I'm interested in the use of Guano as a plant fertilizer. Are there only specific plants to give this to?
Also, how much and often is it necessary? I mix organic compost every 2 - 3 months for my vegetable garden and give them Seagro every other week.
Guano is a rich source of nitrogen, phosphates and potassium, all of which are essential plant nutrients.
Unless sterilised, guano also contains microbes which can serve as a compost activator (encouraging decomposition), a fungicide and a nematocide (killing nematode worms, although often nematode are beneficial).
You can use guano in many ways. You can just sprinkle it onto the soil around plants as a top dressing. You can dig it into soil to prepare it. You can make guano tea to water plants with by leaving guano in a bucket of water overnight.
The amount to use depends on the plant and on the guano. If you buy guano, you should be able to find out its NPK concentrations from the package. If you get it some other way, you can test it with a kit, or just take your chances. Gardening books, and the care labels on bought plants, tend to advise you on how much fertiliser a particular plant needs.
Guano works principally by improving the soil, and it does that by increasing micro bio diversity and certain synergistic chemical processes, all of which enables your plants to take up more nutrients more easily; it also improves soil structure. Depending on the guano NPK, it may also feed plants directly. The only thing you have to be careful of is that it burns plant roots if applied neat, particularly near young plants, so it often needs to be 'slacked' before you use it, unless you're applying to empty ground.
