We normally think of fertilizer as something that makes your crops bigger and better, end of sentence. But the truth is that modern synthetic fertilizers can destroy your soil and actually reduce the nutrient content of your vegetables. Beyond that, synthetic fertilizers are a huge problem for the environment. The good news is that there is a much better, totally organic option. And even better than that, it’s free. The solution is to use black soldier fly frass instead of chemical fertilizer.
In this article, we’ll talk about all the benefits of black soldier fly frass for organic fertilizer, and how you can use it to boost your garden. Let’s dive in.
How Chemical Fertilizer Works
For starters, we need to talk about chemical fertilizer and the effects it has on the soil, the environment, your crops, and even on your own health.
The key ingredient behind synthetic chemical fertilizer is ammonia, a mix of nitrogen and hydrogen. Nitrogen is a vital nutrient for plants, but the widespread use of ammonia in fertilizers has caused it to run off into our water and air.
The Effects of Nitrogen Pollution
The problem is that we’re producing way too much, and in a way that is allowed to run into our waterways and evaporate into our atmosphere. For example, manure is full of nitrogen. And when a pile of manure sits out in the sun, it sweats nitrogen gas directly into the atmosphere.
A recent study showed that as much as 80 percent of nitrogen used in fertilizers misses our crops entirely and goes straight into the soil, water, and air.
So what happens to all that nitrogen that plants don’t catch?
Nitrogen Pollution
The effects are, universally, pretty bad. In our water systems, nitrogen pollution causes eutrophication, or the accumulation of extra nutrients. Eutrophication leads to phytoplankton and algae blooms in our lakes and oceans. This is one of the biggest causes of toxins like cyanobacteria to spread.
The algae bloom rapidly use up all the available nutrients, and then die. Decomposing algae then suck up all the oxygen in the water, which creates “dead zones” where nothing can live.
Health Risks
Nitrogen also increases the acidity of our soil, which causes it to degrade until plants can’t use it any more. And when plants aren’t there to hold it in place, it erodes, leading to topsoil loss.
The imbalance of nutrients in the soil can also cause nutrient imbalances in our plants, which can increase the risk of plant disease. Harsh chemicals like ammonia can lead to root burn as well.
Last, synthetic fertilizer has negative effects on human health. It can increase the risk of cancer and respiratory illness like asthma.
It goes without saying that the unchecked use of synthetic fertilizers is a huge risk to our planet’s health, the quality of our crops, and our own physical health.
The Solution: Black Soldier Fly Composting
Now it’s time to introduce our favorite bug, the black soldier fly. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are the best composters that science has ever found. They are masters at turning toxic biological waste into food for plants and animals and can compost anything from meat and dairy to citrus and normal vegetable matter.
BSFL have been documented a lot as a great feeder insect for chickens, reptile pets, and pigs. But their digestion has another product: frass, or bug poop. And they produce big quantities of it.
You can collect frass by straining your BSFL compost bin over a sieve as they get larger. The larvae and any uneaten food will stay on top, while the frass, which looks like espresso, falls through.
How Black Soldier Fly Frass Works
Frass is basically the highest quality organic fertilizer you can get. It does a lot of jobs all at once; beyond just delivering nutrients to your plants, it improves soil structure and boosts your garden’s immunity to disease.
It also reduces nitrogen emissions by providing just enough plant nutrients in a way that is easier for plants to uptake through their roots.
What is Frass Made of?
In a nutshell, frass is bug poop mixed with tiny bits of undigested organic matter and bug parts. For a plant, it’s the perfect mix of vital nutrients, with lots of phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. This mixture gives your plants everything they need, but not an excess. These organic nutrients are also free of heavy metals, which synthetic fertilizers usually contain.
It also contains lots of rich organic material (carbon) in a fine granular texture. This improves the structure of your soil, increasing its water holding capacity and aeration. This restores the quality of your topsoil, rather than degrading it.
Clean Fertilizer
It’s also worth noting that BSFL have such effective digestive systems that they will completely eliminate foodborne pathogens from anything they eat. This means their frass is very clean and has no risk of spreading disease, unlike manure, which can carry bacteria like E. coli and viruses.
Boosting Plant Immunity
Lastly, BSFL frass is full of insect castings. These castings are the larvae’s molted exoskeletons, which are high in chitin. Chitin is a critical part of any insect’s physiology, and plants have a built-in alarm system for detecting it. When a plant senses an abnormal concentration of chitin in the soil, its immune system goes into overdrive to defend it from pests.
But in our case, there are no pests. So your BSFL castings are effectively tricking your plants into defending themselves from disease.
Regenerative Fertilizer
To review, BSFL frass acts as an all-organic fertilizer that gives your plants everything they need without overloading your soil with nitrogen. It’s completely free of foodborne pathogens and toxic heavy metals. It also improves the structure of your soil and increases its ability to hold water. It contains chitin, which improves your plants’ immunity.
And best of all, you can produce BSFL frass for free from your own compost. Insect compost regenerates the earth’s topsoil, reduces pollutants, and makes your garden flourish better than synthetic fertilizer ever could!
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