Hi Travis,

Thanks for the question. We typically recommend using the bokashi tea within a few hours of collecting it. If you store it for longer than a day or two it will go off (you will tell by the foul smell).

If you have more bokashi tea than you can use you have a few options:

1. Keep using it in your garden. You can still use it as a fertilizer during the winter months (as long as there isn’t snow on the ground). The beneficial microbes may go dormant during the colder temperatures but they will reactivate as the temperatures rise, as long as there is food for them to thrive (ie. organic material in the soil).

2. Add it to your compost pile. This will give your compost pile a boost during the winter. Again, the microbes can remain dormant and reactivate in the spring.

3. Simply pour the tea down the drain to unblock slow sinks and drains. The microbes are great for clearing out the grime in your pipes and are the same microbes used in septic systems.

4. Some websites suggest freezing the bokashi tea in ice-cube blocks and adding to your watering can as needed. The microbes will supposedly reactivate when added to your garden. However, there is no research that supports this claim. We are currently setting up trials to test this further.

Remember that you will get plenty more bokashi tea throughout the year. The fresher the tea, the more abundant the beneficial microbes will be and the better the tea is for your plants and garden.

Happy composting
Nicki and the Bokashi Living team

I have poured the tea over my herb garden and they legit dying ?

Please be sure to dilute the tea 100 to 1 with water first! It must be diluted, otherwise it is too strong for plants. We’ve never heard of anyone having a problem once its been diluted.