A ”soil factory” is something we came up with years ago to describe a place where you make soil using bokashi. It can be a bucket, a tub, a bag, a planting box, a barrel, whatever you have on hand basically. The thing is that it’s used ONLY for making soil, not for growing thingsContinue reading “13. Indoor soil factory”
Tag Archives: Soil
14. Biochar is great with bokashi
It’s really good to have some form of absorbent material in the bottom of your soil factory. The absolute best is charcoal, or biochar as it is often known. You can use the same charcoal you’d use on the barbecue as long as there is absolutely no chemical additives in it, and that is madeContinue reading “14. Biochar is great with bokashi”
15. Soil factory tips
About the soil. Use whatever you have on hand. And a 50:50 mix is often best, although you can do this however you want. The smaller pieces you have in your bokashi bucket the faster they will transform to soil, as the microbes have more surface area to work with. By the same logic, it’sContinue reading “15. Soil factory tips”
11. Containers and pot plants
You can grow a whole garden without having any real in-ground soil. The results can be fabulous. And the options are endless when you can start a garden on a street corner, a back yard, a deck, some paving, a bit of asphalt or gravel, or a terrace. Plants need water, and often container gardeningContinue reading “11. Containers and pot plants”
04. Two weeks to ferment
Step two: Next step is an easy one! Just leave the bucket in peace and quiet to ferment for two weeks. There’s a good reason for this, read on and I’ll explain. So, once the bucket is full, the microbes need to do their work, multiply in numbers and prepare the food waste for becomingContinue reading “04. Two weeks to ferment”
What’s bokashi all about?
The other day, I received a question from a student writing an essay about bokashi. What’s it about, basically? So very cool that this is happening! That students are writing essays and dealing with these all important issues of soil, food waste, sustainability, in a hands on, practical manner. Anyhow, just to get the conversationContinue reading “What’s bokashi all about?”
Bones! In the bokashi or not?
Finally it seems spring is here! Yesterday, I was poking around in my boxes, checking how the soil was doing, deciding which ones needed a top-up of bokashi, which plants were going to go where this year. You know, that delicious pre-season joy when everything is still possible — nothing has gone wrong yet, andContinue reading “Bones! In the bokashi or not?”
Why the soil under our feet is so damn important
How come no one talks about soil? There’s always a lot of discussion about water, about energy, about wildlife, about air. All good. But it’s always been very quiet on the soil front. But now, finally, it seems soil is up on the agenda. The global Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has got started with a seriesContinue reading “Why the soil under our feet is so damn important”
2015: International Year of the Soils
And about time! We have been talking about pollution, the environment, climate change and the future of the planet for decades. We talk about the air, about the water, about sound pollution, plastic and deforestation. But when was the last time you ever heard anyone talking about our soil? About the fact that if weContinue reading “2015: International Year of the Soils”
Using silage with Bokashi as mulch
The other day we managed to get home our annual hay bale, always a good day around here! We live in the country and on every field you can see a pile of these white silage bales looking much like a pile of UFO eggs. Each one weighs some 500 kilos, inside the tight plasticContinue reading “Using silage with Bokashi as mulch”
