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Liquid gold

josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
edited September 2019 in The potting shed
Are there any other weirdos out there who use their own pee to fertilise their plants?  I've always used it as an activator whenever the contents of the compost bin looked dry and not inclined to rot.  I discovered other ways of using it in a book I found on a friend's shelf:  "Liquid gold: the lore and logic of using urine to grow plants."  I bought my own copy.

When I moved to my present home, I found in the garage. among other useful items, two plastic dustbins with lids.  Inspired by the book, I crammed them full of corrugated cardboard, and began adding a daily dose of fresh pee. I have kept the bins going, one to fill and one to rot.  Despite the close-fitting lids, the brandlings and woodlice somehow find their way in, and over a couple of years they produce a pulp that makes an excellent autumn mulch for the veg beds.  And it doesn't smell bad.

How do you use yours?
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  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    So, just me then.  I must be weirder than I thought.
  • jaffacakesjaffacakes Posts: 434
    I'm bumping this  :) I've heard that fresh urine diluted in water is a good fertiliser. I'm guessing a lot are embarrassed to admit trying it though.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    For us lady gardeners, peeing in a compost bin is not an easy endeavor.  And I can't be bothered with a transport container I then need to wash.
    Utah, USA.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Quite so. And wouldn't that be the moment when the neighbour popped in or your toddler asked, 'Mummy what are you doing?' or you tripped on that loose paving stone? I buy my fertilizer from the garden centre for so many reasons.
  • JessumJessum Posts: 81
    I always though that only male urine could be used due to hormone levels etc....maybe this is not the case. Does anyone know?  I live alone so I have no qualms in collecting it in private and then adding it to the heap. I am female by the way!

    For example would a woman's age have anything to do with it?  I mean someone who has had a hysterectomy and who is not on hormone patches, her wee would be different from a fertile woman. 

    Sorry to be so graphic but there are differences in hormones and that would come out in the wee and would affect the compost, maybe?????
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    @josusa47 We use it daily on the compost bin at our allotment, and used it less frequently when we had a garden compost bin.  Some people are really sniffy about it, as if it's somehow dirty or makes your morally questionable, which is nonense.  We have no factual knowledge about how effective/good/bad it is, nor what quantities are "right", but we plan to continue doing it indefinitely.

    Apart from anything else, it saves us the 100 metre trip down the allotment site to the loo (and no, we don't pee directly on the compost heap in full view!)
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
    Hi

    I was told when I started composting that Male wee was good for the compost heap and if Mr PurpleRose needed a wee at the bottom of the garden he could just go in my bin instead of wading back upto the house. I thought they were joking and not to give him any ideas as he would do it 🤣🤣🤣

    I had not heard it since this thread. I now know that they were not joking 🙄🙄
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Urine is sterile when is leaves the body unless you have a bladder or kidney infection.  It is high in Nitrogen. The bacteria and fungi in a compost heap can use that nitrogen to help them break down the plant material.  It is no different to using an activator such as  ammonium sulphate  which is what is in Garotta, along with sand and some lime.  Ammonium sulphate breaks down into Nitrogen that bacteria can use.
  • young codgeryoung codger Posts: 543
    I understand that constant use can make the compost heap too acidic which kills the bacteria you need.  Unless of course there is the occasional sprinkling of lime.
  • PoppypussPoppypuss Posts: 143
    My OH has instructions to ‘water’ the compost heap every other week. The compost area is in a hidden part of the garden and he tells me it’s quite handy when he’s mucky from working in the garage and doesn’t want to come inside for the loo, so win win. 😁
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