EM-1
Terms: EM-1, EM, EM liquid, EM microbes, Effective Microorganisms, primary EM product
EM-1 is a fermented liquid (light muddy brown to a near-translucent reddish-brown color) that is just water with lots of microorganisms. See the ingredients of EM-1.
EM-1 can be used directly, but it is mainly used as an ingredient to make other kinds of EM (Activated EM, EM-5, EM Bokashi, etc.--See also EM Secondary Products). EM-1 could therefore be considered a primary EM product.
The direct uses of EM-1 include drinking, adding to water when watering plants and spraying with water for odor control, among other direct uses. See Direct Uses below for details.
For economical reasons, Activated EM or other EM fermented recipes (that is, fermented with using EM-1), is instead used for the above same uses:
- For drinking, you can add one or more from a wide variety of possible ingredients (fresh juiced fruits or vegetables, with fresh bulbs [garlic, etc.], roots and spices [ginger, hot peppers, etc.], as well as, sea salt, mineral extracts, etc.) to make an EM fermented drink. Following the base instructions for making Activated EM or EM-5 to ferment your drink version, add these other ingredient(s), but make sure that everything is then kitchen-grade/food-grade (from the utensils to the ingredients). The matured EM fermented drink could be drunk straight or mixed with water or seltzer depending on how strong (sour, tangy, tart, piquant) you want your drink to be. See Fermenting with EM for human consumption.
- For watering plants, either or both Activated EM and EM-5. Add 1 fl oz (2 tablespoons or 6 teaspoons) of Activated EM per gallon of water every time you water your plants. Use EM-5 every other week or once a month at about 1.5 teaspoons (1/2 tablespoon) per gallon of water (or 1/3 teaspoon per quart of water).
- For odor problems, use about 1 to 2 fl oz of Activated EM per gallon of water (or if in a quart-size spray bottle, 1.5 to 3 teaspoons or 1/2 to 1 tablespoon in a quart of water): wash, mop or spray on rugs, carpet, tiles, wood flooring, fabrics, upholstery, plastic/rubber seats, dashboards, curtains, etc.
Direct Uses of EM-1
- Drinking EM-1
- If you look at the list of microbes in EM-1, you can see that all of the microbes in EM-1 (with the exception of phototrophic bacteria, but it is supposedly in Swiss cheese) are already in foods and beverages. All of these microbes are also Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) with the phototrophic bacteria being considered or in the process of being put on the GRAS list. However, if phototrophic bacteria (also known as photosynthetic bacteria) is generally found throughout the environment in soils, water, including earthworm castings (i.e., worm compost), and these are elements with which foods are grown, it should be no surprise that phototrophic bacteria may be in or have been going through our bodies without us realizing it.
If you wish to drink EM-1, you can start with small amounts, from a few drops to a teaspoon in a cup of water. You can drink EM-1 straight or with water. If you drink it straight, always good to drink water or juice, as well.
You can drink as much EM-1 as you want. An average could be a shot-glass (about 1.5 fl oz) a day, either all at once or a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time (9 teaspoons=3 tablespoons=1.5 fl oz) throughout the day, straight or with every cup of water you drink.
For a colon cleanse, do an occasional 1/2 cup or full cup of EM-1.
It's always good to carry around a small vile (2 fl oz) of straight EM-1 in case you end up eating something unsettling (clams that may be off, old sushi, or an oncoming bought of food poisoning). If the vile is also a spray, you can spray in your mouth for bad breath or spray to an area that smells bad (in your car, pet odor, rug, etc.) - Watering plants with EM-1
- Same as with using Activated EM, add about 1 fl oz (2 tablespoons or 6 teaspoons) of EM-1 per gallon of water every time you water your plants in pots, planters and in your garden.
- Taking away odor with EM-1
- Same as with using Activated EM, add about 2 teaspoons per quart (32 fl oz) of water (quart size spray bottle), and spray to area and spray to area if after cleaning (spills, stains, pet waste stains, on rugs, carpet, tiles, wood, fabrics, upholstery, including toilets, urinals and potable toilets.
Carry a small sprayer (e.g., 2 fl oz spray bottle) for bad breath, for various bad odor situations, and to drink from in case of an unsettled stomach.
If you get into the habit of fermenting with EM for all kinds of purposes, you may become reluctant to use EM-1 directly, especially when you know you can use that same EM-1 to make 20 times as much. But don't hesitate to use EM-1 directly if you forgot to make your batch, or your batch isn't ready in time.
The economic use of EM-1
1 quart (0.95 liter) of EM-1 can produce 20 quarts (5 gallons or 640 fl oz) of Activated EM (AEM).
At 1 fl oz of AEM per gallon of water, that's 640 gallons of water+AEM.
640 fl oz AEM ÷ 1 fl oz AEM/gallon water = 640 gallons water+AEM
1 quart (0.95 liter) of EM-1 can produce 400 lbs of bokashi.
At a ratio of 1:33 (1 lb bokashi to 33 lbs food waste), 400 lbs bokashi can treat up to 13,200 lbs (6.6 tons) of food waste.