You’re probably already aware of the basic ways you can use bat guano fertilizer for your indoor gardening. Combine the fertilizer with water to apply, or mix it directly into your potting soil. But did you know that you can actually make a foamy mixture that brings to life all the beneficial microbes lying dormant in your bat guano? Aerated guano tea, or aerated compost tea, adds more than just nutrition to your soil and can help your plants to thrive. Here’s how to make it.

Step 1

Make sure you are starting with chlorine-free water. If you use tap water, it likely contains chlorine. That’s okay. Let it sit uncovered for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate out. Put about 5 gallons of this water in a plastic bucket large enough to prepare the mixture without spilling. You can also use a smaller amount if you’d like to make less aerated compost tea.

Step 2

Add the bat guano fertilizer and mix well. You can also prepare the aerated guano tea with a mixture of part guano, compost, and earthworm castings, or any combination of these. You will need about 1 cup total. Alternately, you can put the fertilizer mixture into a steeping bag made from a nylon stocking or a mesh bag rather than mixing it directly into the water. Tie off the top of the bag and hang it suspended in the water.

Step 3

Add ¼ cup of unsulphured molasses and mix it into the solution. The sugars in the molasses provide food for the beneficial bacteria in your guano tea.

Step 4

Insert an aquarium air pump into the bucket with an air stone. This set-up is what will aerate your compost tea. Allow the solution to steep and aerate for about 24 to 36 hours. You should see vigorous bubbles from the aeration. Stirring the solution several times throughout the day also further oxygenates and activates the beneficial bacteria, helping their numbers to grow. If your solution begins to stink, you have probably grown too many harmful bacteria rather than the beneficial kind that you want for your plants. Throw out the solution and start again in that case.

Step 5

If you will be administering the aerated guano tea through a sprayer, strain out any large debris in your finished solution. Apply the guano tea to your plants. You can use it as a foliage spray or a soil drench. The good bacteria in this solution will help to keep your plants healthy. Note that you should always use plastic containers to mix and apply aerated guano tea because some bacteria can interact poorly with metal. It is best to use the solution on the same day that it finishes steeping.

Because guano tea is easier to disperse than solid fertilizer, it can help your bat guano to go further. And a liquid mixture is safer to use indoors so that you are less likely to inhale substances from the guano that are irritating to your respiratory system. Find out more about growing thriving indoor plants by following us on Facebook.