Are These Easier and Better Ways to Compost?

A composting trial at Homeacres, comparing three different methods of making compost: with Bokashi food waste, Actiferm microbes and my usual composting method.

We set up the trial with each bay having the same mown materials of polytunnel wastes, together with 1/4 woody wastes. All bins have 122kg raw material.

The differences are:
Bay 1 has 30L Bokashi food waste as part of the raw material.
Bay 2 uses bokashi Actiferm microbes, sprayed on as I filled it.
Bay 3 is compost made is in my normal way and without bokashi microbes. After 4-5 weeks we shall turn its contents, just once.

Next we shall spread these composts in December, each one on a quarter of a bed which will grow lettuce next March.
There will be a fourth quarter of this lettuce bed, which we shall spread with the same weight of commercial, hot-composted green waste compost.

Filmed at Homeacres 13th October 2026 by Leigh Jackson.
With Martyn Richards of Agriton.

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#composting #bokashi #howtomakecompost #compostmaking #nodiggardening

00:00 Introduction to trial
01:34 Charles describes how he has found the bokashi system
01:59 The trial explained
02:51 Loss of carbon, and importance of soil fertility
03:54 Measuring loss of carbon with three Dalek bays
05:19 Collecting browns in autumn/winter
05:45 Bokashi’d food waste in Bay 1, layered with green waste
06:37 Bay 2 - using Actiferm system to add microbes
07:45 Bay 3 - standard composting method
08:01 Adding ingredients to the three bays
08:53 Measuring moisture content and pH
09:52 Length of time before putting on beds and time before planting
10:49 Fourth addition to experiment, a control
11:14 Planned measurements and comparisons