Expired 0-5-0 bat guano?

NugHeuser

NugHeuser

Well-Known Member
New to organics, just picked up a bag of happy frog high phosphorus bat guano. The question is that it has a manufacters date stamped on that says 8/12/15, off to the side it says for maximum microbe activity use within 2 years of stamped date.
So does that mean that I want to mix it a little heavier? Or is it still fine?
 
J

J-Icky

Well-Known Member
I think it’s nutrient value is still there, just maybe any microbes that were with it in the package have died off.

The reality is we as humans have used guanos that have sat in caves hundreds of years as fertilizer just fine, so I doubt it sitting in a bag on a shelf for a few years would really make it useless. Finally being a high P guano, it’s more likely a white/light gray powder and it’s probably closer to soft rock phosphate than an actual guano and very stable.
 
NugHeuser

NugHeuser

Well-Known Member
J-Icky said:
I think it’s nutrient value is still there, just maybe any microbes that were with it in the package have died off.

The reality is we as humans have used guanos that have sat in caves hundreds of years as fertilizer just fine, so I doubt it sitting in a bag on a shelf for a few years would really make it useless. Finally being a high P guano, it’s more likely a white/light gray powder and it’s probably closer to soft rock phosphate than an actual guano and very stable.
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Thanks for the reply.
So I just mixed up a batch of some organic soil. Base is new and reused ffof soil with crab shell meal, keep meal, high phosphorus guano, EWC, and a little bit of dry organicare nutes mixed in. I mixed up several different strengths to run tests with.
My question is I've heard the term "cooking" your soil and having "living" soil with microbes and what not. Is there more I should be doing with this mix to cook it or grow/benefit microbes? I thought I've seen someone talk about watering their soil after mixing it. I appreciate any info, this is all new to me.
The goal is to be able to have the plants run the coarse of their life without having to add much of any nutes besides whats put in their soil initially, if that's even possible for medium sized plants, probably ~1.5 month veg so up to possibly 4.5 month old plants.
 
J

J-Icky

Well-Known Member
I’d definitely add some water, just enough that when you squeeze a handful you get a few drops of water, but not much more.
The water helps the microbes and fungi come alive and do their thing, but too much water can drowned out the good and let the bad thrive. And if the bad take over you’ll know cause it’ll start smelling like sewage.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
To replace any microbial activity that has been lost over time add some fresh EWC and/or make up an AACT. Cooking the soil is just giving it time to set which allows the microbes to begin breaking down what is added in. Usually takes about 30 days from the time you amend the soil for the ph to normalize & this is called "cook" time. Microbes and fungi are what make up a living soil food web. The more active it is the better it works.
 
NugHeuser

NugHeuser

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
To replace any microbial activity that has been lost over time add some fresh EWC and/or make up an AACT. Cooking the soil is just giving it time to set which allows the microbes to begin breaking down what is added in. Usually takes about 30 days from the time you amend the soil for the ph to normalize & this is called "cook" time. Microbes and fungi are what make up a living soil food web. The more active it is the better it works.
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Okay. So I amended a combination of fresh ffof and used ffof with kelp meal, crab shell meal, ewc, high phosphorus guano, and organicare dry veg nutes. Do i need to let this sit then for the ph to balance out? I didn't add any lime to it. Do you suggest I water the soil? And if so should I be drilling holes in the 33g barrel that the soil is in?
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I would let it sit for a couple weeks at least before using it but you have not amended it all that heavily. Compost or composted material like EWC or guano doesn't need cook time. Minerals like azomite or lime and soil amendments like kelp need time to cook but I'm not sure about those dry nutrients. Would think they are water soluble and will have an affect on ph once hydrated. I have used 5-5-5 happy frog fertilizer in the past which I know also needs time to cook to become available to the plants. If you have a decent quality soil probe (like a blue lab which I don't even have btw) you can check the ph with some accuracy and if its higher than 6.5 your mix is good to go. Usually adding a lot of soil amendments and compost causes the ph to dip and then slowly increase back to normal. This is what cook time does.
Keep the soil moist and turn it every so often but you really don't need to totally drench it unless it's bone dry. I mist my recycling soil with a water wand just to keep it from drying out completely. No need to drill air holes for recycling soil just leave a lid on very loosely just so no bugs get in it and moisture is retained somewhat.
 
NugHeuser

NugHeuser

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I would let it sit for a couple weeks at least before using it but you have not amended it all that heavily. Compost or composted material like EWC or guano doesn't need cook time. Minerals like azomite or lime and soil amendments like kelp need time to cook but I'm not sure about those dry nutrients. Would think they are water soluble and will have an affect on ph once hydrated. I have used 5-5-5 happy frog fertilizer in the past which I know also needs time to cook to become available to the plants. If you have a decent quality soil probe (like a blue lab which I don't even have btw) you can check the ph with some accuracy and if its higher than 6.5 your mix is good to go. Usually adding a lot of soil amendments and compost causes the ph to dip and then slowly increase back to normal. This is what cook time does.
Keep the soil moist and turn it every so often but you really don't need to totally drench it unless it's bone dry. I mist my recycling soil with a water wand just to keep it from drying out completely. No need to drill air holes for recycling soil just leave a lid on very loosely just so no bugs get in it and moisture is retained somewhat.
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Awesome, thanks for the info.
 
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