Land Commission.
From: Sue N Date: Tue, May 19, 2009 at 7:09 PM Subject: [Bokashi] To: aapNO@SPAMgreatday.ca
Hi Al,
I save organic waste for a friend who has a community garden plot. As I live in very small studio apartment with no cross-ventilation, the odour can be fairly overpowering every time I lift the lid of the ice-cream pail containing the potential compost.
A friend gave me a sample of your [Bokashi] product, and it made an immediate difference to the strength (and quality) of the offensive smell. I can now continue to save this material for my friend during the summer months, rather than stopping until the cold strikes again.
Good product!
Sue N
Thanks Sue. I really appreciate this kind of feedback.
is at 1935 West Broadway across the street from the big box FedEx Kinko’s*.
I have used the services of both stores which are open 24 hours but InPrint is better. Here are a few reasons why:
They let me access the internet, download files and edit them without charging me a penny.
They printed the files directly from the computer, so there were no darkened images.
They designed and printed my banner
There is the fixed priced and the "I’ll give it to you for this much" price. The deal price is probably built in, but it feels good anyway.
However, nothing prepared me for what happened on Tuesday evening this week.
I needed more brochures printed and when I went to pick them up I discovered I had brought the wrong credit card. Ready to leave my order behind until I returned with the proper payment, I was shocked when Dave said
"Take it now." What?
"Yeah. Yeah. Its okay. Take it now." So I did and came back a few hours later.
This is Prabhakar "Dave" Davkar
Thanks Dave!
I have experienced a casual, but professional work environment. When I went to InPrint in May, I made a decision not to worry about how long it would take get what I needed done. I haven’t tried them on a rush order yet. They are sometimes very busy so patience is required. Usually that pays off in more attention for you when most needed. And you may see some customer interactions that are worth the price of admission!
*long time Vancouverites will remember that the Kinko’s current location was also home to Cardz Computers – I worked there for six months in the early ’90s.
With that question, wonderingmind42 -“a high school science teacher in the process of burning out” begins a 10 minute lecture on climate change / global warming and the consequences of doing nothing. Rightly so, he titles his video “Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See [and the most important]”
Stop Press!
DON’T WATCH THIS VIDEO [the link above]. I’m serious. This message isn’t a hack (I’m the guy in the video), and it’s not a ploy to get you to actually watch it (reverse psychology).
It’s just that there’s a hole in this argument big enough to drive a Hummer through because of an assumption I didn’t realize I had (isn’t that just the way with assumptions. . .), and the argument has been UPDATED to address that hole.
So instead of watching this old, tired, hole-y video, go watch the NEW, IMPROVED version
The cost of doing nothing is a lot more expensive and disastrous. Click, watch and share with everyone.
Then do something – change public policy – to avoid the negative [far worse] scenarios.
Click through to YouTube to see all the supporting material.
-30-
“Having just moved into a new unit… we have been spending a lot of time debating what sort of compost bin to get….[and] had heard good things about the Bokashi composting bucket
Vertical Veg supports food growing in containers and tiny spaces: ideas, inspiration and practical advice.
If you want to grow food successfully in containers, nurturing soil life can make a huge difference. Worm compost, for example, is full of microbes and life. Add it to your containers and you will get more vigorous growth, and far fewer pest and disease problems. Discovering this, was the biggest turning point in my growing (more important, even, than self watering containers), transforming sporadic successes into something more consistent.
Why is soil life important?
Healthy organic soil in the natural world supports a web of life including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes as well as larger creatures like worms and slugs. These organisms play a vital role in the life of plants. They break down organic matter to make the nutrients available for plant roots. They condition the soil and create air spaces and tunnels in it – improving aeration and drainage. And they compete with other more harmful organisms in the soil, ones that will damage your plants if left unchecked.
Soil life is complex – so the above is just my attempt to summarise some of the main benefits you can expect when you add life to your containers!
Why do you need to add life to containers?
Most commercial composts that we buy are sterilised and low in microbial life. So is municipal compost (it has to be made at hot temperatures to kill pathogens, killing much of the beneficial life, too). So if you want life in your containers – and to mimic soil in the natural world – you need to add it.
1. Worm compost
2. Homemade compost
3. Leaf mould
4. Manure
5. Bokashi
Bokashi is Japanese method of composting food quickly in a tightly sealed bucket. Benefits of bokashi are that you can add almost any food (even meat), it works quickly, can be done in a very small space, and doesn’t smell (much). The drawbacks are that you need to buy bokashi bran for it to work, and the pickled product is not as versatile as worm compost. But you can add it to the bottom of containers to add both organic matter and microorganisms.
Mix about 10 – 20% into the compost in the bottom third of a container.
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