Bokashi in winter, summer, and during vacations: our season-by-season tips

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Bokashi works year-round, but not in quite the same way in January as in July. Cold slows the microorganisms down, while heat speeds everything up, including juice production and the appetite of fruit flies. And when it's time to go on vacation, many people wonder whether they can leave their bucket on its own.

The good news: with a few simple adjustments, bokashi handles the seasons and your time away with no trouble at all. Here's how.

How temperature affects bokashi

The lactic acid bacteria and yeasts that ferment your food scraps work best at room temperature, around 64–77 °F (18–25 °C). The cooler it gets, the more they slow down: below about 50 °F (10 °C), fermentation is noticeably slower, and at around 41 °F (5 °C), it has almost stopped. The cold doesn't undo the work already done: it simply puts it on hold, and fermentation picks up again when the temperature rises.

On the other hand, a bucket kept somewhere warm ferments faster, produces more juice, and gives off a stronger smell when you open it. What you should avoid above all is direct sunlight, which drives the temperature of a plastic bucket well above that of the room. To pick the right spot, see our guide on where to put your bokashi.

Did you know?

Cold doesn't harm bokashi that has already fermented. Once the two-week resting period is over, the bucket can even freeze without any damage: it will wait patiently for the thaw.

Winter: bring the bucket indoors and be a little more patient

While filling

• Bring the bucket indoors if it usually lives on a balcony or in a garage. A bucket that's still being filled needs a room at a moderate temperature to get off to a good start. Outdoors, repeated freezing and thawing can also crack the lid or the spigot.
• Be a little more generous with the activator, especially with meat, fish, and moist scraps: a good start matters more when it's cool.
• Cut things smaller. Small pieces ferment faster and pack down better.
• Press down, but never stir. Some winter advice suggests mixing the contents of the bucket: that's a mistake. Stirring lets air in, while bokashi needs to be kept away from it.

Expect less juice, too: that's normal in cold weather. Keep draining it regularly all the same.

While resting

In a cool room, extend the resting time of the full bucket by one to two weeks. Three or four weeks instead of two is no problem at all: a well-sealed bucket doesn't mind waiting. Timing guidelines are covered in detail in our guide on fermentation time and the signs that bokashi is ready.

Emy's tip

Set the bucket on a board or a piece of thick cardboard rather than on a cold tile floor: it will hold on to the warmth of the room better.

Frozen ground: storing fermented bokashi until the thaw

In most regions of France, bokashi can be buried almost all winter long, on a day without frost. Cold soil simply breaks it down more slowly: allow more time before planting. But in the mountains, or during a harsh winter, the ground can stay hard for several weeks. You then have several options:

• Keep the bucket closed somewhere cool, such as a garage or shed. Once well drained, it stays stable for weeks, or even months.
• Transfer it to a large airtight container to free up your buckets: drain off all the juice, line the bottom of the container with newspaper, press down each addition, and close it tightly. Excess moisture is the main enemy of storage; add more paper if the contents look wet.
• Add it to a backyard compost bin, well covered with brown materials: decomposition will continue gently there.
• Mix it with soil in a large container, under cover, if you have the space. This is the idea behind the “soil factory.”

In spring, bury your stock as soon as the soil can be worked, following our guide to burying bokashi in the garden. If you have a lot stored up, a third bucket or a storage container makes winter much easier: we explain this in our guide on the two-bucket rotation.

Summer: heat, juice, and fruit flies

Heat speeds up fermentation, which is actually good news. But it does call for a little more attention.

• Drain more often. Summer fruits and vegetables are full of water, so the bucket produces more juice. Drain every other day, or even daily during a heat wave.
• Keep the bucket in the shade. Bring it inside if your balcony gets direct sun, and keep it away from sliding glass doors and large windows.
• Keep fruit flies away. They don't come from a properly closed bokashi: they're drawn to scraps left out in the open and to drips of juice. Empty your kitchen compost pail every day, sprinkle activator right after each addition, and wipe the rim of the lid and the spigot.
• Stick to the two-week rest. Even though fermentation goes faster in hot weather, this waiting period ensures a reliable result.

If the lid bulges slightly from the pressure of fermentation gases, or if an unusual smell appears, our guide bad smells, too much juice, fruit flies will help you figure out what's going on.

Going on vacation: a closed bucket is perfectly safe

This is one of bokashi's great advantages: it gets along just fine without you. Unlike a worm composter, there's no one to feed. Before you leave:

1. Empty your kitchen compost pail into the bokashi: nothing should be left out in the open.
2. Sprinkle a good layer of activator on top, press down, and close the lid tightly.
3. Drain the juice down to the last drop and make sure the spigot or plug is properly closed.
4. Put the bucket somewhere cool and shady. A closed-up house in midsummer can get very hot: a pantry or basement is better than the kitchen.

The bucket will simply keep fermenting while you're away. When you get back, drain it: you may find a bit more juice than usual. If it was full when you left, it will even be ready to empty. If you'll be gone for more than a month and the bucket is full of juicy fruits and vegetables, ask a neighbor to stop by and drain it once.

Also keep your supply of activator tightly closed, dry, and away from heat. For when you return, keeping a spare bag of our Bokashi EM Compost Activator on hand helps you avoid unpleasant surprises. And if you also have worms, their needs are different: see our guide caring for your worm composter while you're on vacation.

Key takeaways

Before you leave: kitchen compost pail emptied, layer of activator, lid tightly closed, juice drained, bucket somewhere cool. A closed bokashi can be left alone for several weeks with no trouble.

Planning the year with two buckets

The seasons fit naturally into the two-bucket rotation:

• In spring and summer, the garden is ready to receive bokashi: this is the time to bury it regularly and to use up the stock built up over the winter.
• In the fall, take advantage of the beds opening up in the vegetable garden to bury it before the first frosts.
• In winter, let fermented buckets sit a little longer, and store the contents if the ground is frozen.

A portable bucket also makes these trips back and forth easier: the Skaza Organko 2 Bokashi Composter, with its strap, is easy to carry out to the garden or the shed.

In summary

In winter, bring the bucket indoors, cut things smaller, be a little more generous with the activator, and extend the resting time by one to two weeks, without ever stirring. If the ground is frozen, store the fermented bokashi, well sealed and drained, until the thaw. In summer, drain more often, keep the bucket in the shade, and never leave scraps out in the open, to avoid fruit flies. Before a vacation, empty the kitchen compost pail, add a layer of activator, drain, close, and put the bucket somewhere cool: it will wait for you with no problem.

Related products

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Other topics in the guide

Vermicomposting30 fact sheets →Composting25 fact sheets →EM microorganisms26 fact sheets →