Week 4: Bokashi Composting & Second Round of Indoor Seed Starts

Bokashi Composting

In my urban farming classes the Bokashi technique of composting appealed to me the most. This form of composting is appealing to me because it is quick, convenient, there are many uses for the tea and it can all be done in my kitchen which is perfect considering it is winter right now. I had been eyeing one of the kits sold on Amazon from Sunwood Life and mentioned it to my family and I ended up getting it for Christmas which was perfect timing because it is one of the projects I planned on doing for this externship.

The kit comes with a little trashcan with a plastic bucket inside so I can save my kitchen scraps until I have enough to add to the main composting bucket. The kit also comes with compost starter and innoculant which speeds up the composting process.

The directions say to add 2-3 inches deep of kitchen scraps each time and the little bucket holds that amount which is convenient because I always know when I have the perfect amount to add to the composting bucket.

Once the scraps have been transferred to the main composting bucket, they need to be cover with a layer of the compost starter. The mix needs to be added to the top of every 2-3 inches of scraps.

As the scraps ferment I will often need to empty out the tea that drops down to the bottom of the bucket which can be released from the spout built into the bucket. Once diluted, I can add this right into my garden as fertilizer. After the bucket is full I need to let the bucket with it contents ferment for about two weeks before adding it to the soil in my garden.

I love my Bokashi kit, but what I learned is that this process is so easy that it is not necessary to purchase a kit. Any bucket with an air tight lid can be used and the compost accelerator can even be easily made at home. I may make another bucket so that when one bucket is fermenting for 2 weeks I have another one started. I can't wait to see the results!

Indoor Seed Starts Round #2

The first round of my seed starts went so well that I decided to grow more but with a different technique. I bought a seed start greenhouse from Jiffy brand which comes with 50 peat pellets and a container that holds water in the bottom and a lid. This way is much more convenient than the multi-celled containers I first used because there is a resevoir that collects the water so that it does not drip though the bottom. Once the peat pellets have been water they expand which allowed me to easily add the seeds into the hole in the middle of each pellet. 

I only did about half the pellets in the container and if I see good results I will do the second half. I used the same seeds as the first round of seed starts but this time I started with Lemon cucumber, Marketmore cucumber, Oregon spring tomato and flamenco tomato. I chose these varieties because I want to grow a lot of cucumbers and tomatoes since they are what I buy and eat most of.

I was keeping my seed start in the utility room of my house but that room is really cold and dark so I moved them to my second bedroom which is warm and gets more light. I then placed them under a window for sunlight.