570: Matt Arthur on Bokashi Composting.

Composting food anaerobically.


In This Podcast:

Composting provides many benefits to the garden, yet, people hesitate to compost for various reasons, mainly the aggressive odors that come with the process. However, Matt Arthur is utilizing a composting system on his farm not common to the U.S. that builds healthy soil with less effort and less smell. Listen in to learn about the bokashi composting system, how Matt is reducing food waste, and the types of inputs that will transform the health of the garden.

 

Our Guest:

Matt is a second-generation regenerative farmer growing specialty cut flowers, expanding an apiary, and collecting residential food waste in Missouri with a focus on soil health, native plants, and integrated pest management. He applies lessons learned from working in a major agribusiness to small-scale intensive farming. His family-owned row-crop farm since 1974 grows corn, soy, and wheat using no-till and cover crops for dryland agriculture. Matt also sells bokashi kits & organic MO-kashi bran for indoor anaerobic composting as well as composting worms & worm towers.

Listen in and learn about:

    • What is a bokashi system
    • Anaerobic versus aerobic
    • Why does the bokashi system work well for small spaces
    • The challenges of managing hot compost piles
    • How bokashi makes a difference in farming operations
    • Which input is essential to any plants health
    • Where in the world is the bokashi system used
    • How to start a bokashi composting system at home
    • How perennials produce beneficial insect populations 

As well as:

His failure – Mismanaging 1,000 lbs. of organic milled bran that became infested with green mold

His success – Feeling like a real farmer after successfully overwintering snap dragons

His drive – Loves seeing how his work manifests healthy, thriving ecosystems

His advice – “Keep your food waste in your garden, try different techniques, and transform your garden.”

Matt’s Book recommendations: 

Cool Flowers: How to Grow and Enjoy Long-Blooming Hardy Annual Flowers Using Cool Weather Techniques by Lisa Mason Ziegler

How to reach Matt:

Website: www.blhfarm.com

Facebook: @blhfarm

Instagram: @blhfarm

UrbanFarm.org/blhfarm


 

*Disclosure:
Some of the links in our podcast show notes and blog posts are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, we will earn a nominal commission at no cost to you. We offer links to items recommended by our podcast guests and guest writers as a service to our audience and these items are not selected because of the commission we receive from your purchases. We know the decision is yours, and whether you decide to buy something is completely up to you. 

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