Effective Microorganisms

Today we had a lesson in how to create “Effective Microorganisms,” or “EM” for short. EM is kind of a miracle substance in the garden than functions as plant nutrition, pest control agent, soil builder, and all-around ecosystem enhancer. So what is it?

EM is an inoculum of microorganisms cultured using compost, sugar, and a bit of the local soil. Microbes are a crucial part of every ecosystem, even the ecosystem we call the human body. The idea with EM in the garden is that you cultivate a super-vigorous culture of microbes that can use the native soil mineralogy, build soil and provide nutrition to your crops. There are even types of EM you can drink that will promote a healthy ecosystem in your gut!

Today we began experiments with three types of EM – two for the garden and one to drink. The drinkable EM consists of bananas and sugar. We chopped up enough bananas to fill a two gallon plastic bucket. We added about 2 kg of raw cane sugar, put the lid on, and stored the bucket in a shady spot in the kitchen. In a few weeks we should have about half a gallon or so of liquid produced by the rotting bananas. This can be used as a tincture and mixed with water, or taken in a small amount (a couple tablespoons) daily for health. I tasted some they have already made and it tastes like sweet and slightly alcoholic banana wine. Pretty good stuff! Either I will become violently ill, or I will never get cancer. I’ll let you know one way or the other…

Here are the two recipes we are experimenting with for EM for our gardens:

Michel’s easy EM

In a large mixing bowl, mix a bunch of starchy cooked leftovers. We mixed a lot of cooked rice with some sweet potatoes. To this we added about 1 kg of cane sugar (molasses would also work).

Find a nice spot outside in a grove of trees that’s shady and has a diverse and thriving arrangement of plant life. The diversity and healthy plants indicates a healthy ecosystem and a good crop of ambient microorganisms. Mix a couple handfuls of soil into the bowl and cover with a cloth to keep critters out.

Let this mixture rot for about 1 week. Add the mixture to about 2 gallons of water in a five-gallon bucket. Add food scraps and another kilo of sugar or molasses. Let this brew for about a month. Aliquots of the resulting liquid can then be diluted with water about 1:20 and used to water your plants. Repeated additions of sugar can keep the stock of microbes going for a few months, possibly up to a year. If it ever smells sour and gross it’s done and can be composted.

Pi Jo’s original old-school EM

This recipe is based on the original conception for EM that first took hold among Thai farmers.

Sterilize a pint-sized mason jar with boiling water. Fill it about 2/3 full with cooked rice. Cover the jar with a piece of paper (notebook paper is fine) and secure with a rubber band. Put the jar in a shady, diverse and healthy environment of trees and shrubs. Cover the jar with leaves and whatever plant detritus is on the ground.

In three days to one week a white, cotton-like mold should form on the rice. Put the rice and mold into a large bucket with 1 kg molasses or sugar and 3 kg vegetable scraps (fresh but some cooked are OK). Let this mixture sit and rot for one month. Strain the juices off the bottom of the bucket and dilute 1:20 with water and add to garden. Aliquots of the juices can be used with additional sugar/molasses to create more EM, up to two times after the original.

An extra-potent for of EM can be made using the same procedure as above except substituting fish (whole fish, fish parts, fish leftovers) for the vegetables. This EM is so potent it should be diluted 1:1000 before application. The fish-EM also cures viruses that affect tomato plants.

The solids from both of these variations can be composted and mulched. The fish-based EM solids can be applied right to grass in sheet mulch form and it will kill the grass and prepare the soil excellently for planting a garden. As with Michel’s recipe, when then smell of the mixture turns sour and gross it is done and should be composted.