-What is the purpose of fermentation? Why are fermented scraps preferable to fresh ones? --Purpose? In a kitchen bucket, it has the same general purpose as compostingto break down material into plant-accessible nutrients. Its just a different process, requiring conditions easier to maintain in a bucket. I dont know that fermented matter is always preferable; that depends on your needs and situation. For me, bokashi means I can feed my container garden all my kitchen waste (including meats, dairies, and oil). The liquid has value as a fertilizer, too, and is harvestable in as little as a few days after starting a bucket fermenting. Also, materials compost more easily after fermenting than when fresh. -Does it smell? If so, how much? Any rat or bug issues so far? --If you have the right container, theres no scent at all outside the bucket, so nothing to attract pests. When you open a healthy bucket, the smell is like vinegar, though if youve added a lot of a strongly scented item, the bucket will smell like that and vinegar for a day or so. Mistakes will stinkas with any processbut I didnt run into any problems until after I started testing which of the retailer instructions I could safely ignore, so if you follow directions, thats probably not an issue. -G- -Does fermented stuff take longer to compost than fresh stuff? --No!!! Fermented bokashi speeds aerobic composting marvelously; you can add it to a slow pile as an accelerator. I get fresh compost from cured bokashi and dried leaves in about a month, ditto from bokashi and soil (as with any compost, it should be left to mature awhile before using in the garden, and Im still testing those times). -Is anyone burying the fermented stuff without composting it first? If so, do you live in the city/ have rats? --Sadly, I have no holes in the ground. -The biggest benefit as I see it, is that I wouldn't need browns. I could probably filch a used newspaper here and there, but finding browns in three times the quantity of my kitchen scraps is not proving easy. If I can compost without having to drive around looking for bags of leaves/ begging home depot for sawdust, so much the better. --This is true. If youre going to trench (bury) orplanter-finish your bokashi, youll need soil but no browns. To compost your bokashi in a container after fermentingI recommend that part be done out on a balcony or other outdoor spaceyou will need some browns, though not nearly so many as with fresh-matter aerobic composting. Ive been using equal volumes of bokashi and dried leaves; YMMV. Retail EM bokashi bran is usually wheat bran in the US, but thats convenience and consistency more than anything, and you dont use much per bucket. Buying EM-1 inoculant fluid is cheaper than buying pre-mixed, and you can make your own bokashi "bran" with any number of things. Im playing with used coffee grounds right now, and have used EM inoculant fluid in shredded newspaper with some success. Cant speak to the non-retail newspaper-and-whey technique, as I havent yet tried it (small space, lots of experiments, but I will, soon. Ish). If odors are a concern, you might add a handful of really good soil and hope for rhodobacters! Obligatory disclaimer: while not a retailer, I do have a blog about bokashi, so am probably not the most unbiased of sources. DSF

It may have many a reason why the odor is no longer present which is great,from a dry trap in any sink drain or due to a dry drain going from the basement to the city sewer. I didn't mention the basement drain of which I was remiss to do so. These drains are often the culprit as they don't see any fresh water added to them unless there is an overflow onto the floor, a good amount at that. If anyone has a basement drain to the town sewer systems add water to them a few times a year at least so they don't go dry due to evaporation.

I am making Bulgogie (Korean Barbeque) and it smells wonderful. To go along with it I have steamed rice grilled asparagus and chocolate mousse for dessert. I invited a friend, Ken, over for dinner. He is 75 and his wife just died in April. They would have been married 50 years next month. He is such a sweety and fun to be around. His kids are in Colorado and Washington state.

Your new bookcase looks very nice! I would move the red chair (that's next to the fireplace) and place it next to the other red chair, across from the fireplace. Then place that small accent table between them. Similar layout to this: Then, remove the round mirror. Place a large piece of art there, centering it between the left edge of the TV and the end of the wall. Then, put the floor lamp to the left of the TV as well, just a few inches from the console. Place a couple taller indoor plants to the right of the TV console. Also, this is very random, but have you thought about shortening the length of your fan's rod extension?? Right now it really drops down into the room and if it was raised it would make your ceilings feel taller/room feel more open. Little details like that make a world of a difference visually. Hope this helps!