New sustainable step in our garden: welcome Bokashi! 🌱
19/03/25
We are happy to share a beautiful, sustainable update from our garden! Indeed, since last week, we gardeners have started making Bokashi. You may have heard the word before, but what exactly is it?
What is Bokashi?
We recently started using Bokashi in our garden, a traditional Japanese technique that converts organic residues into a valuable soil improver. Bokashi literally means "fermented organic matter" and is a sustainable alternative to classical composting. Instead of being broken down by fungi and bacteria through a slow composting process, Bokashi is all about fermentation. This fermentation retains many nutrients and creates an end product that directly benefits soil quality.
How do we make Bokashi?
The process starts by collecting organic residues such as plant residues from the garden, cutting residues from the kitchen and cress residues from our vertical farm. These leftovers are built up layer by layer in a specially designed heap, which we replenish once a week. To start the fermentation process, we mix the leftovers with Microferm: a mixture of effective micro-organisms (such as lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and photosynthesising bacteria), Aegir Sea Shell Lime and Edasil Clay Minerals. These micro-organisms ensure that the residues do not rot, but rather ferment in a controlled manner.
Difference between composting and Bokashi
An important difference with composting is that Bokashi does not need high temperatures. The process is airtight, which means less COâ‚‚ is released as well as hardly any odour. Moreover, the organic material remains largely intact, ultimately giving the soil more structure, humus and nutrients. This promotes soil activity, stimulates soil life and increases plant resistance to diseases.
At our site, we made two collection areas out of recycled pallets. In the left collection area, all the cress leftovers from the vertical farm are stored. In the right collection area, we collect the garden residues and the cutting residues that come from the kitchen every day. After adding Microferm, lime and clay and covering the heap, we let the material ferment for a few weeks. Then it can be incorporated directly into the soil, where it is digested and releases its nutrients to the soil life.
Return waste streams to the ecosystem naturally.
This circular way of working helps us naturally return residual flows to our garden's ecosystem. Where leftovers might have been discarded before, they are now a source of life and nutrition for our plants. It is an example of how small changes can have a big impact on sustainability and soil health.
If you are curious about the process or would like to see for yourself how the Bokashi pile is built, feel free to speak to one of the gardeners. They will be happy to tell you more about this new, green step in our garden.