Win a Bokashi One Bucket and Mix with Sustainable House Day 2014!

Sustainable House Day 2014 is giving you the opportunity to WIN!! a Bokashi One™ bucket and mix as part of the competition they are running.
For all the details (and to enter) see the Facebook page here

https://www.facebook.com/sustainablehouseday?ref_type=bookmark 

If you don't have Facebook?  No problems, just click on this website link, you can still enter separately from Facebook. http://sustainablehouseday.com/blog/shd-competitions/ 

Bokashi Bucket Tips & Comments - April '14

In no Particular Order:

1. Don't keep your bucket in direct sunlight or on a Hot Balcony/Porch.  (high temperatures will kill the microbial activity)
2. If the pickled waste smells bad?  Then that may not mean the system has failed, it could be for a number of reasons.  Discard, or bury the waste, wash out bucket and start again with the provided instructions, and use a fresh bag of Bokashi mix.  For instructions that meet Australian conditions, feel free to request a complimentary booklet via info@bokashi.com.au including your *Australian Postal Address.
3. Drain off the Bokashi juice regularly.  If you don't believe you can water it out regularly (Watering Can/Veges/Ornamental's), then you can always use it as a Natural Drain Cleaner around the house pipes.  The Juice is alive with not only microbial activity, but also the nutrients and proteins of the food waste you have been collecting.  As time goes by, the life of these benefits decreases.  You cannot save this juice beyond a few days and expect it to be beneficial.
4. The taps provided with the bucket pictured in this blog are maintainable. If they are blocked, then try and use the tip of a bamboo skewer to clear the blockage.  Alternatively,  they can be disassembled and reassembled.  We recommend you disassemble/re-assemble each year as a service, washing each part and checking for wear.  Replacement taps are available for a small cost in Australia in various colours. Request Parts at your Local Australian Stockist, or request a price from Manufacturer Direct.  Tap Maintenance Video

I hope you find this tip's useful.  I you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the writer via this Blogspace.

Illawarra Future Festival and Sustainable Living Expo

Date: Sunday 20 October 2013
Time: 10am - 3pm

At Kiama Showground Pavilion, 2 Bong Bong Street, Kiama

In recognition of World Environment Day, Kiama Municipal Council will be holding the Illawarra Future Festival and Sustainable Living Expo at The Pavilion in Kiama on Sunday 20 October 2013 between 10am - 3pm. The Illawarra Future Festival and Sustainable Living Expo aims to provide residents with information on ways to live more sustainably.

Taking place for the first time in 2012, the Expo attracted 40 exhibitors including local Illawarra businesses who displayed their sustainable products and services, as well as a vast array of non-for-profit organisations who provided information on their programs.
For more information including registering as an exhibitor contact Kiama Council Customer Services on 4232 0444 or visit www.kiama.nsw.gov.au

Who Will be Speaking at Illawarra Future Festival and Sustainable Living Expo

Dalvinder Dhami, former Master Chef from 2012 is our Event Ambassador, will be doing cooking demonstrations using fresh home grown produce at 11.30am.

The Smart Living Expo will be showcasing a number od sustainable business, products and services, including water efficiency,energy efficiency, cleaning products  and produce, and there will be plenty of things for the kids to do while Mum and Dad look around, with face painting, seed planting and story reading activities.

The Dog agility show is back with demonstrations at 11am and 1pm by the Wollongong Dog Sports Club, and there is a speaking program of local identities to inspire you to action.

For our Speakers Forum we have secured local identities, including;

1. John Gabriele , from ABC Illawarra Radio "Compost Heap" program to talk about backyard veggie gardens.

2. Michael Fox , a local biodiversity expert, speciailsing in frogs, will be speaking on the importance of frogs in the urban environment, with a few special tadpole and frog guests.

3. Tass  Schmidt, from Jamberoo Valley Farm  will be talking about producing and accessing local, sustainably grown produce.

4. Edwin Humphries from Transition Towns Kiama  and UOW Research Assisitant for the School Atmospheric Chemistry will be talking about the latest Climate Science updates in the 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report.

There are lucky door prizes to be won kindly donated by Bunnings and the Illawarra Medical Local Project, and plenty of information, ratepayer plant giveaway, and show bags so we hope to see you there.

Poster

 

Kogarah City Council (NSW) Sells Bokashi Buckets

This Saturday 19/10/13, Kogarah City Council will be selling Bokashi One Buckets and Bokashi One Mix at the Council stands @ Oatley Village Festival.  See you there!

 

Bokashi Powder Prices (Quick Comparison/Australia)

In Australia:

Maze/Bunning's: 5L (or 1.25kg)(RRP$16.98)

 

 

Bokashi One: 4L (or 1.0kg) (RRP$9.90)

AUD$9.90?
I know which one I think offers better value...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recycle Organic Waste

Great Excerpt from this Councils webpage

Bokashi Buckets

The Bokashi Bucket is another great option for small urban spaces. The Bokashi Bucket ferments layers of chopped kitchen waste overlain with Bokashi mix, a Japanese discovery made up of grains or saw dust with Effective Micro-organisms (EM) to speed up the fermentation process. The bucket is sealed air tight, so there’s no access for bugs or vermin, allowing your meat scraps to be included also! There’s also no worms to care for, so onions and citrus are back on the composting menu.

 

Even better, the air tight seal means no nasties can get in or out of your Bokashi Bucket, thus no smells (or very little smell, mostly just the nice earthy smell of the Bokashi mix). This means you can even keep your Bokashi Bucket in the kitchen cupboard!

 

Where to get it. Bokashi Buckets are available at most hardware stores, and some nurseries. The buckets are most often made of recycled plastic, with a grate at the bottom to allow the juice to collect beneath your scraps, and a tap to release the juice.

 

How it works. Collect your daily organic scraps in a recycled plastic container on the kitchen bench and add them to your Bokashi Bucket in layers. As you add layers, squash the scraps into the bucket with a potato masher and sprinkle on the Bokashi mix to cover lightly. Your bucket will yield lovely ‘bokashi juice’ every few days depending on how much you feed it. Dilute the juice 1:100 for use on the garden or use straight down sinks or toilets to clean drains. Once your bucket is full, bury the fermented organics 20-25cm below the surface of the soil and it will become lovely compost.

 

No digging space? Bury in a friend’s garden, their soil will love it!

 

The Bokashi Bucket is also a great option for Fly In Fly Out workers or those away from home quite often. With the bucket’s air tight seal in tact you can leave it for several weeks without worrying your compost will go rancid.

 

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Poster: Just a sub note comment, Some sensitive plants,  you may

want to dilute Bokashi juice in your watering can out to 200:1

(Water/Bokashi Juice).

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