I have searched high and low herein seeking an answer to this question before posting….no such luck. Sorry if I missed it somewhere. We'd probably all agree that all guano's are great (perhaps a 'wouldn't grow without it' must for some) but not all guano's are "created equal". Bat's eat insects and fruit. Seabirds eat fish. Then there's geography. So, 1. Which is the preferred source of guano? Mexican, Jamaican, Peruvian, Indonesian 2. Is bat guano preferred over seabird guano? Expanded thoughts encouraged
I used to use guano for my plants...I would use mexican bat/peruvian sea bird for veg and Jamaican bat/peruvian SB for flowering. I dont use it anymore though, when using just make sure to wear a face mask cause the dust from bat guano is harmful to your lungs. Numb
Interesting perspectives folks. I've read about folks concerns with breathing the dust so I would be careful about that. But somewhere (I can't recall where or when) I've read about the opinions of guano's from different geographic regions. I'm only assuming that one area is touted "better" than another area having to do with diet and the time the guano has been sitting around. I've used budswel in the past and I'm thinking of putting down coin for some new product. But again there's the seabird vs. bat guano and there's the geographic area choices that seem to matter to some folks. That's what I'm really curious about. I don't know that I completely trust grow store opinions because there's a profit margin to consider for their "preference". So, I come to the folks that know..... I think I get it that bat guano is "best" for N and seabird is "best" for P. But what about the geography where it comes from? Is Mexican better than Peruvian or is Jamacian better than Indonesian. There seems to be a significant price difference on the products based on the the geographic origin. IDK, as usual I'm probably over-analyzing it. Sheesh! it happens sometimes with me (alot actually)
I was just gonna say a bat's ass, but I didnt realize there were as many strains of shit as there is weed.
I know I've read posts of quality by source (some very potent, etc.) but can't locate them. Looking at retail prices, it's an extremely lucrative business, I've read some exporter quotes from Mexico at $150-200 a ton plus transportation.
It's really just up to your personal preference. Bat guano has to be mined from caves which can easily disturb the bats' fragile environment. I'm not gonna pretend to know all about the ecosystem of cave dwelling bats or the different organisms that depend on their gauno. so I'll just cite this bit from the gauno wikipedia page. The greatest damage caused by mining to caves with extant guano deposits is to the bat colonies themselves. Bats are highly vulnerable to regular disturbance to their roosts. Some species, such as Phyllonycteris aphylla, have low fat reserves, and will starve to death when regularly disturbed and put into a panic state during their resting period. Many species will drop pups when in panic, with subsequent death, leading to a steady reduction in population. Research in Jamaica has shown that mining for bat guano is directly related to the loss of bat species, associated invertebrates and fungi, and is the greatest threat to bat caves on the island. Hope this helps. MC
Nice and valuable info madodah. I've seen a couple of grows that used the Sunleaves International House of Guano for the complete grow cycle. It contains all of the above mentioned guanos and covers the plants needs as they go through their cycle. For me, I've found that guanos work best when side dressed and watered in, however if you add to your soils, I like to let them "cook" for 4-5 weeks. I'm side dressing with the Sunleaves Indonesian Bat Guano one time at 2 weeks into 12/12 for additional (P), but my soil has Fish Bone Meal and Soft Rock Phosphate for diversity. Cheers, chunk
Thanks chunk. I've decided to bypass them this round for my soil mix and used other sources for the N-P. I'm aiming for a water-only soil grow this round. I've got enough budswell left for an AACT if I would just get my ACT together and get 'er done! But like Calehedron said above: "I was just gonna say a bat's ass, but I didnt realize there were as many strains of shit as there is weed." Seriously, how complicated do the commercial interests want to make this! Where does it end.........yahhhhh! Cheers man!
I have plenty of N in my soil mix with 25% decomposed cow manure and I've been looking around to see if, in addition to calculated ACCT teas during veg and flower, I need assistance during flower. Not much info on that for an outdoor grower dependent on a balanced soil, which is why I was looking at guano as a potential back-up. Guano is a thriving and, from what I've read while researching it as a potential fertilizer, environmentally destructive industry.
Hey Possum, I dont know specifics as to which type of guano (bat or seabird) is best for growing with but I do know that bat guano is not ecologically friendly while seabird guano is. Basically bats are super-sensitive to disturbances and it turns out that people shining bright lights and using loud equipment inside their caves stresses them into infertility, also most cave food chains are built from guano up as bats are the only link to the energy of the sun. Harvesting seabird guano hardly bothers the birds and there arent many critters depending on their shit for sustenance...Not trying to throw people off bat guano just trying to inform--listen to or ignore this info as you see fit. I personally only use seabird guano and my plants are happy.
I think sea bird guano is best, because they are sea birds which eat fish which is a good food sorce for them which is good for plants. and the NPK raiting is higher, I've only used the brand - Orginal Sea bird Guano its like $10. for a 5 pound bag, I make a tea and then sprinkle the soil on top of my 5 gallon buckets. Last year i had some massive buds.
from there website. There is no other unblended organic material that contains an equivalent percentage of plant nutrients. Original Seabird Guano (13-12-2) is unsurpassed for accelerating plant growth and improving vegetative health. Use for all plants that require nitrogen, phosphorous and potash. Provides fast and slow release nutrients in a natural form. Apply 1 tsp. per 8-inch diameter container or 2 lbs. per 100 square feet. One heaping Tbsp. per vegetable transplant hole. For all applications mix into soil and water. Use Seabird Guano as needed for growth.
Namewasdallas gives good info there. I was confused about the different bat guanos as well because we tend to read more into things than we need to. If we just look at the N-P-K of each we can see one is good for veg. and one for beginning of flowering stage and one good for the middle to end of flowering. The difference is the diets of bats in the different areas is why the N-P-K is different in eack. I would suggest Lumperdawgs posts to search. In my opinion he has an awesome recipe for soil. Try this: http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/336320-organic-soil-mix-mine-3.html
Would the addition of bat guano in a bubble bucket 3gal+ put you at higher risk for algae growth? Are there certain brands that run cleaner? versus fox farm organic tea w/ guano which has enough sediment to slightly clog an air-stone (partly user error regardless), but yea havnt had much luck with guano. Any advice fellas?