Guanokalong and the GK-Organics range: bat guano in powder and liquid form, palm tree ash, worm castings and the other dry amendments that are mixed into a substrate before planting rather than poured on during a feed.
Dry organic amendments work on a different clock from bottled nutrition. They are incorporated into the mix, colonised by soil life and released over weeks, which makes the decision a pre-planting one. Getting it wrong is slow to correct, and getting it right means a pot that needs little more than water for much of its cycle.
Two things are worth knowing before mixing a batch. Guano is variable by source and by season, so a rate that worked from one sack can burn seedlings from the next: amend, then let the mix rest and stabilise before planting into it rather than transplanting the same day. And an amended soil still needs the biology to be alive for any of it to reach the plant, which makes substrate temperature and moisture part of the feeding strategy rather than a separate subject.
There are no reference articles in this sub-board yet; recipes and mix reports from members are what it needs first.
Related elsewhere on the forum: Organic vs Synthetic Nutrition: Living Soil and No-Till in Fertilizers, and Cannabis Growing Media: Soil, Coco, Perlite, Rockwool in Substrates.
Where the Product Comes From, and Using It in a Hot Climate
Supply chain. According to the manufacturer, Guanokalong is bat guano from cave deposits on Java and Madagascar, processed in Aalten in the Netherlands. The raw material is partly from this region, but the branded product reaches Southeast Asia as a European import, priced accordingly. Guano and guano-type products are also sold across the region through the general agriculture and orchid trade. If you buy that way, ask for an NPK analysis and for confirmation that the material has been composted or heat-treated, and avoid material of unknown origin: caves and bat colonies are protected in several countries.
In a hot climate:
- Faster release. Soil life works faster in heat, so a mix front-loaded with guano releases its nutrients sooner than the same mix in Europe. Watch the plants for fading rather than following a temperate schedule by the week.
- Storage. Keep dry guano sealed, dry and out of the sun; damp guano in a hot store cakes and goes off.
- Teas. Mix only what you will use within a day. A nutrient-rich organic liquid at 30 °C turns sour quickly.
- Dust. Dry guano can carry the fungus that causes histoplasmosis. Wet it lightly before handling bulk material, and use proper respiratory protection when decanting sacks.