Urine and Compost

16 years ago

I've read a few messages about the (supposed) value of urine for plants. What's the consensus about adding urine to a compost bin, or in my case, bucket? I have a system in my greenhouse where I add leaves, both green and brown, as well as kitchen scraps to a container with holes in the bottom. I also have a similar one on top of it, so there is always weight pressing down. Every so often, I add a bit of rain water, with or without organic fertilizer in it, left over from watering plants. This helps make a compost tea over a period of time.

What about adding urine to the mix? Basically, pee in the pot? Besides the benefits of not having to run inside to use the toilet, would it be a beneficial addition to the tea?

Mike

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Comments (4)

colokid
16 years ago
Go for it. Just don't let your friends see you do it if you want to sell them tomatoes.
curlygirl
16 years ago
Urine is rich with nitrogen so peeing on your pile will break it down faster. I know of an environmentally-minded intentional community that actually harvests urine for that purpose. There is a book called, Solviva, by Anna Edey that talks about her experimenting with that along with many other things. She puts it on her plants but dilutes it so that she does not burn them. She also created a biofilter for her waste using an earthworm bin she created and wetland gardens to filter the effluent. I say go for it! It is much better than peeing in drinking water which is essentially what we do every time we pee in the toilet and it will help your compost and plants!
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meyermike_1micha
16 years ago
Ok..I can't believe I am here saying this..Bashfully..

Someone in my neighborhood got caught peeing on my plants outside over the summer. The next morning it was reported to me by a neighbor...I watered those things down as much as I could in disgust, and would you believe they were the greenest and shiniest I ever saw them just within a couple of weeks from that night..Ever.

Maybe there is something behind this.....
colokid
16 years ago
Arn't we the only country that dis-allows the use of human waist on crops? Then there is the river water, with god knows what in it, being used to irrigate food crops. All the same to me. I'll eat about any thing that's grown, but I am getting a little afraid of sea food-especially from China.
KennyP