July 17, 2008
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Garden Fertilizing
Well I am sure you have all heard of things like animal poo being used to fertilise gardens. I found out something interesting this last weekend, however, while reading wikipedia. Under “urine”, you can find out in its history that it has been used as a fertiliser as well! I always thought that urine would be too acidic or useless- seeing as it is sterile and tends to contain waste minerals and such. But not true!
Due to urine’s high nitrogen content (nitrogen being a primary component of fertilisers), ‘pee’ has been used for centuries as a fertiliser. It is apparently just a less ‘socially acceptable’ one. Farmers would store it up and use it. Pee, as you all know, does not really smell that bad initially (especially when compared with its ‘sibling’). The reason it begins to smell rather raunchy is because the urea breaks down and the smell forms. Its the truth- anything that is good for fertilising tends to also smell at some point.
So, all you wives out there with lazy husbands who want cheap fertiliser for your garden- sit an empty wide-mouth gatoraid gallon jug next to your favourite couch potatoe and tell him “Hey, I have a great way for you to pee sitting down and save us some money on the miracle grow I usually buy…”
Sorry girls… this handy method of fertilisation would be a bit more complicated for you unless you feel like going outside to use the restroom… Of course, you could also use this as a convenient excuse to send the men of the household outside to the garden to water the plants for you and avoid the unsightly splash marks that form on the bathroom wall/toilet from the drying process. Haha!
Just another way to help with crazy money-saving tips in a time where groceries are expensive and commercial growing products- often not worth the price in comparison to less commonly known, less pricey alternatives- are just way too expensive. Remember, however, when your neighbours and friends ask what the secret is to your super-large tomatoes and healthy herbs… just tell them that the trick is “love”.
-Patrick
Comments (4)
Interesting…. not sure I want to eat something from the garden with either pee or poo on it, LOL. We had an orange tree and a grapefruit tree that reached out over our septic tank. We used to get the most gigantic fruit from those trees… there was just a little ‘something’ different about them
why, then, does dog piss kill grass?
Well, I am sure dog urine is composed of slightly to even VERY different compounds than human urine is. You can tell just by smelling it. The urine of a person drinking consistantly high amounts of water (ie- the normal amount recommended for people) actually does not have a strong, repugnant odour while dog urine has a VERY strong smell (partly by design, as they scent it).
But one fact I forgot to note is the PH (ie- acidity level) of urine. It actually is not always acidic- while the average PH is 6 (out of 10), which is just on the acidic side… it can range from alcaline to very acidic depending on the diet of the person. Your kidneys (I believe) regulate your bodies’ PH level- so if you eat/drink things are highly alkaline, your urine will be more alkaline so that your body can make itself more acidic. I imagine, though, we tend to intake enough acidic foods/drink in our daily diets that most of us have slightly more acidic urine.
This might come into play when using urine on plants- certain plants will react poorly to high acid content, some better. Also, urine with a low water content may also be less favourable (mixing it with water might help in that case). Regardless- pee has historically even been sold to farmers as fertiliser. I used to think it would kill plants, not help them- but it was interesting to learn otherwise.
Your kidneys regulate the metabolic aspect of your pH. The other mechanism of regulation is respiratory.
Cranberry juice, things high in Vit C, lemon juice… etc… turn the peepees acidic!
but you’re probably right!