I dont, but was reading on another site about somebody urinating on their tomato plants for a quick nitrogen fertilizing.

Damon

Just researched - yes, urine is high in nitrogen! My garden is located in a place where I would have to pee on it at night...probably not worth the trouble as there are other nitrogen sources and tomatoes don't need a whole lot of it anyway when they are producing flowers & fruit. I'll be leaning toward bones for my tomatoes as they are loaded with phosphorus which is good for fruit production...

I have friends who are fishermen and they save the entrails, heads, etc., for me when they clean their fish. I put it in a five gallon bucket with a lid, cover with water, put the lid on, let it sit in the sun for a couple months, strain, dilute and use in place of purchased fish emulsion (which it really is).

Epsom salts are a good source of magnesium. I've used them before on tomatoes on the advice of a poster here, but didn't really notice a difference (my soil probably didn't need it). Molasses is a good beneficial bacteria booster, which helps everything grow better since the bennie-bacteria are what break down compost and organic matter and turn those into fertilizer for your plants ~ more bacteria=more ferts. Corn meal is a good source of nitrogen and a bit of a pre-emergent (corn gluten is the real pre-emergent).

But I really don't use many fertilizers at all except composted manure. That's the main one I use and only one in most cases. An inch or two as mulch when the plants are a few inches tall and that's that ~ Mom Nature's original slow release fert. Bear in mind that in my climate I have three growing seasons ~ spring, fall and winter ~ so I do add it three times a year. Nothing else though unless my plants tell me they need it.

I have been inthe position of not having manure availabe and limited composting materials. I have had good results using soybean meal purchased at the local feed store, and small amounts of kelp meal for minerals, which could also be purchased from the feed store. Just don't let the soymeal get wet(it will rot) and work it in the top few inches when applied. My beds are about 150 sq ft and I use about two large coffee cans of soybean meal. I also use wood ash for potash and calcium and making the soil more alkaline. There are many other options that will work, and in my thoughts, economical is good.
skatcon

Along with soybean and kelp, you can use alfalfa as a top dress, or amend it in. It provides good doses of nitrogen and breaks down over a season. You can pick it up at the feed store along with the soybean. You might find even more information in the organic gardening section.

My dad used to drive down to the sewage plant and shovel sludge into boxes in the trunk for the flower beds and the trees.Why pay for Milorganite (still avialable) when you can get it free?
Pee stimulates leaf growth so I limit it to the green leafy vegies. Another benefit it seems to keep the bunnies away.

probably not worth the trouble as there are other nitrogen sources and tomatoes don't need a whole lot of it anyway when they are producing flowers & fruit. I'll be leaning toward bones for my tomatoes as they are loaded with phosphorus which is good for fruit production...

Sorry to be a nitpicker, but these are a couple of myths that are so prevalent I almost can't stop myself from correcting them :)

Tomatos use more N throughout their lifecycle, including when setting/ripening fruit than phosphorus. They use roughly equal amounts of N and K at all life stages.

Also, no plant including veggies uses more phosphorus than nitrogen or potassium. Tomatos use 3 parts N and 3 parts K for every 1/2 part P they consume.

Please understand I am not trying to be critical, there are a lot of folks who get steered down the wrong road by prevalent myths from sources that really should know better.

It's not your fault you were a victim of bad info ;)

My garden is located in a place where I would have to pee on it at night...probably not worth the trouble....

It is better to dilute the urine about 1:10 or more anyway. You can "collect" it inside and put it in a watering can. Take it outside and fill the watering can up with the hose. Water away. No one will think anything is unusual. And yes, it does seem to help keep some of the critters away.

A friend of mine uses urine on his garlic. He says that they get twice as big as without. I use urea instead; I figure that it's pretty much the same thing. Besides, I grow a lot of garlic, and I don't think that I could make enough urine myself.

A write-up on the benefits of using human urine is below.

Sure cheaper than buying blood meal!

Here is a link that might be useful: Human Urine As A Safe, Inexpensive Fertilizer For Food Crops

Lots of discussions on all these issues can be found over on the Soil & Composting forum here at GW.

There are also many current discussions on the safe use of animal manures in the vegetable garden and the current recommendations for the # of months those manures should be composted before use. Nitrogen burn isn't the primary consideration when it comes to using animal manures, pathogens, antibiotics, and hormones are.

Dave