Bokashi compost is very mushy
Cynthia asked 4 years ago
I’ve filled my first bin. There is white mould so I think it’s worked, but the contents are very mushy. I”ve been draining the tea, the contents of the bin though are very water based like lettuce, cucumber, apple etc.
Does this mean that maybe I’ve cut the pieces too small? I’m quite hesitant to bury it as it looks nothing like the mix does in all the videos I’ve watched.
Nicki Casley Staff answered 4 years ago
The look of the bokashi pre-compost will vary greatly depending on what you have put in the bucket. If you are seeing white mold and (more importantly) it has the characteristic sweet, pickly smell and has been fermenting for 2 weeks then it is fine to go ahead a bury it.
Note that wet, stickier buckets of bokashi food waste have a tendency to stick together in clumps when buried. So when you bury the bokashi pre-compost make sure to mix thoroughly with the surrounding soil and break up any large clumps of bokashi’d waste. You want to get a good mix of soil through the bokashi pre-compost to help it break down quickly.
And you can’t chop the food waste ‘too small’. With bokashi composting, the smaller the better. Chopping your food waste smaller means that there is a larger surface area and the bokashi microbes can get to the centre of all of the pieces of food waste more easily.
Marilyn answered 3 years ago
I love Bokashi!
I only do it at our cottage in the archipelago. In the fall I had to leave and left my bokashi container outside. It’s been there ever since. I opened it yesterday and it’s wet and “squishy” with some mold. Also, in the container where I had put dirt and bokashi there is a white mold. Can I use either of these for anything, or should I just try to bury them? won’t be sloppy like this again.