Bat guano and mandala

[crunchy]

Hello,

I will soonly be growing hashberry and i was reading the mandala growing guides, especially their soil guide ( http://mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Soil-Guide).

So they don't like "Plagron Bat-mix", wich i've been using for quite some grows now .

I wanted to buy "Compo sana Bio", wich is a brand they recommend.
Still, they strongly advise against using bat guano:

Can I add guano to my potting soil?

NO! Guano is extremely potent and easily burns plants. You should avoid using guano for any indoor cultivation. It can only be used in small amounts for greenhouse or outdoor gardening in the ground and in large containers. Once you mix guano into the soil you can't remove it! For outdoor use it is also best to only apply small amounts onto the top layer of the soil.

And this Compo sana bio contains it, so i don't get it.

If someone could clarify this for me, it'd be awesome as i'd like to get the best soil i can.

 

[Iron_Lion]

There are plenty of growers out there using guano and getting great results not to mention lots of liquid ferts made with guano. Maybe they have a gripe against guano for another reason, that is just one persons opinion which seems to be in the minority.


Here is a quote from Soma, he loves his guano and says he gets great results from it.

In the 32 years I have been growing this most Sacred of plants, I have tried all kinds of plant foods, from miracle grow, to 10-52-10 with all its heavy metals. I have never found anything that beat the guanos for taste, yield or potency. It is 100% organic besides. The taste that the cannabis acquires when using this guano is so fruity and clean tasting that the taste lingers on your tongue for at least 5 minutes after finishing the joint. The bud quality and yield that comes from using the beds instead of pots is incomparable

http://www.somaseeds.nl/magazine_articles/GrowingwithGuano.html


I looked at the mandala grow guide and they say not to use guano but they recommend general hydro nutes.


Also in their recommended soil list they recommend miracle grow chem soil, mg organic which is the worst quality soil on the market and loaded with gnats.

they also list fox farm ocean forest and happy from which both contain loads of guano, based on what I read I wouldnt take that growing guide seriously.


once I ran a few mandala strains and i read that grow guide first, I went out and bought an EC meter recommended bottle nutes and I ran lab tests on every gallon of nute solution, ph'ing and ec'ing all my water. It was a pain in the ass and it my plants didnt really look all that spectacular, to be honest everything since then has been much better even after i stopped using my ec tester all together.

 

[guest2012y]

I use nitrogen bat guano in every recycle re-amend. I ditched the phos. bat guano for fish bone meal and a small amount of rock phos. I get great results.

 

[SecretGardener]

Hello,

I will soonly be growing hashberry and i was reading the mandala growing guides, especially their soil guide ( http://mandalaseeds.com/Guides/Soil-Guide).

So they don't like "Plagron Bat-mix", wich i've been using for quite some grows now .

I wanted to buy "Compo sana Bio", wich is a brand they recommend.
Still, they strongly advise against using bat guano:


And this Compo sana bio contains it, so i don't get it.

If someone could clarify this for me, it'd be awesome as i'd like to get the best soil i can.

It'll definitely burn your plants if too much is used. I used 1 tsp of indonesian guano in 1 gallon of rain water on one of my flowering plants and the margins of a few fan leaves lightly burned. Stopped the guano and the margin burning stopped progressing. So yeah, guano is good, just know how much to use / how much your plants request.

 

[Noobian]

Mandala also says not to use the paper towel method to germ seeds, but I do that and always have great results

 

[Stoned Crow]

I've use both high N and P bat guanos on two separate runs of their White Satin. No burn problems at all.......SC

 

[hash head]

Mandala also says not to use the paper towel method to germ seeds, but I do that and always have great results

if you dont catch them at the right time it can actually damage the roots as they have already grown into the towel..

 

[redneck shogun]

if you dont catch them at the right time it can actually damage the roots as they have already grown into the towel..

I used the paper towel method with good results for a few years when I started out. I read Soma's articles and his method seemed like a good idea to me. I may be imagining it but I just seem to have more consistent growth with my seedlings nowadays than when I used a paper towel. At the very least the logic seems sound.

 

[VerdantGreen]

lots of different ways to do it.

i use guano, both N and P, mixed into my soil for indoor grows and never had a problem.

but they are right it is strong, so less is more. i would start at half of what it says on the pack or if you've been using it before then , providing they are similar genetics, carry on.

VG

 

[crunchy]

So asked mandala and this is their response:

Compo Sana Bio contains only small amounts of guano in a safe form and the overall nutrient level (EC) of the soil is also in a safe range for cultivating cannabis plants of all sizes. There are a number of soil mixes which contain traces of guano but these are manufactured in a plant friendly way.
However, pure bat guano, as it is often used by growers for fertilizing, is highly concentrated and not composted. These products contain potent fast acting nitrogen which can quickly burn the plants or cause other undesirable symptoms. It is a common misconception that pure guano is automatically "good" for plants simply because it is organic.

 

[VerdantGreen]

hmmm, the mandela guys seem really cool, but thats a bit like saying that worm castings arent composted. bat guano is eaten by beatles too so is pretty well processed.

i have a pack of satori and will quite happily grow it in my mix (with guano) ive done pretty much the whole range from sativa to indica and they've all loved it.

 

[crunchy]

What is your mix?

I don't think they're saying bat guano is bad, just that it is very strong and since they made their guide for beginners mostly maybe they wanted to play it on the safe side rather then risk having new growers burn their plants with too much guano.

They're always saying how their strains are very effective in the uptake of fertilizer and that they will easily get nutrient burn, have you noticed that on your grows?


Anyway it's good to have some other thoughts on this, I was taking their advice with a pinch of salt already but this confirms it somewhat.
I'll still try to follow their advice and see what it gives, i'm curious as to see if i'll really be able to barely or not even feed fertilizer with good results.

@ Iron Lion : They do recommend general hydroponics but not for soil, they even state that it would be way too strong.

 

[VerdantGreen]

there are so many right ways to grow. they must know their strains so use a light soil

i use between 2g and 5g of N guano per litre of soil and between 6 and 10g of P guano per litre of soil (i dont think my guano brand - cavemans - is the strongest ). if you are worried about your batmix then maybe you should dilute it with some straight peat/topsoil/perlite?

VG

my mix is posted about the place, if you cant find it give me a shout

 

[bioguy]

I have yet to find a soil that my Mandala strains like. They always yellow but it is not nitrogen deficiency. I thought it had to do with how hot my mix is but my friend had great results in coco using heavy GH hydro. I am gonna have to give up if I don't figure it out but everyone loves the product. In fact, the buzz from all three is unique Ganesh/Hashberry/Mandala#1 ... I have at least one friend in love with each.

Does anyone have experience with Mandala strains in "water only organic" or "no till" systems? Maybe thats the answer.

My Mandala seeds (30 so far) germinated almost instantly. I think thats why they say not to use paper towels.