When you add in all the materials typically added in bokashi (which
were mentioned in the original post), and do not turn or mix except once a week,
the resulting material will go anaerobic, because of the rapid growth
of the microbes in the organic food resources added.
It is not possible that the mix described could stay aerobic, unless
the material was put in a refrigerator, or kept at very low temperatures to
reduce microbial growth.
Bokashi is produced by an anaerobic process. Protozoa, the
beneficial fungi and the beneficial nematodes will be lost as soon as the
material becomes anaerobic.
Does that mean there is no benefit of using bokashi, or ferments, or
anaerobic materials as part of a soil program? Please, I have never said
that there was no benefit.
But, if you say there is a benefit, then explain exactly what benefit there
is, and how that can be reliably repeated time after time.
Lactobacillus, proprionic acid-producing bacteria and other facultative
anaerobic bacteria, and some actinobacteria and yeasts typically found in
bokashi can do some very interesting things. But they cannot do all the
things a full foodweb set of organisms will do for plants. Don't ask
bokashi to do everything and don't make claims that these organisms can do all
the things aerobic soil organisms can do.
Can bokashi organisms start moving soil in the right direction?
Sure they can, especially if they start suppressing disease organisms, and begin
the process of building soil structure, and leaving behind some organic
matter.
But they cannot give all the things a good healthy set of aerobic
organisms, the full foodweb of organisms, give to a plant.
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
In a message dated 9/4/2005 8:52:43 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
heidehermary@PACIFICCOAST.NET writes:
Adriana,
I can you tell us how this bokashi worked for the farmers? Also where did
you obtain the mature bokashi to put into the mix, or can it be
substituted with EM inoculant? I'm also curious about the reason for
adding the charcoal. Thanks, Heide
Adriana Kürten
wrote:
>Hi, > >To summarise the story, if you’ve worked
with (aerobic) bokashi, I would >really appreciate to get some feedback.
I’ll tell a bit of the background >story and then explain my
doubts. > >Last year I worked with small producers in Bolivia
where we carried out on- >farm trials using bokashi. Farmers in the
region are very much embedded in >what could be called a ‘chemical
paradigm’ and did not think twice before >using whatsoever agrochemicals
they could find in the local shops. For the >fertilizers, the use of
pure NPK 18-46-0 was quite common. Farmers in the >region are very poor,
most of them illiterate and highly indebted to the >local shop owners.
The project was very broad and dealt with the human >capital in
agriculture as well. The trials carried out together with >farmers aimed
in part to check whether bokashi would be a viable >alternative in the
local context. > >The recipe we used to prepare bokashi was
adapted from an IICA publication >(1) in Spanish. The components used
were: 100 kg of soil, 100 kg of fresh >cow manure, 100 kg of rice bran,
50 kg of ground charcoal, 20 kg of rice >hull, 5 kg of ashes, 5 kg of
mature bokashi, 1 kg of molasses, 250 g of >yeast and water. All
components were mixed homogeneously while water was >added to the
mixture. The heaps were turned twice and then once a day >until the
temperature stabilized. The composts were considered ready to >use after
20 or 21 days. > >It goes without saying that we tried to use as
much as possible what was >locally available and at the lowest possible
cost. It would be completely >out of out of touch with the local reality
to use a commercial inoculant >there. > >The project is now
over and I’m trying to figure out what happens in >bokashi production.
As far as I’ve seen, there’s not much about (aerobic) >bokashi in
scientific publications while there’s quite a lot about it on >the net
but almost everything is about what is sold on the market such as >EM
inoculants and the like. > >I’ve seen that, some sources refer to
‘bokashi’ as a biofermented >fertilizer. As far as I remember from
chemistry courses a long way back, >fermentation is an anaerobic
process. Or can it be aerobic as well? The >production of the compost
itself is an aerobic process so maybe bokashi is >called ‘fermented
organic matter’ because Japanese farmers, who >first ‘discovered’ it,
made first a fermented anaerobic inoculant which >was then added to the
substrate mixture? Have you got a better clue on why >bokashi is called
a fermented organic fertilizer? > >Microorganisms exist
everywhere. In this case I reckon the soil, the >manure, mature bokashi
and the yeast will mainly provide the >microorganisms which will
mineralize N from the composted material and >also enhance availability
of other plant nutrients. The molasses here will >provide the ‘energy’
or feedstock for microorganisms boosting their >growth. Looking back,
what we did was to get the microorganisms we wanted >to do the job in
contact with a substrate which we wanted to be decomposed >(mineralized)
at the same time that we provided something that made
the >microorganisms multiply much faster. From what I’ve experienced,
there is >indeed no need to buy a special inoculant. If you’ve been
working with >(aerobic) bokashi what is your experience on
that? > >Apart from comments, articles or internet links shedding
some light on it >would be very much
appreciated. > >Adriana > >---------------------------- >(1)
Restrepo, J. R., 2001, Elaboración de abonos orgánicos fermentados
y >biofertilizantes foliares: experiencias con agricultores en
Mesoamérica y >Brasil, IICA, San José, Costa
Rica. > >******************************************************** >To
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a message to <listserv@sare.org> from the address subscribed to the
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>
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Elaine R.
Ingham Soil Foodweb Inc., Corvallis, Oregon Soil Foodweb Inc., Port
Jefferson, New York Soil Foodweb Institute, Lismore Australia Soil Foodweb
Institute Cambridge, New Zealand Laboratorios de Soil Foodweb, Culiacan,
Mexico Soil Foodweb Inc., Jerome, Idaho Soil Foodweb Inc., South
Africa Soil Foodweb Canada, Vulcan, Alberta,
Canada
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