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[Q & A] Bat Guano! The Best Ways to Use It
Ever grown with bat manure? Plants love it! Anyone who uses Guanokalong products will tell you that.
But why does it work…where does it come from…how do you use it?
Egbert from Guanokalong’s here to tell us all about his bat manure.
Q
Our soil growers love your Bat Guano Powder! For those not switched on to your bat manure, can you tell us what it is?
A
Of course. It’s a 100% organic super manure that improves taste, quality and yield.
It fills the root zone with essential microelements and enzymes while providing macro elements for healthy growth.
The bat guano we use has been building up in rainforest caves for hundreds of years, away from human influence, where ripe fruit and healthy insects are abundant. Over time, this bat manure has composted.
Since bats choose their own food, the bat guano used in Guanokalong is 100% organic.
Q
What type of bats make your Guano and what do they eat?
A
We use guano from wild bats that live in caves in Indonesia and Madagascar. The Indonesian bats eat insects and the Madagascan bats eat fruit.
Q
Being a natural product produced by wild bats, is there much variation in the Bat Guano Powder?
A
Since Guanokalong is 100% natural, the NPK ratio may differ ever so slightly from batch to batch.
However, the minimum guaranteed analysis is NPK 1+10+1. This is consistent enough that you can safely use the same amount of Guanokalong, regardless of your batch, without burning your plants.
To further guarantee the NPK ratio on the label, Guanokalong isn’t mixed with other fertilizers.
Q
Some people say that Bat Guano is not ethical as the harvesting in the caves is destructive to natural habitats. Can you tell us if this is true?
A
Good question, and thanks for expressing your concern. It’s very important to us that the guano we use is ethically sourced.
Guanokalong is certified by the Control Union for organic inputs. Furthermore, the suppliers that I use are ecocerted. Eco certification involves being audited to ensure you are collecting sustainably.
The collection of guano is also government controlled, so not all sites are open for collection.
I’ve personally been in the caves myself. I’ve seen with my own eyes that the little biotope or ecosystem is not disturbed. Workers scoop the guano up for drying or treatment without destroying the caves and the habitat of the bats.
On the internet you’ll find papers discussing the negative impact of guano collection and I will not deny these findings. Nevertheless, there are also positive impacts on the life of the local workers, schooling for children and government programs that just cannot be ignored.
I’m not able to give you a 100% guarantee – unless I was personally there all of the time, it’s impossible. What I can say is that I’ve made, and will continue to make, every effort to ensure our guano is harvested in the most planet friendly way.
Q
All of that’s very reassuring. Why would you recommend Guanokolong?
A
Guanokalong has a rich and unique mix of macro elements, microelements and enzymes.
In particular, it’s brimming with phosphorus, which is great for flowering, even better for rooting. Add it to soil or coco straight away and it’ll get to work throughout your grow cycle.
Used in growing media, something really great happens. The magnesium, calcium and unique enzymes in Guanokalong stimulate the microbial life in the growing media. In turn, the micro life in soil helps plants to absorb the minerals in Guanokalong.
This happens naturally from week 1 to week 12, depending on how much mineral or organic fertilizer is in the growing media. Mineral fertilizers slow down these microbial activities, whereas organic fertilizers speed them up. This makes organic gardening a little bit harder to control.
That said, Guanokalong is very safe to use. It releases its minerals very, very gradually, so burning plant roots is nigh impossible.
Q
The most common feedback we get is that soil growers using Bat Guano powder get a better flavour to their produce.
A
Yes, it definitely improves the taste of the crops.
Herbs taste sweeter, tomatoes taste like tomatoes and strawberries are sweeter and tastier. The sensation of tasting or eating water diminishes. The overall taste palette of fruits and veggies improves.
Q
What other plant benefits will growers see by using the Guano powder?
A
There are tonnes of benefits.
Aside from taste, growers using Guano Powder will also see surges in root structuring and an increase in bacteria resistance. On top of that, they’ll have an exuberant flowering phase of growth.
Overall, it’s just really great at improving the size, quality and taste of your yield.
Q
Is there anything you’d recommend using with Guanokalong?
A
There is. Due to its organic origin, Guanokalong isn’t actually a complete NPK fertilizer. However, it’s easy enough for you to add extra nitrogen and potassium separately.
I would recommend adding nitrogen for vegetative growth and potassium when flowering.
Q
How does the liquid Guanokalong Extract Taste Improver fit in?
A
Since not everyone grows with soil and coco, as you correctly said, we developed our Extract Taste Improver. It’s a liquid guano that’s clear in colour. You can add it to soil, to coco, and use it with any growing system, even hydroponic ones.
Guanokalong Extract is a plant supplement that is directly taken up by the plants to improve taste, make flowers more pronounced and more. Anyone using it will tell you that the taste of the end product is beyond compare.
It’s important to remember that Guanokalong Extract is not an NPK fertilizer.
As you know, we work 100% organically, so it’s just not possible to extract all of Guanokalong powder’s nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus in water. The maximum combined NPK level stops at 2%.
Q
So how do you recommend that growers use Guanokalong Extract?
A
It’s best used as a feed additive – apply it to your feed weekly, from week 1 to the end of your cycle. Some growers choose to only use it during the last week of flowering, to really intensify the flavour of flowers.
The quantity does not really matter, as long as you use at least 10ml per Litre of feeding water.
Gardeners growing orchids have gone as high as mixing 50% extract with 50% water and got stunning results.
If you’re using Guanokalong Bat Guano Powder or pellets, you don’t need to use it at all.
Q
Interesting. You already touched on this, but would you mind telling our growers more about how Guanokalong Extract is produced?
A
Absolutely. It’s created organically, by sitting Guanokalong Bat Guano Powder in water for a lengthy period while it’s constantly circulated with pumps. No sugars, preservatives, acids or hormones are added.
Once the extract is ready, we let it rest for 7 days so that heavy, unclear particles sink to the bottom of the container.
The clear extract is then decanted to another container, from where it is directly filled into bottles and jerry cans. There’s no chance that it’ll clog your growing system.
Q
There are lots of ways to use Bat Guano Powder, how do you advise using it?
A
As I mentioned, Bat Guano Powder isn’t a complete NPK fertiliser. To completely fertilize it's advisable to add extra nitrogen and potassium.
For indoor use, mix 1kg Guanokalong Powder with 100 - 200 litres of compost in the 1st week. Or mix 50g per plant in a 15-litre pot. For small plants, mix 100g of Guanokalong powder with your growing media and put it into a plant pot.
When growing outdoors, use 100g for every plant every 2 months, starting in April. This may vary slightly, depending on the size of your plants. Either mix it with your growing media or apply as a top dressing. In an open field, use 1kg per 10m2.
For topdressings, use 100g of Guanokalong powder per plant then water in.
When transplanting, fill 1/3 of a 15 litre plant pot with growing media, then add a layer of Guanokalong powder (100g). Next, fill the rest of the plant pot with your growing media and put in your plant.
We recommend you use a pot that doesn't drain the Guano just like that.
You can re-use your soil or coco twice at most. If doing this, mix 400g of Guanokalong powder with 50L of soil or coco.
Well, that’s all our questions, thanks for all the info. It’s clear to see why Guanokalong products are so popular, and why they have a 5 star customer rating on our website.
