GardenTalk15- Hope is OK. But needs to be tempered by skepticism.

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I have been discussing about some new ways of gardening for the past several weeks. The topic I started with was “self propelled endless store of nutrients”

But nothing in this world is either endless or free. So, we need to first accept that. When I said endless, what was implied was some sort of self-sustaining chain of things that kept the store apparently endless. It is a continuous sequence of transformations from one form to another.

My intention was to push for some kind of synergy with the nature and discourage the mad chemical race we are on, these days. That would not only make us more healthy but also preserve our resources.


During our discussions, I spent sufficiently long time on the interesting find of an Indian Scientist namely Dr. Krishan Chandra. He also seems to be pushing for a more holistic way of farming which is safe and healthy.

But, where I disagree with Dr. Chandra is that in the eagerness to push his ideas, he seems to create false hopes. Hopes for miracles. Miracles rarely happen the way he projects them.

I don’t mean to undermine his innovation in terms of the bacterial solution. That definitely has some benefits. But projecting it as something magical, is a bit farfetched.

Let me list some of the things I have observed.

1. Use of the solution as a direct feed to plants: My friend has been using Dr. Chandra’s solution to feed the plants directly, for the past 3 months. He feeds them twice a month. So far, no noticeable benefit is observed.

Well, organic or bio methods don’t work as fast as we would expect them. They take months. Maybe we need to wait and watch. My friend will continue to use the solution at least for another few months till the rainy season starts in India. It is only fair to give more time to Dr. Krishan Chandra 😉

2. As a decomposer, I did not find his solution that miraculous. It does decompose to a large extent. But so do many bacterial and fungi compositions that have been known all through, for the past few decades.

3. Decomposition by BSF larvae appears to be more promising to me. Especially when you have a very rich waste like the one my friend had. It may be a good idea to use these larvae to decompose kitchen waste or municipal wet waste as is being done in Indonesia.

The larvae have many advantages.

1. You don’t need to turn the waste pile. The larvae do it.

2. You don’t need to finely grind the waste either. The larvae can digest them as long as they are moist. But the bacteria cannot do it unless you give them sufficiently long time.

3. I guess the compost created by the larvae are more rich and beneficial to the plants as compared to the compost created by bacteria alone.

4. Because of their vigorous movements, the larvae ensure a uniform decomposition. If you do the same thing with bacteria alone, you will end up with lumps of decomposed matter interspersed with non-decomposed stuff. You need to frequently turn the pile if you want to overcome this problem.

Of course, there could be minor problems with decomposition by larvae. Such as

1. Since some amount of nutrients are consumed by the larvae for their activity, you lose that much of nutrients. Mind you, the larvae are voracious eaters!

2. Also, when the larvae leave the pile to pupate, you further lose some amount, unless you harvest the larvae and use them for something else.

But there are many ponderable.

What is the relation between the BSF larvae and the bacteria? Do they complement and aid each other? Or are they totally independent ways of decomposition?

The advantage of larvae seems to be efficient conversion of nutrients in the waste to a form that is more acceptable to the plants.

Whereas, the bacteria have a role to play when they reach the soil along with the decomposed material.

While the larvae merely convert the waste to nutrients, the bacteria are capable of producing nutrients in addition to converting the waste.

What amazes me is that why is Dr. Krishan Chandra silent about the BSF larvae? Why he does not talk about their utility?

Even some of the Indian scientists I interacted with, don’t seem to be much informed about the BSF larvae and their wonderful capabilities. They are aware of them, but have not seriously considered them as waste decomposers.

Using BSF larvae as decomposers appears to be a very attractive prospect. Especially, in decomposing food waste which is becoming a big problem in most countries. That would serve the dual-purpose - waste disposal as well as production of free organic manure. Probably, that should be Dr. Krishan Chandra’s next venture 😉


I probably rest here. My friend will continue with his experiments with the bacterial solution and the BSF larvae. In case there are any interesting finds, I would surely get back to you.

Till then, bye.




A series of weekly (every Monday 12 PM PST) talks on new ways of Gardening by Dr. King. © Dr. King 2019