[wintergreens]

Good note, only one add in this year! I mix in rabbit, composted chicken manue, ewc, bat guano and other. I have brewed kelp, guano ACT's for the last 2 years for everything including my med garden. Love organic growing.

[Babombeez]

I love my ACTs!!!! The babies love it too! Feed the biology in the soil!!! Sounds like a nice mix...

~beez

[Hash Man]

Originally Posted by ClackamasCootz

Is this from Black Soldier Flies (BSF) by any chance?

BTW - Crab, Shrimp and Lobster contain Chitin at high levels. Plus you pick-up 96% Calcium Carbonate - same compound as Oyster shell powder & Calcite Lime

>>shrug<<

Hey hey, here is a qoute from organic nutrients website regrading the difference between the chiten... The insect frass chiten doesnt need to be composted because its not calcified like the crustatian chitin.

Q: What makes insect Chitin better than crustacean Chitin?

A: In simple terms, insect chitin is the form used by plants in nature. Crustacean chitin is trapped in the calcified shell. In order to get the chitin from inside the calcified shell, it must be boiled in potassium hydroxide (certainly not organic). On the other hand, the chitin in insect frass is broken down by the plant naturally, by the chitinase enzyme produced by the plants own immune-response-system. That’s organic!


All you guys that had bad results- please post and tell me what brand it was. I have tried 2 sources and they were not the same AT ALL... Always ask for a nutrient analysis and make sure it has what you need. The "Insect Frass" is awesome if I do say so myself; although i wont be using it as a stand alone, I am going to be using a ton of it. From the manufacturers I have conversed with I have come to the following conclusion; its either one or more of the following; mealworms, superworms, slikworms. Someone please school me because I am trying to understand this better... And um, buy more than 5 lbs and you can find some killer deals... lol dont pay 14 bucks an lb...

[Babombeez]

Originally Posted by MrSterling

Hey all natural. I use a bit of meal worm frass in my gardening. It seems to suppress fungal gnats completely is my only documentable experience. It also goes into my soil in small portions. I need to find someone to email regarding the amount of microbe life it contains.

Attached you will find the amount of microbial life that Insect Frass from Organic Nutrients contains. Until recently, I used to use frass from my own mealworms, but its supply was very limited. Now I actually have had better results using Organic Nutrients' frass, which I believe comes from beetles. Check out how much microbial life this stuff contains!!! I was able to acquire this information from Organic Nutrients:

Originally Posted by Hash Man

Hey hey, here is a qoute from organic nutrients website regrading the difference between the chiten... The insect frass chiten doesnt need to be composted because its not calcified like the crustatian chitin.

Q: What makes insect Chitin better than crustacean Chitin?

A: In simple terms, insect chitin is the form used by plants in nature. Crustacean chitin is trapped in the calcified shell. In order to get the chitin from inside the calcified shell, it must be boiled in potassium hydroxide (certainly not organic). On the other hand, the chitin in insect frass is broken down by the plant naturally, by the chitinase enzyme produced by the plants own immune-response-system. That’s organic!


All you guys that had bad results- please post and tell me what brand it was. I have tried 2 sources and they were not the same AT ALL... Always ask for a nutrient analysis and make sure it has what you need. The "Insect Frass" is awesome if I do say so myself; although i wont be using it as a stand alone, I am going to be using a ton of it. From the manufacturers I have conversed with I have come to the following conclusion; its either one or more of the following; mealworms, superworms, slikworms. Someone please school me because I am trying to understand this better... And um, buy more than 5 lbs and you can find some killer deals... lol dont pay 14 bucks an lb...

Great post about the chitin, Hash Man! I do not use the Insect Frass as a stand alone either, and they don't suggest that it is a stand-alone product. They encourage the use of gypsum, or cal carb, since the frass is low in calcium and high in magnesium. Also, they suggest to use a source high in soluble/readily assimilable Nitrogen, such as a fish hydrolysate (fish emulsion). Organic Nutrients is actually coming out with a new fish hydolysate product that KICKS ASS! And yeah, the more you buy the better the deal, duh!

AND yes, for all the people hating on frass, what BRAND was it? PLEASE POST!

~beez

[hbj1891]

ive seen this on the shelf a few times and i love my teas...gonna get some next time im there. i mean, once its in the soil, as long as your recycling, it will break down and be useful eventually just like if you composted it right?? beez, do you think it is best used only in teas?? how much would you put in 5 gal brewer??or do you also mix it in the soil??

why is this better than the stump tea or the myco madness or the ewc:humus tea or alfalfa tea or a combo of them?? what does this provide that they do not??


speaking of which do you organic guys use powdered microbe supplements like great white, myco madness or others?? ive been putting 1/4 to 1/2 strength in my teas...

[Babombeez]

Originally Posted by hbj1891

ive seen this on the shelf a few times and i love my teas...gonna get some next time im there. i mean, once its in the soil, as long as your recycling, it will break down and be useful eventually just like if you composted it right?? beez, do you think it is best used only in teas?? how much would you put in 5 gal brewer??or do you also mix it in the soil??

why is this better than the stump tea or the myco madness or the ewc:humus tea or alfalfa tea or a combo of them?? what does this provide that they do not??

speaking of which do you organic guys use powdered microbe supplements like great white, myco madness or others?? ive been putting 1/4 to 1/2 strength in my teas...

The Insect Frass is beneficial both in root drench (or aerated tea), top-dressing, and pre-mixing. The frass root drench is good because it provides a quick super boost of microbes (I mean, look at those numbers on the chart--- trillions!) and soluble and insoluble nutrients that must be first broken down by (nitrifying) bacteria and then absorbed by the roots/plants. If you want readily available nitrogen, use a high N codfish hydrolysate. Make sure when applying frass that you also include a calcium source, such as Gypsum or Calcium Carbonate (Xtreme Gardening is a good one, kind of expensive though). I would recommend pre-mixing gypsum into your soil, and then adding it as needed. You really can never add too much gypsum, it just leaches out. When making a frass tea, apparently the highest and most diverse microbial life occurs in the first hour, so you would want to add the Insect Frass 1 hour prior to administering tea to the plants. As far as dosage, I think Organic Nutrients says 2 tbsp/gallon for aerated tea, but maximum strength root drench is 1/2 cup/gallon!

Secondly, you can top-dress with frass, which will slowly leach into the soil, add beneficial microbes, and also add a chitin source that bolsters the plants' immune system. The chitinase enzyme is EXTREMELY effective against fungus gnats and harmful nematodes.

You can also pre-mix, as suggested above, but make sure to add in gypsum to your soil mix as well. When your plants look like they want some calcium or magnesium, you can hit them with CalMag+ or foliar spray with CalCarb.

The Insect Frass is also an excellent foliar spray, and it populates the leaf surface with beneficial microbes making it highly effective against Powdery Mildew.

Just experiment! Any questions feel free to ask!


~beez

[bigshrimp]

Put it in the soil or run it through the worm bin. Poo and dead bugs need to be decomposed before applying to plants.

Making teas and foliaring seems like it could transmit pathogens easily.

[unshady grove]

I own a garden shop that sells frass to many customers, therefore I'm lucky enough to get the feedback from many customers I respect as gardeners. I have quite frankly been pretty impressed with the results I had heard about, most significantly a blow to fungus gnat populations (note:I did not spell elimination), and believe it or not shorter flowering times-both two of the company's claims. I now currently use it as part of my organic arsenal, mostly as a AACT ingredient with positive results. I still see fungus gnats in my garden, but I do not inhale them, haha. I have not noticed the same surprising results of 4-7 day earlier finishing times some of my customers/friends have experienced, yet I have not done a comprehensive test w that being the only variable changed from a control. I also add it to the custom soil I make as a minor ingredient/additive. I do so believe I believe in diversification of amendments in my soil.

[hbj1891]

Originally Posted by unshady grove

I own a garden shop that sells frass to many customers, therefore I'm lucky enough to get the feedback from many customers I respect as gardeners. I have quite frankly been pretty impressed with the results I had heard about, most significantly a blow to fungus gnat populations (note:I did not spell elimination), and believe it or not shorter flowering times-both two of the company's claims. I now currently use it as part of my organic arsenal, mostly as a AACT ingredient with positive results. I still see fungus gnats in my garden, but I do not inhale them, haha. I have not noticed the same surprising results of 4-7 day earlier finishing times some of my customers/friends have experienced, yet I have not done a comprehensive test w that being the only variable changed from a control. I also add it to the custom soil I make as a minor ingredient/additive. I do so believe I believe in diversification of amendments in my soil.

hmm.

I have heard about frass carrying some nasty buggers.

I will continue to avoid it