Bokashi Balls are made from Clay or Dirt, Activated Effective Microbes (AEM), AEM Bokashi (AEM innoculated wheat bran, fermented), Molasses, and EM Ceramic Powder.
They are formed by combining the Bokashi and clay in a 4 to 1 ration. The EM Ceramic Powder is added–I used a tablespoon worth–and everything is mixed. Then the molasses is mixed with the AEM in a 10% ratio–7 Tablespoons of Molasses to One Quart of AEM. This is used to wet the other ingredients into a moist, and formable dough. Extra AEM can be added if needed.
A few notes about the “strange” ingredients mentioned above. EM is a microbial innoculant consisting of 3 classes of beneficial microbes in a synergistic solution. This solution can contain between 9 and 60 different typed of yeasts, fungi and bacterial–all beneficial, all found in healthy soil, or in Humans and Animal digestive systems. Think yogurt, sourdough bread, pickles, Kim Chi when you hear Effective Microbes, beneficial Bacterial–not the 9% of bacteria which give the other 91% a bad rap.
The Molasses acts as a food for the Activated EM which has already been fed, and fermented once with molasses. The clay is a binder and contains minerals and nutrients which the bacteria need to thrive. The Bokashi is wheat bran which has been fermented with AEM and is alive with the microbes–it in itself is a powerful soil additive/fertilizer and has a great many other uses.
The ceramic powder is crushed ceramics which have EM in them. It was found long ago that certain ancient deposits of clay contained beneficial microbes which survived the firing process while making ceramic pots. These pots kept food better, longer, fresher. It took modern science to discover the answer and make a refined product. In addition to having effective microbes within the ceramic powder it also reflects infrared energies which in turn activate the microbes and help break down certain toxins. When sprayed over plants and soil this ceramic powder attracts not only bioactive wavelength of infrared light, but also reflects sunlight scattering it and making it more available to plant life for photosynthesis.
Once the balls are formed by gently compacting the moist ingredients they need to be put in a warm place out of direct sunlight. They need to sit her for 7 to 10 days before they are ready. I used mine at 15 days, although they were ready sooner.
You know they are ready when they are covered with a white hairy fungus–sometimes called Ray Fungi. This is actually a soil bacteria from the family Acetomycetes and is perfectly normal.
The finished Bokashi Balls are applied one for ever 9 square feet of surface area. We added 9 to our pond for a start. We will monitor the water and perhaps add a few more in a week.
The pond is currently clouded with an algae bloom of some sort. There are other methods which could take care of it and are probably not harmful to the plant and animal life within. However there should be no problem with the Bokashi Balls and we made enough to treat the pond three times over for only a few dollars.
We will also be testing the Bokashi Balls in our septic system as well as a very inexpensive method to reduce the sludge in the bottom of the tank, and thereby the number of times it needs to be pumped. We will also be looking for it to control the odor in the drain field.
Technorati Tags: bokashi, bokashi balls, em, effective microbes, septic cleanup, sludge, pond cleanup