I had a glimmer of doubt about not ordering the prefab Bokashi bucket, but after pricing out everything including shipping, I found that the most cost-effective combination was to order the bucket components from "More Beer!" (a home beer-making supplier), and the Bokashi mix from Gaiam.
The complete Bokashi starter kit is $65.99 from SCD, but including standard UPS Ground shipping, it's $81.03, since SCD calculates shipping rates by weight.
The same starter kit is $75.00 from Gaiam, and with standard UPS Ground shipping (charged by order value instead of weight), it's $86.99.
Even though Gaiam's price per 1-gallon bag of Bokashi is $3.00 more than it is from SCD, Gaiam charges shipping rates based on your order value, and not the weight. Plus, they ship from Colorado instead of Missouri, saving my Bokashi mix 600 miles of travel (in addition, the beer-making equipment ships from the San Francisco Bay Area, which is only 300 miles from Los Angeles).
- 6-gallon bucket with spigot - $11.45
- Plain 6-gallon bucket - $7.95
- Lid - $1.75
- Shipping (UPS Ground from Concord, CA) - $9.26
- CA State Tax - $1.74
- Two 1-gallon bags of Bokashi mix - $12.00 each
- Shipping (UPS Ground from Louisville, CO) - $5.99
- Project Total - $62.14
With this combination, I was able to save about $20 and get an extra bag of Bokashi mix in the process! (Well, I had to order at least one more bag since it was $5.99 for shipping whether I ordered 1 bag or 2). Not bad at all!
3 comments:
I made a similar bucket, but what are you using at the bottom of the to keep the waste from strained so the liquid can come out the spigot.
The liquid that comes out has some fine particles, but overall I find that very little solid matter comes through the drill holes I made in the bottom of the inner bucket. I made sure to make lots of holes, but keep them small, and that seems to be working for me.
I actually haven't had much in the way of particles come out, but the liquid, twice now has formed a moldy scum on top which is pretty gross. Not sure why.
In my first bucket made about 6 weeks ago, I fabricated a strainer out of a 12' plant saucer set just above my spigot. I also topped the strainer with a 1/2" layer of shredded newspaper. All the liquid strained out from that bucket has been pretty clear.
Post a Comment