During the fermentation, the materials go through multiple reactions mainly through the numerous metabolites produced by the microbes. By the time fermentation is complete, the sawdust would be a stable material that would be good to add to soil, especially for the organic matter it provides. Since there are microbes on the bokashi, it will act as a food for earthworms, which will leave their castings in the area.
Nitrogen (N) is needed by fungi, and other microbes, to break down the lignin and cellulose. There should be enough N in the soil and being fixed by microbes in the soil. The microbes in the EM will help with preparing the sawdust for digestion by fungi and also help with the nitrogen fixing. Sawdust is a great option for making bokashi since bokashi is focused on fermenting carbon materials and carbon to nitrogen rations are not important in order to ferment the materials.
After fermentation, the fermented materials will not rob the soil of nitrogen, unless you put several tons per acre. A common application is gardens is a third cup of bokashi every other week throughout the growing season. If there aren't many other inputs being added to the soil, it would be beneficial to amend the soil with some more nutrients with some food scraps or even some raw manure.
I think I got them all covered. Let me know if I missed anything and if you have any more questions or comments.
Is molasses or sugars always important to add with the EM-1 when making bokashi? I'm thinking in the context of treating manure piles and our septic system.
Yes. Blackstrap molasses is always recommended when making bokashi because the bran doesn't have any food for the microbes to feed on. Blackstap is recommended because it also contains minerals. After it is fermented, it is called bokashi.
Manure and septic systems don't need the added molasses because they both contain nutrients for the microbes. However, molasses is used in making activated EM-1. And you would apply activated EM-1 to the manure or septic system.
Hello Eric, I heard in a podcast someone said to not use spent grains from a brewery because they are already inoculated. I’ve been using spent grains as “bran” (after fermenting with activated em-1) and it seems to work just fine. Anything I’m not understanding? Also I was wondering if I could use some of my already Bokashi fermented spent grains to inoculate another batch of spent grains or is there a reason to stick with using activated em-1 to ferment the fresh batch? Thank you. Where can I follow you?
There is a company in San Diego that makes bokashi out of spend grains. SD Microbes. The only issue with spent grains is that they are very wet and need to be dried to ferment without spoiling. The drying can be done by spreading out into a thin layer and drying or dried material (bran or dried plan material) can be added to get to the 30-35 percent moisture.
Generally, it is not recommended to use a bokashi as a starter to make more bokashi. This is mainly because the microbe populations in bokashi are much lower than in EM-1 ( by a factor of 10) and the microbes that will grow will mainly be lactic acid, not yeast or the photosynthetic bacteria.
You should be able to subscribe to this Substack. I am also on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Hello, I've been making bokashi bran with sawdust and coffee grounds. It is working quite well. Sawdust has an incredibly high carbon to nitrogen ratio. What about adding bokashi sawdust to soil? How is the sawdust changed? Would it still rob the soil of nitrogen? Will it breakdown significantly faster than untreated sawdust? I am so curious! Thanks!
I'm hoping I replied previously. If not, I apologize. I don't see all my replies here for some reason.
It is so cool that you have been making bokashi for years. Do you apply the sawdust and coffee grounds together to the soil, like a top dress? Coffee grounds contain approximately 2 percent nitrogen, 0.06 percent phosphorus, and 0.6 percent potassium by volume. They also contain many micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, boron, copper, iron, and zinc. The coffee grounds alone should offset or supply the nitrogen to balance the N needs to break down the sawdust. Aside from that, the photosynthetic bacteria in EM-1 fix Nitrogen at a very fast rate, which would also offset the carbon. Also, unless you are adding tons of material at a time, the effect should be minimal.
The sawdust will break down faster with the inoculation of the microbes. The reason is due to the enzymes and coenzymes that lead to the solubility of the cellulose and lignin that make up the wood. Bokashi also stimulates the growth of beneficial fungi in the soil that will additionally break down the wood.
As you can see, there is a lot going on.
To add some variety, you can also ferment any dried plant material. If you have a garden area, you can collect any dried plant material from the stems to the leaves and turn them into bokashi by fermenting them. The bokashi can further ferment food waste in an airtight container, which then adds a greater variety of nutrients and more carbon to the soil.
Please let me know if you have any further questions and if you'd like me to write about something here on Substack.
Hi Cathy,
Thank you for the comment.
During the fermentation, the materials go through multiple reactions mainly through the numerous metabolites produced by the microbes. By the time fermentation is complete, the sawdust would be a stable material that would be good to add to soil, especially for the organic matter it provides. Since there are microbes on the bokashi, it will act as a food for earthworms, which will leave their castings in the area.
Nitrogen (N) is needed by fungi, and other microbes, to break down the lignin and cellulose. There should be enough N in the soil and being fixed by microbes in the soil. The microbes in the EM will help with preparing the sawdust for digestion by fungi and also help with the nitrogen fixing. Sawdust is a great option for making bokashi since bokashi is focused on fermenting carbon materials and carbon to nitrogen rations are not important in order to ferment the materials.
After fermentation, the fermented materials will not rob the soil of nitrogen, unless you put several tons per acre. A common application is gardens is a third cup of bokashi every other week throughout the growing season. If there aren't many other inputs being added to the soil, it would be beneficial to amend the soil with some more nutrients with some food scraps or even some raw manure.
I think I got them all covered. Let me know if I missed anything and if you have any more questions or comments.
Eric
Thanks for the question!
Is molasses or sugars always important to add with the EM-1 when making bokashi? I'm thinking in the context of treating manure piles and our septic system.
Hi Randy,
Yes. Blackstrap molasses is always recommended when making bokashi because the bran doesn't have any food for the microbes to feed on. Blackstap is recommended because it also contains minerals. After it is fermented, it is called bokashi.
Manure and septic systems don't need the added molasses because they both contain nutrients for the microbes. However, molasses is used in making activated EM-1. And you would apply activated EM-1 to the manure or septic system.
Hello Eric, I heard in a podcast someone said to not use spent grains from a brewery because they are already inoculated. I’ve been using spent grains as “bran” (after fermenting with activated em-1) and it seems to work just fine. Anything I’m not understanding? Also I was wondering if I could use some of my already Bokashi fermented spent grains to inoculate another batch of spent grains or is there a reason to stick with using activated em-1 to ferment the fresh batch? Thank you. Where can I follow you?
There is a company in San Diego that makes bokashi out of spend grains. SD Microbes. The only issue with spent grains is that they are very wet and need to be dried to ferment without spoiling. The drying can be done by spreading out into a thin layer and drying or dried material (bran or dried plan material) can be added to get to the 30-35 percent moisture.
Generally, it is not recommended to use a bokashi as a starter to make more bokashi. This is mainly because the microbe populations in bokashi are much lower than in EM-1 ( by a factor of 10) and the microbes that will grow will mainly be lactic acid, not yeast or the photosynthetic bacteria.
You should be able to subscribe to this Substack. I am also on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Hello, I've been making bokashi bran with sawdust and coffee grounds. It is working quite well. Sawdust has an incredibly high carbon to nitrogen ratio. What about adding bokashi sawdust to soil? How is the sawdust changed? Would it still rob the soil of nitrogen? Will it breakdown significantly faster than untreated sawdust? I am so curious! Thanks!
Hi Cathy,
I'm hoping I replied previously. If not, I apologize. I don't see all my replies here for some reason.
It is so cool that you have been making bokashi for years. Do you apply the sawdust and coffee grounds together to the soil, like a top dress? Coffee grounds contain approximately 2 percent nitrogen, 0.06 percent phosphorus, and 0.6 percent potassium by volume. They also contain many micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, boron, copper, iron, and zinc. The coffee grounds alone should offset or supply the nitrogen to balance the N needs to break down the sawdust. Aside from that, the photosynthetic bacteria in EM-1 fix Nitrogen at a very fast rate, which would also offset the carbon. Also, unless you are adding tons of material at a time, the effect should be minimal.
The sawdust will break down faster with the inoculation of the microbes. The reason is due to the enzymes and coenzymes that lead to the solubility of the cellulose and lignin that make up the wood. Bokashi also stimulates the growth of beneficial fungi in the soil that will additionally break down the wood.
As you can see, there is a lot going on.
To add some variety, you can also ferment any dried plant material. If you have a garden area, you can collect any dried plant material from the stems to the leaves and turn them into bokashi by fermenting them. The bokashi can further ferment food waste in an airtight container, which then adds a greater variety of nutrients and more carbon to the soil.
Please let me know if you have any further questions and if you'd like me to write about something here on Substack.
Thank you,
Eric