insect frass?

the native

Well-Known Member
how would one apply to no-till?when,how much?

I have 2 different types

Black soldier fly N P K
2.1 0.8 2.2


Insect frass(cricket) N P K
5.4 1.1 2.2
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
t contains a great balance of primary nutrients (NPK 2,2,2), these release slowly over a period of 3-4 weeks, and are easy for plants to take up. Insect frass is also packed full of beneficial bacteria that help plants access more nutrients from the soil.

How do you use insect frass?
Before applying insect frass to your garden, it's usually best to pre-mix it into soil or compost. However, if your plants are already growing you can mix some insect frass in water and let it steep for several hours. Then, use it to drench the roots of your plants
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
How do you make frass tea?
Root Drench w/ Insect Frass Tea Extract:

Add 1 Tbsp up to 1/2 cup Insect Frass per gallon dechlorinated water, let sit for 2 to 72 hours and apply to root zone. 24 hour steeping time is most popular. Please do not store at room temperature for longer than 72 hours without aeration.
 

the native

Well-Known Member
would it be better to add as top dress before the cover crop is covered with mulch/straw, or on top of the mulch and watered in?
 

MICHI-CAN

Well-Known Member
I mix with initial soil batch. Then top dress at week 5-7. Never use as a tea. I always work it into the top 2" of soil before compost or mulch goes down. Careful. Potent stuff.

P.S. If you have a bug zapper light? You can collect frass all outdoor season for free. And better variety of goodies than a single point or species type.

Happy growing.
 

loco41

Well-Known Member
Perhaps, unless you're doing no-till. I bet my soil in my indoor grows are producing many grams of pure dead arthropod bodies every week, continuously. I don't have to buy or do anything which is my preferred method.
I was showing a buddy my tote grow the other day and he tripped out when he saw all the "lice" become visible and active on the soil after I watered. I just smiled and told him those "lice" are the secret weapon. I know worms and their castings are seen as the gold standard for life in the soil, but these spring tails are a relentless army tearing through the top layers of the soil. Diversity is a beautiful thing for sure as it hopefully means things have found a nice little balance.

Since I love looking at the contents of the worm bins, I noticed an unusually large looking soil mite the other day. I pulled out the loupe and looked closer and it looked like a hypoapsis mile on steroids. It had huge, for its size of course, pinchers on the front of its body. It moved a bit slower than the spring tails and hypoapsis miles, but I hope that little tank was one of the good guys in there.

I think I read somewhere that pill/sow bugs are the only (or maybe one the few) land dwelling crustaceans. Do you think these little guys supply chitin to the soil in the same way that crab shell does? Also, do you think all little arthropods, in one way or another, are bringing out the plants natural responses to keep their defenses up against pests even if they are more so friend than foe?

Sorry for rambling, but love to ramble on about soil dwellers even though I am close to illiterate on their actual roles and purposes for a healthy system. All life is beneficial life in my soil as long as the plants seem to be happy.

Plants look great though OP and I hope everything goes smoothly the rest of the way for you.
 

MICHI-CAN

Well-Known Member
I was showing a buddy my tote grow the other day and he tripped out when he saw all the "lice" become visible and active on the soil after I watered. I just smiled and told him those "lice" are the secret weapon. I know worms and their castings are seen as the gold standard for life in the soil, but these spring tails are a relentless army tearing through the top layers of the soil. Diversity is a beautiful thing for sure as it hopefully means things have found a nice little balance.

Since I love looking at the contents of the worm bins, I noticed an unusually large looking soil mite the other day. I pulled out the loupe and looked closer and it looked like a hypoapsis mile on steroids. It had huge, for its size of course, pinchers on the front of its body. It moved a bit slower than the spring tails and hypoapsis miles, but I hope that little tank was one of the good guys in there.

I think I read somewhere that pill/sow bugs are the only (or maybe one the few) land dwelling crustaceans. Do you think these little guys supply chitin to the soil in the same way that crab shell does? Also, do you think all little arthropods, in one way or another, are bringing out the plants natural responses to keep their defenses up against pests even if they are more so friend than foe?

Sorry for rambling, but love to ramble on about soil dwellers even though I am close to illiterate on their actual roles and purposes for a healthy system. All life is beneficial life in my soil as long as the plants seem to be happy.

Plants look great though OP and I hope everything goes smoothly the rest of the way for you.
I do not know the names of the dwellers here. Yet soil does move a bit when disturbed if you look close. I have found earth and red worms in my indoor pots upon emptying. LOL. I love Nature. And any exoskeleton creature is depositing the same trace elements as a crustacion. Big difference being fatty content and aminos in mass.
 

the native

Well-Known Member
Perhaps, unless you're doing no-till. I bet my soil in my indoor grows are producing many grams of pure dead arthropod bodies every week, continuously. I don't have to buy or do anything which is my preferred method.
Hey mate, I didn't think too much about the other living bugs already in the soil that eventually die and give back to the plant, dunno if the handful of frass I gave them helped or not.

I had a geez at the bugs in the soil, and there's a ton of those white critters that jump around like what Loco41 said "lice", that's promising also theres some wierd brown ones in there too. I tried not to look too much as didn't want to bug the bugs.

As this is my second grow in these totes, I still had abit of a struggle getting the ladies going. Thrips, power cuts and incorrect use of uv light. so far there starting to get better, fingers crossed.
 

the native

Well-Known Member
I was showing a buddy my tote grow the other day and he tripped out when he saw all the "lice" become visible and active on the soil after I watered. I just smiled and told him those "lice" are the secret weapon. I know worms and their castings are seen as the gold standard for life in the soil, but these spring tails are a relentless army tearing through the top layers of the soil. Diversity is a beautiful thing for sure as it hopefully means things have found a nice little balance.

Since I love looking at the contents of the worm bins, I noticed an unusually large looking soil mite the other day. I pulled out the loupe and looked closer and it looked like a hypoapsis mile on steroids. It had huge, for its size of course, pinchers on the front of its body. It moved a bit slower than the spring tails and hypoapsis miles, but I hope that little tank was one of the good guys in there.

I think I read somewhere that pill/sow bugs are the only (or maybe one the few) land dwelling crustaceans. Do you think these little guys supply chitin to the soil in the same way that crab shell does? Also, do you think all little arthropods, in one way or another, are bringing out the plants natural responses to keep their defenses up against pests even if they are more so friend than foe?

Sorry for rambling, but love to ramble on about soil dwellers even though I am close to illiterate on their actual roles and purposes for a healthy system. All life is beneficial life in my soil as long as the plants seem to be happy.

Plants look great though OP and I hope everything goes smoothly the rest of the way for you.
Ramble on mate that was interesting. Those "lice" where do they even come from? There's a stack of them in the worm bin also. What do those hypoapsis miles look like? Are they smaller than springtails?.
 

loco41

Well-Known Member
Ramble on mate that was interesting. Those "lice" where do they even come from? There's a stack of them in the worm bin also. What do those hypoapsis miles look like? Are they smaller than springtails?.
I noticed a huge increase of spring tails (the "lice" I was referring too in my previous post) and sow bugs mainly when I started using my own homemade compost from outdoor yardwaste as the bedding in my worm bins. I had seen them in the bins and soil before using that compost, but they definitely took hold and will hopefully stay around. Plenty of organic matter for them to breakdown in both places.

Again no expert on any of this, but what I have self identified as hypoapsis miles are a bit smaller than most of the spring tails. Still visible to the naked eye, but not quite always an easy find. They almost look like miniature ticks, a round body that are reddish/brown and very fast moving. Their population seems to fluctuate quite a bit from time to time, which makes sense as their preferred food isn't always readily available. I see a few fungus gnats from time to time and I suppose the miles have a boost in population when the gnats are around. Never have an issue with gnats but every so often I see a couple for a week or so, then they are no where to be seen for a while. I'd guess it depends on how/what I'm feeding the worm bins, whether I just throw some fruit scraps on top or bury/cover them.

That's why I love all this. I think I have a grasp on what's going on, but after trying to offer advice or speak with any kind of "knowledge" on these things I realize how little I truly know. I just bank on my worm castings/compost to give me the best base for everything else to thrive, whichever amendments I use after that.
 

the native

Well-Known Member
I noticed a huge increase of spring tails (the "lice" I was referring too in my previous post) and sow bugs mainly when I started using my own homemade compost from outdoor yardwaste as the bedding in my worm bins. I had seen them in the bins and soil before using that compost, but they definitely took hold and will hopefully stay around. Plenty of organic matter for them to breakdown in both places.

Again no expert on any of this, but what I have self identified as hypoapsis miles are a bit smaller than most of the spring tails. Still visible to the naked eye, but not quite always an easy find. They almost look like miniature ticks, a round body that are reddish/brown and very fast moving. Their population seems to fluctuate quite a bit from time to time, which makes sense as their preferred food isn't always readily available. I see a few fungus gnats from time to time and I suppose the miles have a boost in population when the gnats are around. Never have an issue with gnats but every so often I see a couple for a week or so, then they are no where to be seen for a while. I'd guess it depends on how/what I'm feeding the worm bins, whether I just throw some fruit scraps on top or bury/cover them.

That's why I love all this. I think I have a grasp on what's going on, but after trying to offer advice or speak with any kind of "knowledge" on these things I realize how little I truly know. I just bank on my worm castings/compost to give me the best base for everything else to thrive, whichever amendments I use after that.
that's awesome, coz I have those same tiny reddish/brown bugs , also they came from the worm bin. Ever since I've being doing no till I've never had a Nat issue, although I had spider mites and thrips from my own doing of course.i chucked some insect frass in the worm bin and it seems everything in there loves it.dont ask me why.

I enjoy doing this style I've learnt a lot and have made many mistakes.
 
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