TeraGanix Bokashi Compost Bin + 1 Lb Bokashi Bran, Kitchen Countertop Composter, All Season Indoor Composting, Easily Drain Liquids, Odor Free, Airtight Lid, 2.5 Gallon, Cappuccino

I just started composting a month ago so that my first bucket is undergoing and not sure how the finished compost looks like yet. But so far I’m happy about how compact it is and simple design that doesn’t taking up my kitchen by space nor by visual. It is stackable so that the second bucket is just right on top of the first one. So minimalistic!I was worried about the smell but it doesn’t smell at all. I’m looking forward to using the finished compost for my garden in a few weeks.

Arrived in quick order and was easy to setup. The folding plunger lid for the interior is a genius design to compress newly added material and seal the chamber. This piece looks too big to fit, possibly why some may have mentioned that the interior lid was too big, but the edges are thinner and bend to create a tight seal while pushing down. This piece is critical to generate anaerobic conditions within the scraps and also prevent leakage if the container were to tip over. The top lid doesn’t seal - easier to add scraps as preparing food but might be nice if it could snap in place more firmly. I imagine the essential microbes, with things in the food scraps, consume O2 then go to anaerobic. If so, the essential microbes (EM) are in fact facultative species, able to survive with or without O2, which would make sense since the inoculated bran gets exposed to air. It took ~10 days before seeing any Bokashi fluid, 1-4 tablespoons, 5-20mL per day. This fluid has been a mauve/crimson color that smells strongly of acetone > vinegar > lactic acid, eg think nail polish remover mixed with vinaigrette and yoghurt.. solvogenesis! Not a bad smell, but definitely potent. It’s only apparent when adding more scraps or draining fluid. The plunger otherwise does a good job to seal the chamber. We’ve diluted the fluid 100X with water for house plants. Container is innocuous and easy to store in the kitchen. I liked that it was on the small side. With a lot of cooking, I imagine a family of 4 can fill in 2-3 weeks. Thereafter, we’ll let sit for another 2-4 weeks to ferment, draining off the liquid, then add to garden soil to finish the decomposition. The anaerobic solvogenesis may be what keeps critters out and facilitates other soil microbes to complete the break-down. All in all, a fascinating process!

I don’t love this bucket–and I really wanted to. Bokashi’s been part of my kitchen routine for years, but I’ve never had a bokashi bucket I didn’t want to hide away. This one looked acceptably discreet, and the plunger/scraper lid is brilliant. But the outer lid doesn’t close, and that’s a problem! (This is not clear from the product description, though I’d have known about it if I’d read all the reviews in advance.) The scraper lid isn’t sufficient if, say, a visiting small child pulls the bucket off the counter, or an animal knocks it over, or you trip on your way out to the garden with your well-cured garbage pickle. Not to mention the possibility of small flying insects, should one happen to find its way indoors or wherever you keep your resting bucket. Lids should be securable. Personally, I think bokashi buckets should be just barely on the safe side of so airtight that the act of tapping the liquid is necessary to prevent explosions, but as a general expectation, lids should attach to their containers when closed. This does not.Three stars out of five because the five-star scraper lid really is brilliant. My next bokashi bucket will not be this model--but it will have a similar inner lid. As well as an outer one that closes.

This thing sits right on the kitchen counter. Cannot smell a thing when it is closed. It is a nice shape, size, and color so it doesn't stick out like smelly feet but it generates enough curiosity that people ask what it is or what it's for. So, yeah, a great conversation starter which leads into the kitchen plants, the pallet potting table, and that's enough to get the conversation flowing. Plus she likes dumping food quantities into it and gives her a sense of accomplishment like she's helping the planet stay green. Of course the biggest advantage is that when she's happy she makes me happy and that goes a loooong way !