Human Pee With Ash Is a Natural Fertilizer, Study Says

[JohnB]

The researchers estimate a single person could supply enough urine to fertilize roughly 6,300 tomato plants a year—yielding some 2.4 tons of tomatoes.

The farmer would just need to give plants ash three days or more after applying urine.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... lizer.html

[Graham Burnett]

I prepared a really deep mulch bed for my tomatoes last year, but unfortunately wasps nested under the mulch, so I couldn't go near it for most of the summer and autumn! When I did I got stung on the face twice and chased right across the allotment site... Went down there a few days ago and poked where the nest was with a long stick, they seem to be gone now...

[JohnB]

Nah, they're just waiting to pounce when you least expect it

What happens if you pee on a wasps nest?

[Graham Burnett]

thats something I'd rather not think about...

[pebble]

Sorry, couldn't help it.

I'd love to know what ratios they used, and old the urine was.

One potential setback may be that pharmaceuticals and hormones excreted in human urine—such as remnants of birth control pills—could negatively impact crops, Pradhan said. For instance, such byproducts could promote antibiotic resistance in local bacteria or get absorbed by the plants.

They downplay this, but I think it's actually quite a serious issue even in home gardens. Likewise for people using humanure systems. I'm not sure if people realise how much of the drugs we ingest actually then get excreted into the environment. I think most people assume they get broken down in the body somehow.

[JohnB]

I'm not sure if people realise how much of the drugs we ingest actually then get excreted into the environment. I think most people assume they get broken down in the body somehow.

Ideally, anyone who eats or drinks at your home should leave a deposit behind, but maybe they need to complete a questionnaire and have a medical examination before being allowed in the loo .

Isn't this a problem with almost all aspects of growing? There's air pollution, acid rain, run-off from neighbour's land etc., so very little we use can be guaranteed safe. I do agree it's a potential problem though. If one persons urine really can produce 2.4 tons of tomatoes a year, it can be collected from people who aren't on any potentially harmful drugs, and other people's urine can be used for other purposes.

I have one toilet in my house, connected to a septic tank that isn't big enough to handle the number of people who could be living on site and visiting. I'm not wasting time and money putting in a bigger one, so compost loos are an important part of my plans. I suppose I could have urinals for general use, and separate ones for people to use who aren't taking any drugs. It's a way to make people think about what they do, and take responsibility for their actions, although I'm sure there will be people who think I'm taking the piss .

Of course we also need to consider what's in the ash. Definitely no coal, but what about anything else that might go on the fire?

[JohnB]

Lots of technical stuff and useful discussion here.

[Graham Burnett]

Lots of technical stuff and useful discussion here.

I thought we weren't meant to look at this site John

On a more serious note, I read somewhere ( a CAT pamphlet I think...) that urine needs to be used very quickly and shouldn't be stored for any length of time as the useful nitrogen quickly turns to harmful ammonia which does more damage than good - here's an article wot I originally wrote for 'The Idler' on the subject http://www.permaculture.org.uk/node/1280

[JohnB]

I thought we weren't meant to look at this site John

I make the rules, so I'll break them if I want

here's an article wot I originally wrote for 'The Idler' on the subject http://www.permaculture.org.uk/node/1280

"much of the dilution process can be carried out biologically, 'in situ' as it were, simply by drinking a few pints of beer during the evening's course."
How much water is used in making the beer that you need to drink to do this?

I know someone with a large loo block on his smallholding, where the urinals and washbasins are connected direct to leaky pipes buried in the beds in his polytunnel. Maybe I need to add a urinal to the greenhouse I'm collecting bits for.

[Trevody]

Some intersting stuff here I've been using pee as a fertilizer for some time mixed with comfrey juice with good results, not one for wasting anything, during last winter I experimented with soaking wood chippings with urine before allowing it to compost down to use as a mulch in a years time. The idea being that the chippings would soak up some of the nitrates in the urine and hopefully allow them to break down quicker, I already understood that the urea will break down into Ammonia, but does anyone know how quickly this process takes place?

[asturianden]

pardon my ignorance, but why no coal ash? I have 500kgs of the stuff to use up!

[JohnB]

pardon my ignorance, but why no coal ash? I have 500kgs of the stuff to use up!

Can't look it up at the moment, but coal ash has a lot of nasty stuff in it that you don't want anywhere near food crops.