Improving Life using Effective Microorganisms®
Improving Life using Effective Microorganisms®
Food waste composting is a great way to become more sustainable in your everyday life. Not only do you reduce the waste in landfills, you reuse organic material otherwise wasted. With the help of EM® Bokashi and our Bokashi Organko composting buckets you can use the power of Effective Microorganisms® or EM® to ferment the organic food waste into nutrient-rich composting material that can increase soil health and increase plant growth, strength, and vigor in your garden. When we focus on soil health, you'll also add to your sustainability by reducing the use of chemical inputs in the garden while producing more nutrient rich produce for your healthy lifestyle.
EM® is the brand name given to a family of microbial-based products using a technology developed by Japanese scientist Dr. Teruo Higa. EM® is an acronym for Effective Microorganisms®.
The main product, EM-1®, is a liquid bacterial product comprising of three groups of beneficial microbes: Yeast, Photosynthetic Bacteria, and Lactic Acid Bacteria. This consortium of bacteria achieve a synergistic effect in the environment, activating local and native microorganisms that live in the soil and water and maximizing the natural activity of microbe populations.
Most soil and compost already have populations of beneficial microorganisms that work to decompose the organic material. When applied directly to the soil, EM-1® increases the populations while also creating an optimally-balanced diversity.
When balanced, soil conditions improve significantly and plants become naturally more healthy and thus more resistant to damage caused by disease and pests.
In other words, EM-1® shifts the balance of soil environments (and other environments such as aquatic) to be naturally pathogen and disease resistant. This promotes soil fertility by increasing nutrient cycling, one of the main modes of action of soil microorganisms. This increases plant growth, flowering, fruit development, and increases yields. In addition, research has shown EM-1® can increase nutrient content and quality of most crops.
EM® products are now sold in over 120 countries around the world for a variety of used such as agriculture, aquaculture, waste water treatment, composting, livestock, and human health.
EM® is the brand name given to a family of microbial-based products using a technology developed by Japanese scientist Dr. Teruo Higa. EM® is an acronym for Effective Microorganisms®.
The main product, EM-1®, is a liquid bacterial product comprising of three groups of beneficial microbes: Yeast, Photosynthetic Bacteria, and Lactic Acid Bacteria.
This consortium of bacteria achieve a synergistic effect in the environment, activating local and native microorganisms that live in the soil and water and maximizing the natural activity of microbe populations.
Most soil and compost already have populations of beneficial microorganisms that work to decompose the organic material. When applied directly to the soil, EM-1® increases the populations while also creating an optimally-balanced diversity.
When balanced, soil conditions improve significantly and plants become naturally more healthy and thus more resistant to damage caused by disease and pests.
In other words, EM-1® shifts the balance of soil environments (and other environments such as aquatic) to be naturally pathogen and disease resistant. This promotes soil fertility by increasing nutrient cycling, one of the main modes of action of soil microorganisms. This increases plant growth, flowering, fruit development, and increases yields. In addition, research has shown EM-1® can increase nutrient content and quality of most crops.
EM® products are now sold in over 120 countries around the world for a variety of used such as agriculture, aquaculture, waste water treatment, composting, livestock, and human health.
Dr. Teruo Higa coined EM® as an "Earth Saving Revolution" because of its potential to contribute significantly to the general improvement of our health and the health of our environment.
By focusing on large-scale recycling operations, high-quality food and safe agriculture, and solving problems like pollution, Dr. Higa (and all that work with EM®), think EM® could be a potent tool for many of these issues.
Recycling your own food waste benefits the environment in a variety of ways. For one, when waste lies stagnant in landfills, vital oxygen is unable to reach the layers to encourage decomposition. Instead putrefaction takes place, producing and releasing gasses and carbon dioxide. Instead of this valuable bio-waste being wasted with municipal waste, it's recycled into a sustainable resource for agriculture.
Dr. Teruo Higa coined EM® as an "Earth Saving Revolution" because of its potential to contribute significantly to the general improvement of our health and the health of our environment.
By focusing on large-scale recycling operations, high-quality food and safe agriculture, and solving problems like pollution, Dr. Higa (and all that work with EM®), think EM® could be a potent tool for many of these issues.
Recycling your own food waste benefits the environment in a variety of ways. For one, when waste lies stagnant in landfills, vital oxygen is unable to reach the layers to encourage decomposition. Instead putrefaction takes place, producing and releasing gasses and carbon dioxide. Instead of this valuable bio-waste being wasted with municipal waste, it's recycled into a sustainable resource for agriculture.
Second, adding this nutrient-rich organic material back into your garden soil results in little if any need for chemical inputs such as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers that ultimately leach into the ground water. Soil high in soil microorganisms become naturally self-purifying by creating natural antioxidant compounds, preventing pathogenic bacteria from making your soil its home.
Lastly, our Organko compost bins are 100% made from sustainable materials. In fact, the Bokashi Organko - Ocean is 30% recycled fishing nets collected from the ocean.
Before we go into EM® Bokashi and food waste recycling, lets take a minute to understand why EM® is beneficial to composting as a whole. Lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and phototrophic bacteria contained in EM® change the environment of compost by fermenting the organic substances.
When EM® begins to ferment or break down the material, proteins and cellulose are metabolized into amino acids and polysaccharides instead of ammonia and carbon dioxide. This not only gets rid of odor, these amino acids and polysaccharides can be directly absorbed by plants and other microorganisms. This saves a step and results in increased fruit quality as normally proteins are synthesized from nitrogen.
By being able to directly absorb available amino acids, the energy is used to produce more sugar into the fruit.
In addition to more nutrient-rich compost, EM-1® speeds up the maturing process. EM-1® adds high populations of beneficial microorganisms that add valuable oxygen into the pile without the need for turning. By fermenting with EM-1®, organic material is decomposed within 2 months instead of 3-6 months. And thanks to the beneficial microorganisms the bio-waste is kept from rotting and producing unpleasant, foul odors. EM-1® liquid or your finished bokashi food waste can be directly added to your outdoor compost pile to speed up decomposition.
Worms equally enjoy the amazing buffet of food waste buried in the soil or added to a compost pile. Like microorganisms, worms eat the organic material and produce waste (worm castings). This increases organic matter and serves as additional food for bacteria, fungi, and other beneficial soil microbes.
Bokashi is a Japanese concept defined as "fermented organic matter" and is generally made from fermented wheat, cotton, or rice bran. Our EM® Bokashi uses the original EM-1® Microbial Inoculant to ferment organic rice bran to create a fast working composting material full of beneficial microorganisms. The bran acts as a medium and food source (along with molasses) for the microbes. By layering food waste with EM® Bokashi in the Organko bucket, the beneficial microorganisms turn the organic material into a natural fertilizer and superfood for your soil and plants.
Bokashi is a Japanese concept defined as "fermented organic matter" and is generally made from fermented wheat, cotton, or rice bran. Our EM® Bokashi uses the original EM-1® Microbial Inoculant to ferment organic rice bran to create a fast working composting material full of beneficial microorganisms. The bran acts as a medium and food source (along with molasses) for the microbes.
By layering food waste with EM® Bokashi in the Organko bucket, the beneficial microorganisms turn the organic material into a natural fertilizer and superfood for your soil and plants.
When you increase the organic matter in the soil, you also increase the soil structure and strength. The fermented food scraps added to the soil feed organisms such as worms, microorganisms, and beneficial insects. Microbes and other organisms secret sticky compounds (waste) when consuming and decomposing the organic material. These sticky compounds act as glue for soil particles and help bind them together, increasing the strength.
While breaking down the food waste, nutrients are released and cycled by the microorganisms into plant available forms. This reduces the need for chemical fertilizers that can have negative effects on the soil health. Instead of chemical nitrogen being wasted or leached into the soil, microorganisms break down the organic material into immediately available forms.
The movement of microorganisms and other larger organisms create aeration and pores within the soil. Pores are made up of either water or air and are essential for strong and healthy soil. Known as porosity, the volume of pores dictates water infiltration, nutrient movement, root growth, and oxygen concentrations.
Lastly, organic matter and proper nutrient supplementation ensures you can garden with little to no tillage. This increases drainage and water infiltration as well by decreasing compaction and stress. Earthworms are also important for soil strength as their waste and movement either binds soil particles together or creates permeability. Neither worms nor microorganisms can break down all our waste alone, this is why it is so important to create a healthy, living soil full of all organisms in balance.
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