My bokashi bin went rogue 3 weeks ago

I started a bokashi system last winter and it was working fine until 3 weeks ago when I opened the spigot and got a blast of fermented liquid that smelled like a distillery had a bad day. The bokashi bran I used was expired by about 6 months, which might be why the microbes went crazy. Anyone else had a bokashi batch get overly active and acidic like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sage4d ago

Expired bran did the same thing to me last year. That stuff gets way too potent when it sits around too long. I had to dump half my batch because the liquid was basically vinegar and killed some plants I tried to use it on. Next time just buy fresh bran and your bin should stay calm like before.

simonw414d ago

...and that's the thing, you think something like bran is harmless because it's just organic matter. But @the_sage is right, once it goes bad it turns into a different beast entirely. I had this bag of worm bedding I forgot about in the garage for a few months, just regular stuff. When I finally opened it up the smell hit me like a wall, and I knew right then it was useless for the bin. Tried using a little bit anyway just to see, and the next day the whole bin had this weird sour smell that took weeks to go away. That stuff really does get way too potent, almost like a chemical reaction happens when it sits around too long. You just gotta learn the hard way I guess, fresh is always worth the trip to the store.