Did you know that human urine is chock full of nitrogen? Not only that, we all have a constant, year-round supply of it - and it's free! Urine contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — essential plant nutrients that are usually mined from the earth or the air for agricultural use. If the nitrogen content in urine is not known, then as a rule of thumb, a concentration of 3-7 grams of N per litre of urine can be expected. Urine is naturally sterile in a healthy person. Phosphorus in urine is excreted in a plant-available form making urine an efficient phosphorus fertilizer as well. ** Nitrogen promotes leafy growth, phosphorus promotes root development and seed germination. Use a gallon per 10 square feet of garden, 1 quart urine, 4 quarts water. However, with the homesteaders we are, we believe in using all that is available to us. Undiluted urine is extremely high in nitrogen and sometimes high in salts. It is only when urine is stored for more than 24 … Corn is an exception and likes to be urine fertilized 3 times a week. The more protein a person consumes, the more nitrogen will be excreted into the urine. Urine is an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements. All the right elements that are necessary in large quantities for plant growth. The project aims to test human urine as a replacement for chemical fertilizers. I told him that he should stop pissing in his outhouse, collect the urine, and apply it as free fertilizer, told him he had “liquid gold” and didn’t realize it… He didn’t like it but, he was surprised and impressed when I told him where to get off. Basil (dilute to 10 to 1 till one month old), Eggplant (dilute to 10 to 1 till one month old). Your email address will not be published. * And more good news was that the study’s panel of 20 taste tasters found no taste difference between mineral or urine fertilized tomatoes. From Human urine – Chemical composition and fertilizer use efficiency by H. Kirchmann and S. Pettersson: Stored human urine had pH values of 8.9 and was composed of eight main ionic species (> 0.1 meq L –1), the cations Na, K, NH 4, Ca and the anions, Cl, SO 4, PO 4 and HCO 3. Phosphorous and potassium promote fruit and flower development. Our great-grandparents and their great-grandparents did this – it’s a renewable resource . The exact breakdown of urine varies depending on the diet of the pee-maker. It is also possible that the peels of fruits like banana, which are known to be high in phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur and citrus peels, known to be high in phosphorus and potassium if allowed to ferment in urine, may readjust the balance of nutrients…, Dr Morgan also warns that if your soil is sandy- you must add humus before urine, otherwise the urine might kill plants growing in sandy soil. The addition of plants and other materials to form a liquor which is allowed to ferment in urine, can change the balance. The wood ash also adds extra potassium which encourages more fruit. The director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University Medical Center, Dr. Philip Tierno when interviewed by the Washinton Post expressed that there is little risk of contamination by pathogens in urine, “because they would be in competition with microorganisms found in the soil and would ‘probably lose the battle.'”. Increase or decrease application according to individual plant needs, as listed above. This video was filmed with this camera http://amzn.to/2C8EHn7If your plants are looking a little yellow, try this one simple solution! Thus the fermenting of comfrey leaves in urine is known to increase the proportion of potassium in relation to nitrogen (Hill, 1997) – see description in gardening techniques. Dilute urine with water, however, and … Human urine provides an excellent source of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants, and can be delivered in a form that’s perfect for assimilation. This is much healthier than using sewer sludge as fertilizer, which most all of us have already consumed. Could Growing Your Own Food Land You In Jail? vegetable garden soils. As a ballpark figure, a liter of urine will treat 350 square feet of garden space (4' x 88') if done weekly over 7 months. Dilute the solution, with 1-part urine and 10-parts of water, and sprinkle it at the perimeter of your garden to prevent animals from entering your garden. If plants start to yellow, decrease urine and increase water. Urine plus wood ash (collected from a wood stove) produced as well, yet with the added benefit of reducing the acidity of the soil. West's plan is to install a system that converts human waste into plant food, which is actually an ancient gardening practice used all over the world. The solution is simple. Efforts in the last decade to re-link urine with agriculture have been backed by sounder science, and particular attention to hygiene. In comparison, blood meal is 12-2-1 and cottonseed meal is 7-2-2. Start applying urine fertilizer when plants are 2 weeks old. Apply the urine into the soil around the plant’s roots. Natural Fertilizers In most western cultures when you mention using human urine as a natural fertiliser the most common reaction is shock. A family of four creates enough urine to fertilize a third of an acre, year round. Apart from working as a fertilizer, urine also works as a natural animal repellent due to its smell. Human Urine in the Garden Contrary to what you might think, fresh human urine is clean and bacteria-free. While urine is considered sterile, there are rare occurrences of bacterial infection that can contribute to bacterial problems around your plants. Typical Western Diet pee has an NPK ratio of about 11-1-2. How To Store Potatoes Properly For Year-Round Use, Outdoor Sofa – Our Top 30, Including Sets And Sectionals, tentree – 10 Trees Planted For Every Item Sold, Groundbreaking Bottled Water Tax Raises Dustup in Chicago, Homestead Stories: Great Grandpa’s Rhubarb, Chopping Wood: A Helpful Beginner’s Guide, 10 of the Best Wine Grapes to Grow at Home, 13 Creative DIY Screen Door Ideas and Important Details to Consider. Urine as Fertilizer. Even though fresh urine is sterile, I don’t apply it on crops that will be harvested in a couple of weeks. Cookd Pro Theme by Shay Bocks, « Giveaway: The Drunken Botanist (Because I Can't Buy All Of You A Drink), Adding A New Chicken To An Established Flock », What I Tell My High Schooler About College, 11 Chicken Coop Features I’ll Never Live Without, May Gardening Chores For The Pacific Northwest, 10 Self-Propogating Herbs and Flowers That Take Over My Garden Every Spring. One strategy for warding off these animals is to use predator urine as a pest deterrent. As a general rule for home garden use, dilute ‘fresh’ urine with water 3 or 4 parts to one, mixing only as much as you will use that … I asked him at what date he’d repay the money. It is recommended that you use this as an occasional fertilizer, not more than twice a week, and not every time you water. Chia Seeds Vs. Flax Seeds: What’s the Difference? This is a shame, as we can make great use of the power of Pee. Your email address will not be published. One litre of urine contains 11 gms of nitrogen, 1 gm of phosphorus and 2 gms of potassium. We can learn a lot about just how effective urine can be for gardens from growing and gardening … Continue reading The Power of Pee (or Urine!) Stop fertilizing two weeks before harvest as mature plants do not need the extra nutrients. Apparently, deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and skunks all detest the smell of masculine, half-asleep human urine. He then said that in 6 months, he’d ask to borrow another $60 in order to purchase more fertilizer. Yes, human urine and human hair can be surpassingly effective in your garden as deterrents to pests and as fertilizers. sciencedaily.com  Article: “Human Urine As A Safe, Inexpensive Fertilizer For Food Crops”, 7 Indoor Trees To Add Some Greenery To Your Home, Buying Baby Chicks: A First-Timer’s Guide. As it is free, plentiful and local. How to Use: 1. Of all garden pests, mammals are often the ones that can do the greatest damage in the shortest time. **  After you collect your urine store it in an air tight container otherwise it will smell, lose its nitrogen, and become ammonia. The nutrient content in urine depends on the diet. Also, those taking antibiotics or meds should abstain, and those who consume a lot of salt should consider reducing their salt intake. Only diseases of the urinary tract contaminate urine so those with a urinary tract infection should not use their urine for fertilizer. While the answer to can urine be used as fertilizer is a resounding yes, there are a few precautions you should take. That’s nitrogen burn. Urine that turns into ammonia will be more alkaline, but adding a touch of vinegar will slow the nitrogen off-gassing. The study shows that urine can be used as a substitute for chemical fertilizers “without posing any microbial or chemical risks.”*. Human urine is almost perfectly sterile, unless the person it came from has a urinary tract infection. Upload a photo / attachment to this comment (PNG, JPG, GIF - 6 MB Max File Size):  (Allowed file types: jpg, gif, png, maximum file size: 6MB. Ammonia is nitrogen – NH3. According to “Practical Guidance on the Use of Urine in Crop Production”: Urine is a well-balanced nitrogen-rich quick- acting liquid fertilizer. Rabbit manure is also great to add to the soil…doesn’t even need to be composted…. Because of both the salt and high nitrogen levels, urine should generally be diluted 10:1 before use on garden crops… The Good and The Bad About Using Urine as Garden Fertilizer Author: Keiren // Last updated on May 23, 2020 7 Comments. When feeding plants with urine, always use a solution of at least ten parts water to one part urine. Urine from a ‘healthy’ person is sterile, free of bacteria and viruses as long as it is uncontaminated by feces. The urine fertilized plants had a surprising increase in protein content- 35−37% higher protein compared to mineral and ash fertilized. Predator urine falls into the category of olfactory repellents, meaning they target the … Therefore, the smell of human urine would not be as intimidating to an urban fox as it might be to a rural fox who rarely encounters humans. By the end of 7 months, you will have applied 100 pounds of nitrogen per acre. As a general rule for home garden use, dilute ‘fresh’ urine with water 3 or 4 parts to one, mixing only as much as you will use that day. Required fields are marked *. Dilute 10 to one, for very young or delicate plants. Tips for Using Urine in the Garden. If you use on carrots – they will be all top. Homestead Stories: A Colorful Mosaic Of Nasturtiums, Harvesting Basil: Helpful Tips For How to Harvest and Preserve Basil From Your Garden, Minimize Food Waste By Storing Food In Your Refrigerator The Right Way. Dr. Peter Morgan (a renowned sanitation and hygiene expert) says: The balance of nutrients available in urine can be influenced by various means. Straight urine will nitrogen-burn plants and can be used to kill weeds. Many years ago, a slash and burn farmer in Central America asked to borrow $20 in order to buy commercial fertilizer for his subsistence corn crop. Urine Acts As Natural Fertilizer. See amazing pictures of side by side (urine v. plain waer) examples here: www.ecosanres.org/pdf. Using urine in the garden can help you cut your water use (less flushing) while also cleaning up the environment downstream (no water-polluting fertilizer runoff). Human urine is more efficient than any synthetic chemical fertilizer. Fresh human urine is sterile and so free from bacteria. They are most concerned about disease, and it’s just plain gross if I can be bluntly honest.. Using 2+ gallons of water to down a half a cup of pee seems excessive…and nitrogen and phosphorous are excellent for plants, but ‘very’ harmful to our waterways. ... How to Use Human Urine as an Animal Repellent. They nourished the root vegetables with a combination of urine and wood ash, which they found worked as well as traditional mineral fertilizer. urine does a great job kill slugs. A lot of natural gas is used in the production of synthetic urea. When using urine as fertilizer, apply it to the soil around the … When I bath slugs with urine, a white film get out of slugs and slugs dead later. This process is a boon to third world countries. Safety is, of course, of the utmost concern in fertilizing with human urine, just as it is with animal manure application to improve soil. Flowers and vegetables, whether planted as seedlings or with seeds, take time to mature and produce their full beauty. Urine also contains salt – sometimes quite a lot of it if you are hopped up on a diet of canned soup and french fries. → Plants need nitrogen … Okay, maybe you did, but … Have you ever noticed the yellow spots on the lawn where the dog consistently urinates? But does that mean having a urine garden … A study out of Finland has found that plants fertilized with urine performed four times as well as nonfertilized plants and just as well as plants given commercial mineral fertilizer. So, it is absolutely safe to use, but if only we respect some rules: Avoid using the urine of a person with a bacterial infection in the vegetable garden Avoid using the urine of a person on medication, especially on antibiotics. The plants must have regular water as well. Watering after application helps drive in the nutrients and is recommended. So, what's considered waste by many is actually a great food for plants. Gardening is a hobby in which the gardener has to wait awhile to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Homemade liquid fertilizers made from free, natural ingredients — such as grass clippings, seaweed, chicken manure and human urine — can … And their runoff into our waterways creates oxygen-less dead zones. Alternatively, use cotton balls soaked in the solution and keep it at edges of the garden. forest.mtu.edu.pdf  Michigan Technological University Student Projects Urine Fertilizer Sheet. *  Similar performance results have been found with cabbage, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, leafy greens, onions, radishes, spinach, citrus, melons, barley and wheat (better list below). But as Kathmandu developed, a gradual repugnance rose against such intimate handling of human waste, and new flush toilets secured the sensation. More and more people are discovering the water- and money-saving benefits of fertilizing our gardens with human waste. Its commonly used in nitrogen based fertilizers. Some claim that early morning urine from a male is effective for keeping animals out of the garden. 2. The high nitrogen content can actually “burn” the plant it comes in contact with. Early morning urine is the most pungent, and male urine has specific hormones that help with the repelling. Undiluted urine that sits around for more than a few days, where the nitrogen has decomposed into ammonia, can be thrown on the compost pile, as ammonia will hasten your composts’ breakdown. Human urine is one of the fastest-acting, most excellent sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants, delivered in a form that’s perfect for assimilation. Diluted urinecan be applied near plants; it is unnoticeable to humans, but it deters away animals that eat plants like rabbits and deer. After you collect your urine store it in an air tight container otherwise it will smell, lose its nitrogen, and become ammonia. 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