With the ability to clean toxins from your soil, improve soil structure and promote healthy plant growth we find out more about this powerful organic fertiliser – BioGuano+.
BioGuano Australia is a family-owned and operated business that has a food-growing heritage spanning 100 years.
Over that time, it has developed a deep understanding of what makes a highly effective organic fertiliser that cares for the soil and the planet.
Why BioGuano?
Guano is a word originating from the Andean Indigenous language, which means “the droppings of seabirds”.
The production process begins when saltwater fish are consumed and digested by sea birds. Deposited on rocks and baked in the sun, the excrement – along with bits of eggshells, feathers, insects and microbes – matures into what BioGuano Australia says is nature’s best fertiliser.
Guano has the ability to clean toxins from soil, improve soil structure, speed up the decomposition process and promote healthy plant colour and growth.
Today, we chat with BioGuano’s Product Manager, Lisa McCann, about how this effective organic fertiliser can help you improve your soil health.
How can Bioguano+ help your soil?
“BioGuano is an organic fertiliser based on natural seabird guano and contains plant available calcium and extended-release phosphorus as the major mineral components,” says Lisa.
Along with natural minerals and bio-stimulants, BioGuano+ supports optimum photosynthesis which is vital for plants to stay healthy and resilient through their growth, flowering and fruiting stages.
Containing organic carbon, calcium, magnesium, potassium and trace elements, Bioguano+ assists with balancing and improving soil structure. And it feeds and stimulates active soil biology whose functions include the formation of micro- and macro-aggregates.
“The unique benefit of our particular guano source is that over 75% of the total P is in the citrate-soluble form. Access by the plant, to this form of P, is driven by demand and gained through root enzymes and rhizosphere microbe exudates,” says Lisa.
“Rhizosphere microbes are fed and maintained by carbohydrates distributed by the roots. In short, guano P is not locked-up rapidly and wasted but in fact, becomes a benign resource waiting to be activated by plant growth.”
Originally created for commercial use only, it’s now available to the home gardener.
“With a family heritage of over 100 years in the citrus and commercial rose-growing markets, we’ve developed a deep understanding of what it takes to create an effective organic fertiliser,” says Lisa.
“Now, we’ve brought this commercial-grade organic fertiliser direct to the home garden market, exclusively through specialist garden centres across Australia,” Lisa reveals.
“Home gardeners all over Australia love our product; noticing a significant improvement in plant health, coupled with a remarkable reduction in pests and diseases.”
How is it sourced?
Made in Australia from raw materials mined from fossilised seabird deposits in Asia, BioGuano+ is both a fertiliser and soil conditioner. The raw material supplier has achieved Ecocert Organic Certification (#22755CN2100n1e), while the entire supply chain has been audited – from the raw material to the finished product – and has achieved Ceres Certification of Environmental Standards (#90505).
“There is a history of guano being sourced in a way that has caused devastating environmental impact on the locations and the communities from which it was sourced,” Lisa admits.
“The history of seabird Guano discovery in South America and exploitation by the British and Americans is a shameful account of colonial greed, arrogance, environmental vandalism and barbarism.”
Says Lisa, “Move ahead from the 1820’s and “Peak Phosphorus” is predicted to be felt around 2050 when the World population is expected to top 11 billion. Demand for food is estimated to require a minimum 70% increase in food production over the present output.”
“Phosphorus is a crucial and finite plant nutrient that we must manage wisely for the future. Guano represents a valuable P resource and should be part of the global food supply strategy.”
“We are very aware of the unrestrained exploitation of Nauru Island guano reserves by British and Australian companies over many decades and the impact on the indigenous community and their environment.”
“The processing of Nauru guano into superphosphate and distribution to Australian farms has caused a domestic environmental crisis with the serious acidification and degradation of fragile Australian soils, over-fertilised and over-grazed for meat and wool production,” Lisa says.
“We are very much trying to right the wrong by supporting a natural alternative that is responsibly sourced through internationally recognised certification systems.”
The Ecocert interpretation of organic standards also considers fair trade key practices incorporating the rights of Indigenous people and basic human rights, sustainable agriculture practices, food safety and quality, as well as corporate social responsibility policies.
“It’s a rigorous process that consists of an independent and impartial certification body assessing the conformity of a product, service or system with environmental and social requirements specified in a standard,” says Mathew.
It also looks at key practices in terms of responsible extraction and appropriate use of this natural resource. It’s a rigorous process that consists of an independent and impartial certification body.
So if you are looking for a natural fertiliser to help you grow your own food at home, BioGuano+ and BioGuano Nitrogen Formula will help you add nutrients to the soil that will help help build soil biology and help your garden flourish. And you can feel safe knowing that it is Australian made and owned, bee friendly, microbe friendly and 100% derived from natural ingredients.
