sorry how long this is.
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.
Casting Tea aswell.
Well I've usually simply spooned some more or less finished castings into a cheapo nylon stocking and dumped that in a bucket and a reservoir.
A surefire way would be using 100% finished worm castings with a high quality filter material, and place that in a bucket with water, aerate the water for 48 hours, and then use that water for watering, provided it didnt contain visible pests and didnt smell like rotten fish (aerobic teas shouldnt smell bad in the first place).
source: smokin moose/roorman
