Bokashi Worm Food Part 3

Well after several months of testing with many various setups using Bokashi for worm food, I realized where the main issue arose. Keep in mind I have not been using food scrap Bokashi but rather a grain Bokashi which is used to layer food scraps in what is basically the (fermenting of food scraps)third step in the process if you start from scratch.

What I had found is that the type of Bokashi I use actually produced from using activated EM-1 and Purina Worm Chow as a grain source cannot be used as a food source for the worms as it is very powerful as well as acidic. This is similar to the grain mix one would produce or purchase.

By using as a food source, even when mixed ever so slightly with other food sources, the results remained the same. The worms began eating, and then stopped. In all four types of worms tested, the results were very similar. Once they stopped eating, the worms would hunker down towards the bottom of the worm bins.

What I did find on the positive note is that this type of Bokashi is exceptional for setting up an environment to assist in breeding and growing worms out more rapidly. Of course it is just a single component I have found trying to encourage worms to breed more rapidly as well as grow faster however it was a very noticeable improvement.

Hence why I should have titled “Using Bokashi to Setup a Worm Bin Environment”.

If you try this with your own worm bins, one thing to keep in mind is that as mentioned above, this type of Bokashi is very powerful and will kill off worms if too much is applied. I have found that ½ teaspoon to one cubic foot of bedding material is more than ample to do the trick and must be thoroughly mixed into the bedding prior to adding worms. At the same time I add 1 tablespoon of dolomite lime (powdered form) to help neutralize any acid from the bedding and the Bokashi.

One of the first noticeable occurrences will be the establishment of a white fungus growth very similar to the texture of cotton candy for approximately the first week beginning within 24 to 72 hours. I basically have taken a garden claw upside down to disturb and mix just the top ¼” of the surface. I found by mixing the bedding too deep with the worms during the first week or so can be detrimental to the worms that are mixed up. Within a week or so the growth of the fungus begins to simmer down and grow at a much slower rate.

Fungus Growth From Bokashi In Worm Bin

It is at this time the worms appear to really explode in size as well as reproduction increases. Once again I have to state this is very noticeable however not the only thing I have been doing in these test bins. I have also been working on a food mix which has been tested separately also, consisting of numerous ingredients mixed into the bedding material so as to supply the worms with enough food for 28 to 30 days, hence eliminating daily to every few days of feeding them. This enables me to harvest the worm cocoons once a month, keeping all the new growing worms roughly the same age and size in each bin which also makes a difference in reproduction rates.

So while there are numerous conditions that effect worm reproduction and growth rates, I have found the Bokashi grain mix I am using definitely assists in the success of these better rates.

Bruce