Very Basic How-To: Bokashi Composting

1. Buy or make a Bokashi bucket, to be used indoors. Bokashi buckets often have a little spigot near the bottom to drain out the liquid that is formed during fermentation. Or, they are made of nesting buckets, with the inside bucket having drainage holes to separate the liquid from the fermenting matter.
2. Buy or make the Bokashi mix.
3. Sprinkle a layer of Bokashi mix on the bottom of the bucket before adding food scraps.
4. Every time you add food scraps (chopped up into small pieces), throw another handful of Bokashi mix on top.
5. Then, cover with something (e.g. a plastic sheet or bag) and press down. This helps to keep air out of the fermenting material. Also, close the lid of the bucket tightly - keeping air out of the bucket is important in odor prevention.
6. Drain the juice that accumulates in the bucket every couple days. The liquid can poured directly down the drain (supposedly this helps to clear out your drains by preventing algae buildup), or it can be diluted to a 1% solution with water and used to fertilize your house plants.
7. When the bucket is filled to the top, let it sit for 2 weeks sealed. Continue to drain the liquid every couple days.
8. After 2 weeks, it's time to open the container. The food scraps may still be the same size and shape as before - this is normal. There may be white mold growing - also normal.
9. However, green or black mold is a sign that the fermentation did not happen correctly, and you need to throw your project in the trash and start over (try using more Bokashi powder between layers next time).
10. Bury the pickled food waste in soil. This can either be done by digging a shallow trench outside, or indoors in a planter box or tub. This step is very important, as the food waste will not have decomposed yet - it is simply fermented.
11. After another couple of weeks, the buried food scraps will have decomposed, and can now be used the same way worm castings or other compost would be used to enrich your garden.