#community composting

[soilthesimpletruth]

“Nature helps you return to love.” #mauricesmall

Sending positive vibes to you as we ease into October.

[mauricesmall]

‪Urban agriculture combines practical knowledge of the community with a deeply felt connection to the world of emotions and feelings via food. ‬

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[oldandstriped]

Small scale, NYC Apartment Sized Bokashi Composting

My friend Vandra of Vokashi Composting Inc., along with others around the world have been teaching the Japanese method of food waste fermentation called Bokashi around NYC for a couple of years. Most of the workshops have focused on large scale transformation of 50 pounds of wheat bran (difficult to obtain in my neighborhood) to Bokashi materials for groups that want to Bokashi. Many Community Gardens are adding Bokashi to their composting systems.

12/2016 Update note: I’ve now switched to 2.5 gallon buckets, which are easier to pick-up and transport - they fit in an Ortleib bike pannier easily. I’ve also stopped the double bucket, liquid draining method, as I’ve learned that the liquid is needed for optimal food waste fermentation.

I developed a method of Bokashi fermention on a much smaller scale with ingredients I have in the house. Today I made approximately 2-3 pounds of Bokashi material that we (2 vegetarian people & 2 meat eating cats) will use for 4-6 months.

The reason to add this method to your composting systems is that Bokashi food fermentation can deal with grains (like old bread, pasta) meat (like leftover cat food) and dairy (like moldy yogurt, cheese rinds). Also this is an anaerobic, closed system, not likely to attract roaches and can take up a small footprint in your tiny NYC kitchen.

Making the Bokashi material

7 cups=2-3 pounds of new clean Pine cat litter (I used Feline Pine) - can be replaced with clean sawdust if you have a source

2 cups of hot water

2 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp EM1 probiotic fermentation solution (you can get it from here  - one bottle lasts a long time or make your own )

Mix liquids together and then with cat litter in a large container, add more hot water if necessary (I added another cup) to dissolve all pellets to sawdust.  Put the material into airtight dark or thick plastic bags and store in closed container for 2 weeks. Fully dry near radiator (winter) or outside in sun (but out of reach of cats looking for a litter box). Depending how much I make I keep the dried, finished bokashi material in a large glass jar or in a 5 gallon bucket.

I ferment our food waste in 5 gallon buckets. The top bucket has holes in the bottom to allow to drain into the bottom (that's the source of the smell and should be removed periodically- you can also add sugar to the bin if it starts to smell). I use the liquid to unclog our bathtub drain (it really works) - a plastic container in the bottom keeps the buckets from sticking together.

We add food waste in large chunks kept in the freezer, covered with 1 cup of Bokashi. Once the bucket is full, I transfer to a 5 gallon bucket without holes to ferment for two weeks.

After which I carry to the garden to dump into the regular compost bin and cover with leaves. It does a great job of accelerating the composting in our 3 bin system! Although some say you can also put the finished Bokashi in the worm bin, I haven't tried that. Sometimes I just take the freezer drawer full of compostables (minus the meat, dairy and grains - which we keep separate in a yogurt container) directly to the garden to feed the worms.

I found a plant pot wheely thing at Ikea, full bokashi buckets are heavy! We keep it under the kitchen table and often roll it over to next to the sink when cooking or juicing. The bins are also a great place for all those bike and political stickers we seem to collect. Don't Frack! Bokashi!

No need to find a place to bury the compost in NYC where space is a premium, and no need to deal with large bins of stinky heavy bokashi food waste! Once a month or so I ride the full bin in the large basket on the back of my 3 speed 1963 Hercules Bicycle to our community garden 10 blocks away.

Go forth and ferment your food waste!

Above, finished fermented food waste, note the white mold bloom on top.

Pile of Finished Bokashi, before spreading and covering with leaves in the 3 bin composting system at the Morris-Jumel Community Garden

Note: if all of the above seems too much to do, Vandra can supply buckets and finished bokashi materials and pickup/swap out your full buckets. Her rates are here.

[composthere]

Story by Mapris Purgas, FSDS Intern The success of the Food Scraps Drop Spot program continues through the winter season since we first introduced our Winter Farmers Market location in the Nat Bailey Stadium and at the Gordon Neighborhood House. We have been seeing a lot of familiar faces stopping by to leave behind their food scraps and some excited new shoppers previously unaware of the fact that such a program existed. We are proud of everyone who has come to brave the cold (sometimes in bike shorts and other times in full on winter gear, fluffy mittens and all!) and visit us with donations that we continue to support and appreciate all donations given. For those who don’t know the Foods Scraps Drop Spot program, it was started during the summer as a pilot program with the brilliant concept of providing a composting program for apartments and new condominiums that usually have little to no form of composting (the form of composting they might have had was usually extremely pricey and inconvenient at times.) We are one of the first composting programs of our kind in Vancouver. We have had our fair share of stories of what people were doing before the program started. We have heard everything from sneaking food scraps into neighbors’ compost to begging Whole Foods to allow them to use their compost bins. When the Food Scraps Drop Spot pilot program was introduced, it quickly gained lots of momentum and support from the community. At times we were taken aback by how supportive people were and how well received everything was. People displayed their gratitude from hugs to high fives. We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue into the winter season and already the support continues! We have two locations at the Winter Farmers Market in Nat Bailey Stadium and at Gordon Neighborhood House. We will have either a volunteer or intern stationed to answer any questions you may have and to collect your postal code and donations. Unlike other common forms of composting we can collect things such as: cooked foods, bones, meats, coffee grounds and so on… to see a complete list of things you can bring and not bring you could check out the drop spot blog at: http://foodscrapsdropspot.tumblr.com/ You can simply come with a compostable (certified) plastic bag, food scraps in tupperware or a container, or empty out a plastic bag (although please avoid throwing the plastic bag in) into our composting bins at the locations. We are operating this program with volunteers, grant funding and funding through donations. We appreciate all donations and recommend users pay $2 each time they drop off food scraps. If you or a friend live in an apartment, condominium, or a place that does not have a form of compost, come out and visit us! Stop by and enjoy the market with your free time. We would love to see you. [The food scraps bins are collected by Recycling Alternative - CH]

[mauricesmall]

Transitional Times: Seeding Hope Through Gardens

[mauricesmall]

have heart ... compost will save the day.

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