Where do your kitchen wastes go? To the dump site ? To the compost pile? To a vacant lot nearby ? Or to your neighbors yard ?  Do you know that food scraps are precious and can help rebuild soil lost nutrients? And don’t you know that in soil we can grow our own organic food? Instead of worsening the effect of garbage disposal your food wastes can help you survive amid the on going community quarantine due to COVID 19 Pandemic. How? Through Kitchen Wastes.

      Japanese Horticulture  Professor, Dr. Tiruo Higa  has popularized the process called  BOKASHI , a process of fermenting kitchen wastes using benefits anaerobic microorganisms  which can fertilize the soil and bring it back  to life. Yes, although similar to some respects , bokashi is different from composting  because the former : kills pathogens, makes wastes unattractive to pests like cockroaches , ants and rodents – even from pet dogs and cats, compact wastes in an air -tight container, reduces greenhouse emissions by 45% and allows beneficial microorganisms to multiply and proliferate , thus, produces usable compost faster than the traditional method. The concept  is fairly simple , let positive or good bacteria break down carbohydrates -rich food scraps in a closed environment without air and sunlight for two weeks or more then bury them like ordinary compost. Why is Bokashi pre compost buried? The reason is to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions , to allow the wastes to slowly burn beneath the earth, sequestering and absorbing carbon instead and to fertilize the soil with beneficial microorganisms which multiply during the fermentation process .

       We can then plant our own vegetables at home using bokashi fertilized soil. Bokashi is perfect for urban gardening because the space is very limited .Whether you live in a small apartment , condominium or mansion you can process your own kitchen and yard wastes with the help of a 20 liter bucket and a fermentation activator called bokashi bran. Inoculated with effective microorganisms , bokashi bran can be expensive . Rice hull  however  can be a cheaper host for a beneficial bacteria.

       Here’s the Process :

STAGE 1. COLLECTION

 1. At your kitchen counter, place place a small container where you will collect your kitchen wastes and table scraps. Place your Bokasihi bran/rice hull beside it.

2. Before throwing them into your tub, chop up vegetable and fruit peeling and other kitchen wastes into small pieces.

     Sprinkle a small amount of bokashi bran / rice hull on top of raw waste , but add for cooked wastes..

3.  Once the ice cream tub is full for at night ,empty the tub into your bokashi fermentation pail. Use newsparers or

     used paper to press down on the scraps/ waste to squeeze out air inside the pail. Make sure to close the lid tight. So

     no air can get into the system. Place your pail in a warm place away from direct sunlight.

4. Repeat this process until pail is full to the brim. Now you can start fermenting byouyr bokashi pre-compost.

STAGE 2.FERMENTATION

 1.Close the lid tightly, Sealed it with tape so no one will ever open it. Write the date you started fermentation.

2. Store your pail in a warm dry place from the sun. Do not move or diturb the pail as much as possible .

3. Wait for two weeks or more for fermentation to reach its optimal level.

4. Every 2-3 days check your pail for bokashi tea or juice. Harvest the juice to keep the mixture dry. You must dilute

    the juice and use it as a water soluble fertilizer or dispose in the sink to clear up clogs and sludge. The quality or

     quantity of the bokashi juice will vary, depending on the scraps and wastes you put inside.

STAGE 3. BURYING / COMPOSTING

    You can bury your bokashi pre- compost in a clear open space, near your vegetable plot or near trees.

1, In an open space ,which you can use as a future vegetable plot, dig a trench 1 foot x 1 foot x 1.5 foot or longer if                          

     you have more than one pail’s to bury.

2. Using shovel , loosen the bokashi  pre-compost  and mix it with some soil.

3. Backfill with soil about 3-4 inches thick to prevent animals from digging the pit. Wait for two weeks before you plant above your pit.

     Plants like tomato ,okra pepper, corn, sweet potato,and  many flowers thrive in acidic soil produced by the bokashi

compost.If you prefer more delicate plants just wait for few more weeks for the soil to return back to its natural pH.

    

By: Bona M. Diag / T-III , TLE / Sta Rita High School / Sta Rita, Olongapo City