We all know that dung makes for good fertilizer. But human urine? Yes, according to researchers at the University of Kuopio, Finland.
Why, you ask, would researchers want to test this hypothesis in the first place? First, because urine has an ancient legacy as fertilizer. It’s sterile and nitrogen-rich and evidently good for growing cabbage. The Finnish scientists found this out when they grew their own cabbage–some using urine, some using synthetic fertilizer, and some without fertilizer. The urine-grown cabbage were slightly more robust than cabbage grown using commercial fertilizer. And, according to the researcher’s report, the urine-grown cabbage didn’t taste or smell like urine.
Is urine as fertilizer good for growing crops other than cabbage? It’s not clear. But if urine proves to be at least as effective as other organic fertilizers, it could be a boon to organic farmers as a cheap, plentiful and viable alternative to commercial fertilizers that pollute groundwater and rivers.
Source: Physorg.com
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the headline - as a boy on extended hikes in the hillcountry in Texas, we always used to kid that we were “helping the bluebonnets grow” when we took breaks. I hope further research shows this novel/ancient fertilizer to be effective - we spend too much energy dealing with it as waste and then too much energy producing fertilizers. It would be nice to cut some of the steps out. But I do wonder how consumers would react to knowing their salad was fertilized with pee.
How much clean water is used to deal with this “waste” issue? The challenge is where do we enter into the waste stream. maybe we could design urinals to collect urine for farmers. there is such a thing as a waterless urinal, that has a ultra smooth surface that stays sanitary. Just think you are at your favorite watering hole drinking a beer and saving the planet at the same time by reducing our dependence on oil.
Plants need nitrogen in the form of aqueous ammonia. They cannot tell where it comes from, so the idea of organic or non-organic origin making a difference in growth rates is bogus. Urine is problematic in arid regions as as salt build up is likely if there is not enough precipitation to wash the salts out.
I am very pleased to see the previous very positive comments.
We waste very valuabke water in trying to solve a waste problem.
It is, in my view, a ‘mental’ problem. What is considered as ‘nasty’ is only ‘nasty’ because we are conditioned from birth to think of it as ‘nasty’.
What is ’smell’ or ‘odour’? We are conditioned to think of body waste as a bad smell.
How long can we keep to that ‘luxury’ when we are fast running out of water?
I regularly ‘water’ my cherry trees etc with urine-where is the problem?
There is a case of a great need for education and also trying to ’save the planet’.
But then the sad thing is that almost all who talk about saving the planet are not in the slightest bit interested in saving the planet. They just want to fly miles around the world on expensive ‘jollies’ to attend meetinge, workshops and all sorts of fancy excuses to benifit themselves.
What a shame.
George
Does this mean that it’s safe to plant a shallow depth garden over a septic tank drain field?
I wonder if NASA includes fertilizing with urine in its plans and models for future long-distance human space travel … colonies on Mars, for example?
I guess this means I won’t be able to say anything to my husband anymore about watering the back yard. George is right, it is a shame how we are negatively conditioned about bodily functions. I like the idea that “we” can recycle fluids.
Hey!…Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts ! it was a great Friday
The Chinese have been doing this method for centuries? And, there is those who promote the drinking of ones own urine. There are a number of web sites for this. BTW, I happen to live in Kuopio so it interested me to see this connection. I will have to check out those cabbage growers!
For years I’ve been urinating into a bucket which also holds all of my green waste. I usually let it stand for a week or two to get some of the nutrients from the veggie scraps. There’s about ten times the amount of water to urine added. Does this practice seem appropriate?
Hi i have been using urine as a garden fertilizer for years with very good results,i have a 500litre plastic tub which is filled with rainwater from the down pipe,every day i add about a litre of urine,the tub is sitting on an old washing machine so i have a bit of head pressure,which allows me to water the garden with a hose,twice a month i also add one of my stools and mix it up with a stick,you should see my tomatoes