What Is Bokashi? How to Make Fermented Compost for Your Cannabis Grow

Bokashi is a Japanese method of fermenting kitchen and garden scraps in an airtight bucket with bran inoculated with beneficial microbes, turning them into a potent organic fertilizer in about two to three weeks instead of the months traditional compost takes. For cannabis growers, it's a cheap, fast and compact way to feed your soil with stuff you'd otherwise throw away. As more people care about protecting the environment, eco-friendly growing methods like composting are catching on, and sustainable plant nutrition and pest control are a big part of that.

That's why many growers choose bio fertilizers and additives over mineral ones, which is an important first step. But you can take it further by making your own 100% organic homemade fertilizer. That means turning waste from your garden, kitchen and other growing activities into a high-quality product, without relying on plastic jugs shipped halfway across the world to reach you.

Below, we'll dig into bokashi, a home composting technique from Japan that gets even better results in less time than traditional composting.

How does bokashi improve soil for growing cannabis?

When it comes to organic fertilizers, is bokashi better than regular composting? It's a question a lot of gardeners and growers ask, especially once they see what bokashi brings to the table.

For starters, bokashi is high in nitrogen, a key nutrient for vegetative growth, especially in plants like cannabis. It also has a clear edge when it comes to speed.

While traditional composting can take months, bokashi gives you a concentrated fertilizer in a matter of weeks, without wasting organic matter or releasing harmful gases into the air.

Another plus is that it's space-efficient. Bokashi needs less room than regular composting and can even be done indoors, since the airtight container keeps out bad smells and unwanted bugs.

What you need to make bokashi: the bucket and the bokashi tea

To get started with bokashi, you need a dedicated bucket with an airtight lid and drainage holes in the bottom for the liquid that builds up during fermentation. That leftover liquid, often called bokashi tea, is packed with nutrients and can also be used as a liquid fertilizer for watering your plants or as a foliar spray, so nothing goes to waste.

Bottom line: bokashi is a solid, effective option for growers who want a fast, efficient and compact way to compost, with real nutritional perks for plant growth.

How to make bokashi for your cannabis grow: a step-by-step guide

Bokashi composting lets growers feed their plants using nothing but kitchen and garden waste, including foods like meat and dairy that don't work in other types of composting.

Getting started is easy. You can buy a starter kit or make your own bokashi using one of the many bokashi bran recipes online. You'll also find plenty of info on the process, the ingredients you need and tips from experienced composters.

Some growers brew their own effective microorganisms (EM), but with homemade inoculants it's hard to know what microbes you're actually getting.

That's why buying the microbes from a reputable supplier is the way to go: it guarantees you get the three key groups of microbes the bokashi fermentation process needs, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and photosynthetic bacteria.

Step by step: how to make bokashi compost

To start, put your kitchen scraps in the bokashi bucket and sprinkle a little EM-inoculated bran over them. Every time you add more scraps, add more bran. Be picky about what goes into the airtight bucket: skip spoiled food, large bones, shells, synthetic fabrics, milk and other liquids.

It's also a good idea to drain your kitchen scraps so there's not too much liquid. The bokashi bucket will drain liquid out the bottom, which you can collect and use as fertilizer next time or store properly.

Once the bucket is full, keep it closed and let it ferment at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. After that, your bokashi is ready to finish breaking down in the soil, where it will release valuable nutrients for your plants.

How does bokashi benefit cannabis plant growth and health?

When you use bokashi, keep in mind that it's better to bury it in the soil than spread it on top. This fertilizer is seriously potent, so to avoid root problems, the best move is to dig holes, drop the bokashi in and then fill them back up completely with your growing medium.

That said, plenty of growers just mix it into their soil or compost without major issues, since it all depends on the ingredients used and the final makeup of the product.

Another reason to bury bokashi deep is that its nutrients aren't absorbed as quickly as those in traditional compost, which is fully broken down and usually used as a top layer.

Bokashi can also be used to inoculate bigger batches of fermented compost: just add it to the pile of organic matter. And it's a great addition for worm composters, who add it to their worm bins to speed up composting thanks to all the helpful microbes in the bokashi.

Clearly, making compost at home has plenty of upsides, from looking after the environment to getting the most out of your waste to feed both your soil and your plants.