The purpose of the project was to study the impact of the EM Bokashi starter on the biological waste composting process compared to the established practice of the CRO Vrhnika. In a three-repetition experiment, a mixture of biodegradable waste was composted either by the addition of microbial inoculant, the EM Bokashi Starter (1 L/m3; treatment B) and compared the process with a control treatment with no additive (K). In the first four weeks composting was performed in a closed hall, and semi-closed under the roof in the next four weeks. During the whole period, we monitored daily the course of temperature, once a week pH, electrical conductivity and nitric nitrogen. At the beginning and end of the experiment we measured the content of the elements in the compost. We also carried out a growth test with Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis L.) and a germination test with a garden cress (Lepidium satium L.). Compost samples from the both treatments, were suitable for cabbage at 2 % by weight when mixed into the already prepared peat growing medium. The cress test showed that the water extract of compost (100 g/L) at B is not phytotoxic, but at K it is. According to the initial mass content, it was calculated that 35 % of organic matter was degraded in B compared to 33 % at K. Nutrient losses (N, P, K) were small, with the exception of sulfur, which was lost by 30 % in the both treatments. After two months, compost was biologically stable in both treatments; the respiration rate was below 500 mg CO2-C/100 g. We can conclude that the addition of the EM Bokashi starter did not significantly accelerate the degradation of the organic matter, but it has improved the germination capacity of garden cress seeds compared to the K.
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