bokashi seed ball: a solid fermented matter (a bokashi ferment) the size of golf balls, made with soil (or dirt or clay-like material), Activated EM, blackstrap molasses, bokashi bran, and various seeds. It is air-dried to harden for one to two weeks, and then used as a self-contained seed+biofertilizer to seed gardens, tree pits (tree-plant compatibility needs to be considered), or vacant dirt lots.
Certain seeds may work better than others if dispersed in bokashi seed balls. Such seeds may go through a fermentation cycle of its own before it can germinate. Research and investigate for each seed type before making your bokashi seed balls.
For seeds that may not work if placed inside bokashi balls (one reason could be that the fermentation can make certain seeds non-viable):
1st, make the bokashi balls without seeds and let it ferment for about two weeks; make the bokashi balls small (e.g. about half a golf-ball size).
2nd, add a fresh layer of mud, but without any fermentative material (no bokashi bran, no Activated EM), adding maybe 1/2 inch of mud, and then insert your seeds into that freshly added layer of mud; let dry for 3 or more days before using.
You can use the simple bokashi mudball recipe to make the bokashi balls. The microbes and bokashi should benefit the seeds in nutrients, as well as, to help the seeds germinate once they've been applied and the bokashi seed balls get wet and start falling apart.
If you want the bokashi balls to have more nutrients for the seeds, then you can make the bokashi bran with various materials, for example:
Your main material could be wheat bran or rice bran which have a certain amount nutrients.
Then add from 5% to 10% or more of the total amount of bran, the following two items (example):
- Fishmeal (brown powder or cake) - rich in nutrients and high in protein; used as a high-quality organic fertilizer; made from ground down and dried fish parts (bones, organs, entrails) or is the leftover pulp after the oil is removed from the fish.
- Oil cake (press cake, powder) - rich in minerals and protein; the leftover substance after certain oily seeds have been pressed to extract its oil and liquids; oil cake can come from a variety of foods (olives, peanuts, coconut flesh, grapes, apples, soybeans, flax seeds [linseed], sunflower seeds, etc.)—be aware that certain kinds may be toxic, but their toxic components are usually removed before pressing.
How to use bokashi seed balls
There are two main ways to use bokashi seed balls:
- Throwing or chucking the bokashi seed balls onto areas that are barren of plant life (empty dirt lots, barren soil landscapes, etc.)
- Burying in small shallow holes using a hand trowel.
Especially with seed balls made with bokashi (with bokashi bran and/or Activated EM), they can serve not only to help green an area, but also to bioremediate that area, at least somewhat.