An excellent natural fertilizer and compost activator, the urine of all animals contributes significantly to the nitrogen cycle on Earth. ANSWER: Yes, unbelievably, human urine is rich in nitrogen and should be added to compost regularly instead of flushing down the toilet. The addition of nitrogen drives the decomposition of the brown or carbon elements in the compost pile. It certainly smelled very wholesome. The average NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) value of our urine is 11-1-2.5; it has considerable amounts of nitrogen. (Why Its A Cut Above The Rest)Continue, Do you compost? Dog poop needs to be treated very carefully when it comes to composting the pathogens it contains means that extra precautions need to be taken. If your compost pile/bin is already particularly rich in other green ingredients such as food scraps or grass clippings hold back on the urine for a while. I enjoyed reading that. Grass has an N-P-K value of 4-1-2 when its still green and moist and fresh. Endlessly fascinated by the natural world and especially fond of native species, she is always on the hunt for new ideas and techniques surrounding organic gardening, permaculture, and environmental sustainability. There are many ways to fire up a slow-burning compost. Candles are a popular household item. Beer is added in the hopes of putting two things into your pile: yeast and sugar. Keep your pile or the contents of your bin or tumbler at no less than three cubic feet to ensure it generates enough heat to function and is damp, not wet. This is a pretty clever way of collecting the pee without having to walk out to the compost heap or deal with chamber pots. If the rain does not come every couple of days I water (dilute) it with regular garden watering. Note: The urine used in compost must not be contaminated by any fecal matter, which introduces dangerous pathogens to the mix. He has lived as an expat for over a decade, worked in nearly a dozen countries, and visited dozens of others in the meantime, subjecting the planet to a fiery mix of permaculture, music, and plant-based cooking. As well as other uses in the garden, such as repelling some animals, urine makes a wonderful addition to the compost pile. Also it is readily-available, free, and incredibly easy to add to any compost heap. Looking online you do see some other recommendations for using pee in the garden. Composting is an important part of any garden as it allows gardeners to take what could otherwise be seen as waste materials and turn them into something that feeds and nourishes plants. I am pleased & proud that social constraints do not affect my ability to make the most of such a valuable resource. For a pile to heat up and stay hot throughout the entire composting process, it needs: Smaller compost piles wont retain heat as efficiently as larger ones. Please spread the information. You need to wait. Get the latest permaculture news stories straight in your inbox, The Advanced Permaculture Student Teacher's Guide, The Permaculture Student 2: A Collection of Regenerative Solutions (eBook), https://www.goveganic.net/article217.html, Espalier An Ancient Perennial Edible Art Project, The Australians who pioneered self-sufficiency, generations beforeNimbin, Agroforestry 101: Everything You Need to Know, The Environmental Benefits Of Donating Your Things. Making compost at home is a cheap and simple way to boost your soil and give your precious plants all the nutrients they need to grow big and healthy. Uric acid levels are said to be the highest in the morning, so that's the best time to rain down on the compost pile. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is an incredibly useful little plant to grow. The majority of the decomposition that takes place in a compost pile or tumbler is done by bacteria. To process a pile of leaves or woody matter, apply blood meal at a rate of 2.5 ounces for each cubic yard of carbon materials. Some recommend watered-down urine diluted with 10 parts water as a great feed for plants in container gardens, while others claim you can put urine on mulches like leaf mulch or wood chip to speed up their decomposition. Urine, too, is a great compost stimulator. Roebic Bacterial Compost Accelerator at Amazon | $14.78 (opens in new tab). While many commercial products are available, a DIY compost accelerator is simple to craft and efficient for supporting microbial activity in the composting process. This quick composting machine has a capacity of 3 liters and is perfect for families. Using a compost accelerator is not all that difficult. It actually has been found to contain up to 3000 metabolites. Pee is great for speeding up the ol compost bin. It makes reading a very frustrating experience. So why would people want to use urine in compost? Tip: If you live near a farm, used straw animal bedding has precisely the same valuable combination. adding urine to compost Compost is an organic matter that is used to enrich the soil and promote plant growth. This can be avoided by creating a fixed size container on the page and having the ad inside. Thanks Amber, I will pass the message onto our IT support. If you host a barbecue or an informal party, put a little sign in the bathroom and ask if the guys wouldn't mind peeing on the compost pile instead. And, after all, if youre handy enough to be composting at home why wouldnt you be handy enough to follow a four-step recipe to DIY your own (vastly superior) compost accelerator. Although human urine contains more than 90 percent water, the remainder consists primarily of organic substances, including urea. urine compost acceleratorbrooke elle before surgery. Ensure that you monitor the moisture regularly and you can pee on the compost accordingly. Whereas composting toilets might be difficult for folks in densely urban areas, using pee rather than flushing it poses no health risk and is easy to do. Ideally, it will contain 40% to 60% moisture at all times about the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. Similarly, legend has itand this widely disputedthat urine can be and has been used to help with curing human fungal problems, like athletes foot. When your hot compost pile starts to underperform, a homemade compost accelerator helps. Lindsay Sheehan is a writer, researcher, and lifelong gardener who loves little more than the thrill of nurturing living things from dormant seed. In truth, theres an even simpler way: patience. . Designing A Permaculture Backyard: How To Deal With Waste, The Lies That Keep You Trapped in Not Enough Time, Street Trees and Plants of Rome Italy 2022, The Rebellion Hypothesis: Extinction Rebellion and Civil Disobedience, Ecovillage Future: And How Access to Land is a Barrier, Post-Capitalism by Design not Disaster: A Grassroots Theory of Change, Life in Degrowth Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Descent, Morocco Observations, Past, Present and Future Part I. Make your own compost activator to keep your pile working effectively and foster the perfect conditions to make high-quality, organic fertilizer for your houseplants and garden. Leave your bucket in a warm/sunny place for 24-48 hours. Family members and guests at my home have been asked not to flush for just urine to help address this. Tip: The best time to use urine as an activator or accelerator for a compost pile is in the early morning, when the uric acid levels in your urine are at their highest. Most basic composting toilets are anti-urine, concerned about the high moisture levels, though some argue this neednt be the case, that the moisture is actually good for the thunderbox. They have a Urination Station, out in the middle of the garden. However, when your compost heap is inexplicably slow and inactive, or has been long forgotten and neglected, there are ways to wake up a sleeping compost and kick it into humus-making action. I was wondering how I might avoid excessive nitrogen in the compost, and turns out there are plenty of other uses. 8. This solution can be used on plants and lawns or to improve the nitrogen content in poor soil. The alternative is to urinate directly on the compost pile. Incorporating Urine into a compost pile is a great . How do I use my urine? You might be able to collect this for use in composting. Needing a compost catalyst to make things break down is usually an indicator that there is something more seriously wrong with your pile. Each morning I mix it with water in my watering can and water my fruit trees or the compost pile. Getting the mix of green and brown materials right is key to great compost. On the other hand, scientific inquiries into incorporating coffee grounds into garden soil as a fertilizer, or mulch, or in the compost have had mixed results. The optimal time to collect urine for your pile is in the morning when urea concentrations are at their maximum. More of his work can be found at. Quick Return Organic Compost Activator is a widely used pre-made herbal accelerator. If you dont have access to bird feathers, feather meal is also an option. Too much nitrogen-rich green material will see your compost heap emit a smell of ammonia. Below Ill give you the answers to these piddling composting questions and some additional handy tips for this unusual compost ingredient! And if there was yeast, it would be of little value. In England, the National Trust for Nature provides a plant "pee bale" in strategic locations in . As with adding anything to your pile it is not an exact science trial and error will be required. No smell !! As a Fertilizer These minerals have been proven to be the primary nutrients required for healthy plant growth, resulting in their addition to commercial fertilizers. With some basic knowledge, you can produce rich, sweet compost for all your backyard plants. Easy. This is similar to adding greens, kitchen scraps, and lawn clippings to the compost pilebut in a higher concentration. Also soil that has been manured with human (AND animal, of coursr) excrement helps to take out the bad carbon emissions in the air. So many people lament the fact that they don't have livestock to add fertility to their pile, and I reply that they can be their own livestock.. A compost heap turned daily will yield finished humus in two weeks. However, following the guidelines above, its a great way to add nitrogen and trace minerals to your compost. A continuous composting dry toilet seeks to recreate the necessary conditions for an efficient composting process. The Truth About Tea and Composting, Composting Pine Needles A Beginners Guide, Composting Dairy Products (The Truth about Dairy in Compost), Can You Compost Dog Poop? It can be highly beneficial to give an extra boost to a compost heap that is decomposing slowly, a new heap that needs to initiate decomposition, or for breaking down coarser organic matter like leaves. It may be easier to save our planet than people think!I. In the warm water the bacteria from your soil or pile will flourish and, when reintroduced to your pile or tumbler will hopefully give your compost a boost. The urine will mostly be contained in the straw used to line their cages and can be used with the same principle as using the pee bales for humans. 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