Two bokashi buckets: why you need them and how to organize the rotation

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When people first discover bokashi, they often think one bucket is enough. Then comes the day it's full: it has to stay closed for at least two weeks to ferment… and that evening's peels have nowhere to go. That's why almost every set of instructions, ours included, recommends working with two buckets.

This guide explains how to organize the rotation week after week, how much activator to plan for over the year, and what to do if your pace doesn't fit this pattern.

The problem: a full bucket needs to rest

While you're filling the bucket, fermentation is underway but not finished: the top layers have only just gone in. Once the bucket is full, you close it and leave it alone for at least two weeks, at room temperature, without opening it. This resting time allows the lactic acid bacteria to acidify the entire contents and stabilize the scraps. We go into these timings in our guide to fermentation time and the signs that bokashi is ready.

During those two weeks, your food scraps keep coming. Without a second bucket, you'd have to throw them in the trash, or reopen the fermenting bucket and let air in at the wrong moment.

Key takeaways

One bucket fills while the other ferments. That's the whole idea: you never stop sorting your scraps, and each bucket has time to ferment properly.

The two-bucket cycle, week by week

Let's take a household that fills a bucket in about two weeks, the ideal pace. We'll call the buckets A and B.

1. Weeks 1 and 2: you fill bucket A, layer by layer, with activator, pressing down each time. You drain off the liquid every two or three days.
2. End of week 2: bucket A is full. You add a final layer of activator, press down, and close it. It's set aside to rest.
3. Weeks 3 and 4: you fill bucket B. Bucket A ferments; you simply keep draining its liquid, without opening the lid.
4. End of week 4: bucket B is full and is set aside to rest. Bucket A has fermented for two weeks: you empty it (into the garden, a composter, or a soil container), rinse it, and it's ready to go back into service.
5. Week 5: you start filling bucket A again. And so on.

This pace gives you roughly one bucket emptied every two weeks, or a good twenty-plus fermented buckets a year. To find out what to do with them, see our guide to burying bokashi in the garden, or the one on solutions without a yard. In the diagram: the bucket being filled (1) and the closed bucket fermenting (2), then they swap.

Emy's tip

Stick a small label on the lid of the bucket you're setting aside and write the date you closed it: you'll see at a glance when it will be ready.

How much activator should you plan for over the year?

How much you use depends on the amount of scraps, their type (meat, fish, and very moist scraps need more), and the season. Here at the farm, we estimate that a two-person household uses about 4.4 lb (2 kg) of activator a year, or roughly six months for a 2.2 lb (1 kg) bag. A family of four commonly uses 4.4–13.2 lb (2–6 kg) a year, and a household that adds a lot of meat, fish, or moist scraps will be at the high end of that range.

It's best to always have a little extra on hand: a half-filled bucket waiting for its activator ferments poorly. Keep your supply tightly closed, dry, and away from light. Our Bokashi EM Compost Activator is made right on the farm; if you'd rather make your own, the full method is in our guide to making your own bokashi activator.

What if my pace doesn't fit?

You produce few scraps

If your bucket takes more than a month to fill, it's probably too big for you. Each opening lets in a little air, and very slow filling increases the risk of mold on the top layers. Two solutions:

• Choose smaller buckets, such as two 2.5-gallon (9.6-liter) Skaza Organko 2 Bokashi Composters.
• Batch your additions: keep scraps in a small closed kitchen compost pail and only add them to the bokashi once a day, or every other day. The bucket gets opened less often, and fermentation is all the better for it.

You produce a lot of scraps

If a bucket fills in less than a week, the second one won't have finished resting by the time the first is full. Move up to larger buckets, such as the set of two 4-gallon (15.3-liter) buckets in the Skaza Essential Bokashi Composter, or add a third bucket to the rotation. Some bokashi fans who produce more than a quart (1 liter) of scraps a day even work with three or four buckets.

You can't empty it right away

The ground is frozen, the garden is too far away, you're going away for a few days? The fermented bucket can wait. Tightly closed and drained regularly, it stays stable for weeks, and even several months, according to the experience of many bokashi fans. It's best to use it within the following months, but there's no rush to do it that very day.

The real issue is that a bucket that's waiting is a bucket that's out of service. If this happens to you often, you have two options:

• A third bucket, which acts as a buffer in winter or during busy periods.
• A large airtight storage container, such as a plastic tote with a tight-sealing lid: you transfer the contents of the fermented buckets into it, onto a layer of newspaper, pressing down firmly and closing it again right away. Your buckets are freed up, and the stored bokashi waits for spring. Remember to drain all the liquid from the bucket before transferring it: excess liquid is the number one enemy of storage.

We cover how to organize things through the seasons in our guide bokashi in winter, in summer, and during vacations.

Did you know?

Once fermentation is complete, freezing does bokashi no harm. In the Nordic countries, some people store their fermented buckets in a shed all winter and bury the contents when the ground thaws.

Two identical buckets or different ones?

Nothing requires you to have two identical buckets, but it's more practical: same capacity, same compactor, same routine, and the parts are interchangeable. That's why most of our models come in a set of two. When you get started, don't wait until the first bucket is full to get the second: you'll be caught off guard. To get your first bucket off to a good start, follow our method to start bokashi step by step.

In summary

A full bucket must stay closed for at least two weeks: the second bucket takes over during that time, and the rotation keeps going without interruption. Choose buckets that you fill in one to two weeks, allow about 4.4 lb (2 kg) of activator a year for two people, and plan for a third bucket or an airtight storage container if you can't always empty right away. A fermented bucket, tightly closed and drained, can wait without any problem.

Related products

Best Seller

Bokashi Composter Confort

3.7-gallon (14-liter) capacity, sold individually or as a set of 2

$45.59 €40.83

Best Seller

Bokashi EM compost activator | 1 kg bag

Sold individually or in sets of 2 or 3 bags

$8.02 €7.18

Bokashi Composter Skaza Organko 2

2.5-gallon (9.6 L) capacity, sold individually or as a set of 2

$75.35 €67.49

Skaza Essential Bokashi Composter

4-gallon (15.3-liter) capacity, set of 2 buckets

$71.65 €64.17

Other topics in the guide

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