Knowledgebase
Bokashi composting #745938
Asked April 23, 2021, 4:54 PM EDT
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
I've been vermicomposting for more than thirty years. While I study up, you please tell me about the limits to feeding earthworms. What is it that you produce but cannot feed them?
Sent from my iPhone
Well, I agree with you that I don't feed my worm bin onions or citrus peel (tho' no doubt there is a bit of cooked onion in some of the things that go in there).
I keep my worms in an unheated, attached garage, and I feed them plenty of fish skin and bones, chicken bones, dairy and egg. I think any mice in the garage are more interested in the dog kibble that gets spilled from the bulk bag from time to time, but I notice very few mice.
Let me share my rules for aerobic composting of food scraps. I compost food outdoors all year round in plastic compost bins, without attracting hordes of rodents. I won't say I never have a rodent, but they are periodic visitors to my yard.
Safe Food Composting Rules:
- Never put in direct contact with soil
- Never have food as top layer
- Layer in absorbent carbon sources
- Compost aerobically in hot, active pile
- Turn the whole pile when you add food waste
- Turn frequently
Your impression is correct, the yeasts that ferment the bokashi compost make nutrients available to plants, and uninteresting to rodents.