---Words in bold below are the title, or part of, for each slide.---

<Slide 1>
Urban Soil & the EM Bokashi Method

The reduction of soil contamination and improving of soil health
with fermented food waste
and leaf waste.

<Slide 2>
Some urban soil issues are:
- Compared to natural soils, urban soils have been excavated, compacted, disturbed, mixed, filled in, and contaminated.
- Contaminated with chemicals and toxic metals from past industrial shops, such as, manufacturing and warehousing, have left urban soils inappropriate for growing foods and healthy plants.

<Slide 3>
There are different ways to improve urban soils
- Removal of contaminated soil and replacement with healthier soils and soil matter, such as, topsoil, compost and mulch.
- Bioremediation, which is the remediating of soil biologically using the natural life functions of bacteria, fungi and plants to help break down and alter contaminants.
- Phyto-remediation is specifically the use of plants to bio-remediate the soil, such as, sunflower, willow, mustard plants, hemp, etc.
- Natural soil additives can also be used, such as, compost and bokashi.
The EM Bokashi method is both a natural soil additive and a bioremediation method.

<Slide 4>
These are some of the soil additives, or soil amendments:
- Natural fertilizers. Fertilizer, in general, implies that the fertilizer additive is a source of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), which are macro-nutrients. A natural fertilizer would therefore be a source of NPK not from oil or gas, but from materials, such as, manure, bone meal, fish emulsion, etc. However, fertilizers are not balanced structured soil amendments, nor do they have remediating effects.
- Compost is a source of micro-nutrients and some macro-nutrients, and is a balanced structured soil amendment. Composting can take time for mature, finished compost, and the compost may have inconsistency in bacteria, fungi, the type of species and populations. Compost does have remediation effects, but depends widely on the compost type and quality.
- EM Bokashi, especially as fermented food waste, can be a source of both macro- and micro-nutrients, as well as, rich organic matter content. However, since fermented food waste still looks and smells like fermented food, the balance in soil structure occurs after the application. Nearly 99% of the food waste is not discernible within a month after it's been trenched in soil. And it can be a significant remediation method as you'll see later. 

<Slide 5>
Remediation through soil additive
Should ...
- Use local resources, as much as possible, such as, food waste, leaf waste, etc.
- It should replenish the organic matter content.
- It should be a source of both macro- and micro-nutrients.
- And it should be a source for microbial remediation, that is, increases the beneficial microbes necessary for soil remediation and soil health.

<Slide 6>
What is EM Bokashi?
- A Japanese term, “bokashi”, means fermented organic matter.
- EM Bokashi is organic matter fermented with EM.
The organic matter is usually wheat bran or rice bran, but autumn leaves, saw dust, etc. can also be used.
- EM, Effective Microorganisms, is a specific combination of naturally existing microbes,
which includes,
 -- Lactic acid bacteria (same as those in sauerkraut, yogurt, cheese, etc.)
 -- Yeast (same as baker’s yeast and brewer’s top-fermenting yeast)
 -- Phototrophic bacteria (a natural detoxifier found in soil, water, worm castings, etc.)

<Slide 7>
How to Ferment food waste
- EM Bokashi is used as a fermentation starter so the food waste ferments instead of rots (the bokashi is usually dried fermented wheat bran, but can also be made with autumn leaves).
- Food waste is placed in an airtight container sprinkled with EM Bokashi (at about 1-to-33 ratio).
- Fermentation takes 2 weeks, at room temperature.
- The fermented food waste, which is and looks like pickled food waste, is then used as a soil amendment:
such as,
 -- buried or trenched for 2 weeks before planting,
 -- mixed or sandwiched between soil in pots or planters for 2 weeks before planting,
or
 -- fed to earthworms with leaves in worm bins or worm farm, and takes 2-3 weeks to produce worm compost.

<Slide 8>
The EM Bokashi Method
- directly uses microorganisms to ferment (compared to creating the condition to attract the microorganisms, as in composting).
- Same microbes used in fermenting foods and beverages.
- Fermentative microorganisms vs. putrefactive microorganisms
Fermentative microbes produces beneficial metabolites (such as, antioxidants, organic acids, and enzymes) vs. putrefactive microbes which can produce toxic metabolites (such as, phytotoxins and botulinum toxin).
- This is not the same as methane fermentation (not the same as anaerobic digesters).
- This is also not the same as anaerobic putrefaction (which happens in compost piles that are not properly aerated).

<Slide 9>
In Fermenting or "pickling" with EM Bokashi
- the same principles apply as with fermenting foods and beverages.
- and is magnified by the combination of microbes that is in EM.
- Antioxidants are produced, which helps in the process of naturally preserving foods.
- Organic acids which deals with pathogens (one reason meats can be added).
- Enzymes, including bacteriocins (which are anti-pathogens) and coenzymes; they break down materials, chemicals, toxins, and pollutants (another reason meats can be added).

<Slide 10>
Other benefits of the bokashi method are:
- it's low tech, low cost, and low maintenance
- Can have a mini-cycle of food waste to growing food in apartments, roof gardens, community gardens, etc.
- Can be considered carbon negative (use of fossil fuels is carbon positive, composting is considered carbon neutral).
- the same food waste is touched twice or three times at most (compared to non-mechanical, managed composting, where it's touched over a dozen times over months).
- it takes 2 weeks to ferment, 2 weeks in soil, and plant.
…which is worth repeating, 2 weeks to ferment, 2 weeks in soil, and plant.
- this means a Short cycle, where multiple, continuous soil replenishment per year can be done, as you'll see on next slide.

<Slide 11>
A Short cycle means Greater capacity
This diagram approximates the timing. The idea is, if the location only allowed the processing of 1,000 pounds of food waste at a time, then how much can each method do in one year.
As you can see, the EM Bokashi method has a potential to divert a significant amount of food waste, but because of its much faster cycle, contaminated soils can be treated more frequently given this kind of space restriction and because of the remediating effects of the EM microbes.

<Slide 12>
Remediating effects on urban soils with the bokashi method
- Improves soil microbial populations. We're directly adding beneficial microorganisms.
- Improves food chain (many food chain diagrams seem to forget the microbes at the very bottom of the chain and throughout the chain).
- Improves soil organic content.
- All of the above combined improves soil structure, root zones, etc.
- And Reduces toxic metals (as we'll show you).

<Slide 13>
These are two EM Bokashi Remediation activities on urban soil
- 1. Started just this spring 2012 - a soil remediation and Urban Farm project at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (521 W 126th St) through the Horticultural Society of NY (soil contaminated with heating oil over many years, as well as, pollutants from industrial shops in the area decades ago). Initially using straight EM Bokashi (fermented wheat bran) and Activated EM (which is the EM microbes fed with molasses in water to ferment for two weeks before applying to the soil).
- 2. Started summer 2010, at the Children’s Garden, in the East Village, 12th St & Ave B. Done through the 12th Street EM Model project, using fermented food waste, leaves, and Activated EM. Soil test results of heavy metals, before and after, on next slide.

<Slide 14>
This is the soil test results of heavy metals before and after the application of EM Bokashi fermented food waste and Activated EM in the Children's Garden. We will test again in July 2012 since we're continuing to apply fermented food waste and spraying and watering with Activated EM.
We'll end on this slide so you can take a look at the results. This, including other information, will be made available on recyclefoodwaste.org
Thank you.
-End-

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Answers to possible questions:
(Reference to slide 4) What is "balanced, structured soil amendment"?
An additive to soil that is itself balanced and can make the soil balanced in stable microbial populations, and improve the soil structure (such as, water retention and porosity, aeration, organic matter content, etc.).

(Reference to slide 7):
How much fermented food waste can be added to the soil?
The suggested amount is about 2 lbs per sq ft (about 1/2' to 1' deep), but we've done more than 13 lbs per sq ft at the Children's Garden and El Sol Brillante community garden.
In a pot or planter, about 1/4 to 1/3 the height of the pot.
In a worm bin, less than 1/2 the worm compost in the worm bin (after harvesting part of the ready-to-use worm compost; and no need to filter out the worms since they multiple quickly on FFW).
Benefit of adding leaves … "Fed to earthworms with leaves" because earthworm eggs are in the leaves (in soil, water and environment in general). They multiply incredibly due to the right conditions (food and moisture) and the enormous amounts of microbes, their main food source.

(Reference to slide 10) How "low cost"?
One quart of EM (average $28) can produce as much as 400 lbs of EM Bokashi, which can ferment, at the ratio of 1 lb of EM Bokashi to 33 lbs of food waste, up to 13,200 lbs of food waste.

(Reference to slide 11) If it's only two weeks to ferment, shouldn't those 4 weeks be 2 weeks?
Yes. However, I gave it another two weeks to allow a longer fermentation (since it's the same as pickling and natural preserving, it can be let to ferment way past 2 weeks until ready to use, a convenience factor since the location may not be ready for trenching, for example. Also, the extra 2 weeks helps if applying to the same soil area to remediate which usually needs about 4 weeks (the time amount in the diagram) for any previous trenching of fermented food waste to disappear. But yes, if the fermented food waste was needed more quickly for various purposes, then the amount of food waste diverted could double to 22,000 lbs per year for that restricted-space case.

(Reference to slide 13) The St. Mary's urban farm project may use fermented food waste later.
They did a before test of the soil. (I don't have the exact numbers, but, for example, they mentioned that the lead levels were in the five digits, if I'm correct.)

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macronutrients - carbohydrates (starches and sugars), fats, and protein.
micronutrients - vitamins, trace minerals (iron, zinc, selenium), macrominerals (calcium, K, sodium) and organic acids (lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid).