Bokashi recipes

Bokashi has different recipes

We always recommend iterating and field experimentation. But here are some good standard starting recipes for bokashi.

Figure O: Making bokashi in a portable nursery

Magaly making bokashi in a 50-gallon drum: fermented soil amendment, Putumayo

Bokashi recipe 50g drum

Ingredients:

• 20 kg of rice husks: Carbon source and food for the microorganisms.
• 40 kg of mogolla (wheat bran): Provides nutrients and also serves as microbial food.
• 20 kg of organic matter: Ideally collected from primary forest for greater microbial biodiversity.
• Molasses (amount unspecified): Provides sugars that stimulate microbial activity.
• Water (sufficient amount): Used to dissolve the molasses.

Total organic matter involved: 33.10 kg (per initial note, although the direct sum of components is 80 kg, which may require correction or clarification).

Preparation process:

1

Setup

Spread a large plastic sheet on the ground.

2

Mixing

Place the organic matter on the plastic. Add the rice husks and the mogolla.

3

Molasses and water

Mix the molasses with water separately until fully dissolved.

4

Incorporation

Add this liquid mixture to the solid ingredients on the plastic.

5

Homogenization

Stir all components thoroughly, removing any sticks or large objects.

6

Moisture check

Take a handful of the mixture; it should be moist but not drip water when squeezed.

7

Anaerobic fermentation

Place the mixture in a 50-gallon drum, packing it firmly to eliminate air.

8

Sealing

Close the drum hermetically to begin the anaerobic fermentation process.

Additional notes:

It is recommended to use organic matter from a primary forest to enrich the microbial diversity of the bokashi.

🤓 The nerdy reason for the ingredients

In the recipes, C is carbon and N is nitrogen. Standard agronomy shorthand. The C:N ratio is an important part of a good recipe:

• High-C materials (rice hulls ~80:1, sawdust ~400:1, coffee husks ~50:1, biochar ~∞) — these are the "brown" carbon-rich bulking agents
• High-N materials (chicken manure ~7:1, fish emulsion ~5:1, fresh green leaves ~15:1) — the "green" nitrogen-rich activators
• Target for bokashi: roughly 25–30:1 going in. Too high-C and fermentation stalls. Too high-N and you lose nitrogen as ammonia (the stinky-batch means it failed).

Compost uses the same ratios for the same reason — microbes need ~25 parts carbon for every 1 part nitrogen to build their own bodies. Bokashi just gets there faster because the lactic-acid fermentation pathway is more efficient than thermophilic decomposition.

Practical tip: if a farmer's bokashi smells like ammonia, add more rice hulls. If it won't ferment and stays cold, add more manure or molasses.