17 Benefits of Bokashi Bin Composting in your Apartment.

Bokashi bin composting is the most efficient way to compost if you're a city dweller or don’t have an outside space.

Here are the benefits of bokashi bin composting:

1. There are no bad odours;

2. It doesn't attract animals or insects;

3. It's easy;

4. it's safe;

5. It will convert into usable soil;

6. There's no need to add water or anything other than bokashi bran;

7. The end product has increased beneficial microbes;

8. You decide how much you want to make;

9. No manual labour or turning is involved;

10. It's fast;

11. It's an ongoing system;

12. You can feed it to your worm bin;

13. You can put meat, dairy or acidic foods into it;

14. You can use the liquid fertiliser;

15. The finished product helps the soil to hold a lot of water;

16. You can buy the inoculant and make it yourself;

17. Bokashi bran microbes are resilient and can adapt.

What is Bokashi Bin Composting?

Bokashi bin composting is a process of converting kitchen scraps into a product.

The process consists of adding bokashi bran, a flaky substance, to your kitchen waste.

The bokashi bran and kitchen scraps ferment in an airtight environment for 2 weeks.

This creates a pre-compost that you dig into your soil. It will turn into compost after 2 weeks of digging into garden soil.

Or it could take 3 months if using a bag filled with soil like I did. Have a look at my results here:

Click here or below to see the most similar bokashi bin I bought from amazon.

1. There are no bad odours

Bokashi bran consists of beneficial bacteria that produce no smell. This is unlike the pungent smells that come from rotting food in a compost bin.

2. It doesn't attract animals or insects

The bokashi bin is an airtight container. It has to be in order for the fermentation process to begin.

This means no insects or animals can get into it. So don't worry about annoying neighbours or attracting unwanted guests to your apartment.

3. It's Easy

All you need to do is; open your bokashi bin, add food waste, add the bokashi bran, and then close the lid.

4. It's Safe

Bokashi bran consists of bacteria you could find on a bottle of probiotics. Find out more in my article What's bokashi bran? | The Most Efficient Apartment Composting method

It’s safe to handle and all contained in the bin.

5. It will convert into usable soil

After the fermentation, your bokashi bin compost turns into pre-compost. It needs 1 more step before it turns into compost that you can use for your plants.

All you do is dig a hole in your garden soil, add the bokashi pre-compost to it and then it will turn into the soil after approx 2 weeks.

You could add the bokashi pre-compost to your worm bin and add garden lime to balance the acidity of the bokashi.

Or, it could take 3 months if using a bag filled with soil like I did.

Learn more about the Benefits of Black gold in your Small Garden (Worm Castings), by clicking on the link.

6. There's no need to add more water or anything other than food and bokashi bran

The bokashi bin must be airtight for it to work. This means water doesn't escape unless you open the tap and drain the leachate.

This is better than other composting methods, where water will escape into the air or drain into the ground.

7. The end product has increased beneficial microbes

The bokashi bran contains beneficial microbes. These microbes help improve the fertility of your soil and inhibit harmful pathogens.

Your finished bokashi compost is going to have all those beneficial microbes.

8. You decide how much you want to make

You don't need to fill the bokashi bin to the top. You stop when you want to.

9. No manual labour or turning is involved

Bokashi bin composting involves no turning or manual labour. You add the kitchen waste and bokashi bran and be on your merry way.

10. It's fast

A lot of bloggers say it takes 2 weeks, but this is a bit misleading. It takes two weeks to finish fermenting and then another 2 weeks in the ground.

This is faster than other composting methods, which can take months to finish.

11. It's an ongoing system

What I love about bokashi bin composting is that you can keep adding to it, until it's completed. So as you gain kitchen scraps, you’ll add it to the bin until you're ready to stop.

12. You can feed it to your worm bin

You can give your worms a bunch of your bokashi compost and add some garden lime to increase the alkalinity.

Your worms will eat this making a very rich mixture of worm castings and bokashi compost.

13. You can put meat, dairy and acidic foods into it.

You're bokashi bin will deal with any of the above. This is great if you want to move closer to that zero waste goal.

14. You can use the liquid fertiliser

Your bokashi bin has a tap that contains the accumulation of the liquid from the vegetables. This is a liquid fertilizer known as leachate.

You can dilute this in water and feed it to your garden.

15. The finished product helps the soil hold a lot of water

Your compost is high in fertility meaning it will hold the water more.

This means less watering!

16. You can buy the inoculant and make it yourself

You can buy the liquid inoculant (called EM1) and add carbon like wheat bran or rice bran.

17. Bokashi Bran microbes are resilient and can adapt

The microbes used in bokashi bran are very intelligent. They adapt to dominate bad pathogens.

For example, they will produce more lactic acid to lower the PH. Sometimes they can lower the PH to below 4.0.

This prevents harmful pathogens that can't survive in a low ph environment.

Or, they can produce more antioxidants to inhibit pathogens.

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