The Poultry Keeper

stephen · Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:13 pm Post subject:

Yes it worked, and worked well for many batches too.

As for the ratio, yup that's what we use.

em-chicken · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Lancashire

Bhindi,

A very important correction here please - if you try and make a second batch of activated EM from a previous fermentation, the second brew will NOT be the same as the first.

The reason being that although it may look similar, the microbe mixture will not be the same as the original and the effectivity of resultant fermentation will be reduced. You should only make activated EM from the mother culture (EM-1).

EM-1 is extremely cost effective - 1 Litre of EM-1 produces 20 litres of activated EM, which when diluted 100:1 with water, for most users will cost you about £0.12/litre -

Likewise, if you want to make bokashi, you DON'T use activated EM.

The balance of the different microbes in EM-1 is vitally important (there are around 80), all of which are important in the activation process and some of which die off during the process.

Here's a guide to dilution ratios of EM:water

10:1 or less as a disinfectant
50/100:1 for cleaning/odour control
100:1 for adding to chucks water (10ml/litre)
In the garden for soil improvement - 1 Litre/100 sq M

Hope this is helpful Smile

Bhindi · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:22 am Post subject:

Thank you both for your replies.

Bhindi · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:10 pm Post subject:

Well I've just given my hens their first bowl of EM and they're going non stop at it... Within about 20' There is a drinker with ACV, a bowl of water with life-guard, and then the pond to drink out off, normally they take a while to get the taste of something, but this bowl of EM is going down very quickly.! I'm going to have to pluck up the courage to taste it myself, though somehow I don't think its going to appeal as much to me!

stephen · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:15 am Post subject:

Woodburner · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 5:21 pm Post subject:

duckmomma · Joined: 04 Apr 2008 Posts: 26

Hi
I am new to the forum and could not resist joining this discussion Smile

I have been feeding our houseduck Bokashi bran and garlic powder on her food for several weeks now, I have found both have certainly helped make her poo more tolerable Smile

I think any one who keeps ducks will agree duck poo stinks :-&
So I started adding Garlic powder to her food, it made her a lot less smelly, although occasionally I add a little too much and she smells like a chicken kiev Laughing

Then I heard about Bokashi bran and added that as well, Her poo is firmer most of the time when she is having the Bokashi but I still sometimes get those nasty runny smelly brown ones.

This is a very interesting thread, and when or if ever I can work out how, I will have a go at making my own Bokashi to save money. Laughing

em-chicken · Joined: 04 Jan 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Lancashire

Sorry to keep going on about this, but it is important.

When Woodburner said

vanessa · Joined: 24 Sep 2005 Posts: 1154 Location: Correze

Being a tiny tad cynical Wink

I can't help wondering if the "manufacturers" say this to protect their own little empire they're creating?! Of course, "Joe public" have no way of testing their "brew" to know for certain what mix of microbes they have.

CP · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject:

Well mine arrived today with hardly anything by the way of instructions, only saying what a normal garden compost bin will do.
Nothing about the 'juice' that should come out of the tap. Just 'put everything in, cover with the bran & after 2 weeks put on the garden or in the compost heap'! Shocked

What should I do first? Put kitchen peelings in & sprinkle the bran over? How deep a layer can it be? Confused

HELP!

stephen · Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:29 am Post subject:

We have one of those small bins from ikea for collecting food waste. I think they're around 5 litres in size. We put a sprinkling of bran on for every one of those.

CP · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject:

I've been adding kitchen waste to the bin now for about a month. I have 2 pints of the very smelly & cruddy looking liquid out of the tap.
I don't really feel like putting it in the chucks water though. I'll probably only use it for plants.

If you add this liquid to bran won't you just end up with soggy bran?

And to ferment it, do I just add some water & molasses & leave it in a container for a few weeks or will it explode? I do have wine making equipment so I could put a fermenting lock on it.

Sorry to keep resurrecting this thread but I'm still so confused by it all. I'll probably never get the hang of it as there's so much conflicting advice & so many different names.... Embarassed

(& I'm stoopid!! Embarassed

)

I must say though, Kimi my cat is very interested in the whole thing. He watches intently when I add waste to the bin & sticks his nose in the box of bran. I haven't seen him actually eat any yet - maybe I should give him some on his food! Smile

Sandra Hilton · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject:

CP you don't add the liquid which has come from your kitchen waste/bokashi bran in your kitchen compost bucket to the chicken's water (don't suppose it would do much harm if you did but not a lot of good either I suspect? Chickens may not like you for a few days though?? LoL). You add the EM which you have made with your 'garden yogurt maker', the result of fermenting EM1, molasses and water for a week. or at least I do! I add that to my chickens water I use squirty bottle and don't measure, I just put a squirt into the water, bigger or smaller depending on the size of the water container. I have found that it really made a big difference to the smell. I found that when I added the bokashi bran itself to the food not everyone ate it and so it wasn't 100% effective. Easier by far for me to put it into every drinker on the place and it worked.

If you haven't got a garden yogurt fermenter kit, but only the bokashi bran, try sprinkling it onto the chooks food see if they will eat it and certainly sprinkle some onto their droppings, either as you collect them or directly onto the floor of the henhouse.

Sandra

CP · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:55 pm Post subject:

Glad about that as it's not very nice stuff! sign11

So, is the liquid that comes out from the bins - is it EM or EM1?
I don't have a 'yogurt' maker - can I use anything makeshift? Confused