RooRman
Well-Known Member
Using Bat Guano for Organic Indoor Gardening
The purpose of this thread is to assemble most of my knowledge using bat guano fertilizer for organic indoor gardening. Specifically, we will be using the Sunleaves range of bat guano products and discuss the reasons to go guano, the methods of feeding and the different types. All of this information is compiled from my own personal experience in the use of this product for growing cannabis.Why Organics? Why Guano?
Mainly, organic gardening produces a cleaner tasting final product than something grown with chemical fertilizers. This is the subject of much argument, but organic gardening, when done correctly, should perform just as well as chemical fertilizers with the added benefit of being all natural and having a cleaner taste. Why do you think organic tomatoes cost more than hydroponic ones? Better taste. This is not meant to incite argument, this post is just to outline another way of gardening besides gardening in soil with chemicals or hydroponics. If you have great results with chemical fertilizers then more power to you.
Bat Guano is natures super fertilizer, it contains many necessary macro and micro nutrients as well as a whole host of beneficial micro-organisms that cannot be duplicated by a chemical fertilizer. Also, bat guano, when used correctly, makes it virtually impossible to inflict your plants with accidental nutrient burn.
How to feed.
Bat Guano should be made into a tea for regular feedings. It can also be added to the soil dry as a time release fertilizer, although quantities for this are entirely circumstantial.
Tea preparation is as follows:
I use guano (3 tbls.) to 1 gal. of water. I mix this in a large bucket using 3 quarts of warm (not hot) water and 1 quart of cold water. The reason for this is I feel it breaks down the bat pellets better if you are going to add it directly to the feeding water, which is what I do. I stir the 3 quarts of warm water as I add the 3 tbls. of bat guano, mixing continually. Then I gradually pour in the 1 quart of cold water. Also, let it sit at LEAST overnight or up to 48 hours before feeding to your plants. Then cover loosely, if the cover is solid, punch air holes in it. I water 3-4 times a week. A dilute mixture for young plants can be made with 2 or as little as 1 tbls. and still remain effective and non-burning for younger plants.
Try making tea in cold water, you'll find out the hard way like I did it just sinks to the bottom NEVER to be absorbed into the water. Don't waste your sh*t!
Now Sunleaves says 3 times a week is max feeding for bat guano, however organic gardening is not an exact science. I feed based what the plant needs, and I feel if you have good enough drainage in your soil and have run-off every time you water then it is fine to feed this often.
Types of Guano.
Bat guano comes in different types. The N-P-K ratio of the guano is dependent on what the type of bat it came from and what it’s diet consists of. For instance, Mexican bats eat bugs so their guano is high in nitrogen. While Jamaican bats feed on fruit, so their guano is high in phosphorus. Lets explore some different types of guano and their application.
Mexican Bat Guano (10-2-1). This type of guano is very high nitrogen. This makes it perfect for the vegetative stages of growth. Even when the plant is young it can be fed a dilute mixture if the soil happens to contain very little nutrients. This type of guano can be used throughout the vegetative stage of growth.
Peruvian Seabird Guano (10-10-2) This type of guano is NOT bat guano. It comes from Peruvian seabirds and is then transferred into dry-pellet form. This type of guano, because it is not from bats, is very “hot”, meaning it will burn plants very easily if prepared incorrectly or over applied. Do not exceed the recommended amount when preparing the tea and allow it to sit for at least 72 hours before feeding your plants. This is 24 hours longer than bat guano because the pellets are harder to break down as well as the high potential for burning the plants otherwise. Peruvian Guano is both high in nitrogen and phosphorus making it ideal for the transitional phase of growth when you are finishing the vegetative phase and beginning to flower. The nitrogen will sustain the plant through it’s initial stretch and the phosphorus will allow for root expansion and as a result better yields. On a side note, many people have poor results with this type simply because they do not prepare the tea properly or let it sit long enough the end result being damage to their plants that is beyond repair.
Jamaican Bat Guano (1-10-0.2) This type of bat guano is high in phosphorus. It is perfect for the early-mid flowering cycle once females are well established. I like to use this type for most of my flowering phase in conjunction with Fox Farms Tiger Bloom at ½ strength for massive blooms.
Indonesian Bat Guano (0.5-12-0.2) This type of guano is the ultimate low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus bat guano. It is perfectly suited for the end of the flowering cycle before the final flush. This drops nitrogen levels low to cut growth and signal the autumn harvest as well as provide a huge resource of phosphorus to bulk up buds and add to trichome count.
In conclusion, you can now see that bat guano is perfect for growing your own clean organic cannabis. It is easily customized to every stage of the plants growth from seedling to harvest. Organic gardening is by no means an exact science. Depending on your atmosphere, light, and type of plant you may need to feed more, less, or perhaps amend your feeding water with something that bat guano does not contain, for instance to stabilize pH etc. However you grow, remember it is a life affirming process to grow and smoke your own cannabis do NOT base your grow on calendars, weight, and dollar signs, as such things are truly insignificant to this process.
