Gross Factor Aside, Pee Is Pure Gold For The Garden!

Recent scientific studies have shown urine is a safe and very effective fertilizer for cabbage, beets, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and pretty much anything else you want to grow. Urine boasts a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (N-P-K) ratio of 10:1:4, plus more modest amounts of the trace elements plants need to thrive. The nutrients in pee are highly available to plants, too—an extra plus. One estimate suggests a family of four can produce the equivalent of more than 100 pounds of all-purpose garden fertilizer every year. Oh, and the best part? It’s free!

Unless you have a serious infection, urine is usually sterile, and the chances of disease transmission from it on the household level are very, very small. And any slight odor dissipates almost immediately once it’s applied to the soil.

How to Use Urine In The Garden

You may be tempted to deliver the product to the soil directly. But in most cases, the concentration of nutrients could be too great, which can damage soil microorganisms and burn plants. Direct application is fine, in moderation, for compost piles (especially if you have loads of dry brown, high-carbon materials like fallen leaves, straw, or shredded paper that are crying out for nitrogen) and for straw bales being conditioned for use as planters.

Otherwise, it’s best to collect the raw product in a container with a lid. Once a day or so, empty the accumulated urine into a watering can, dilute it with 5 to 10 parts of water, and sprinkle the mixture onto the soil around your plants, avoiding getting it on the plants themselves—especially the parts to be eaten—as much as possible. Rotate where you’re applying golden irrigation so that all your plants get a turn every so often.

Apply diluted urine to the soil only when the soil itself is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temp, the soil microbes will be active and ready to soak up the nitrogen and other nutrients. In colder weather, you can either go back to flushing your urine down the toilet or stockpile your liquid gold in tightly closed containers. Storing in closed containers for a couple of weeks is also a good way to kill off any potential pathogens if someone in the family has been sick.

Fans of bathroom poetry will recognize the ditty, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow,” to which I say, let’s change it to: “If it’s yellow, grow a tomato!”

Find the full story at Rodalewellness.com/living-well/why-you-should-pee-your-garden?

More Uses For Urine In The Garden

Weeds Pissed Off!

You can use undiluted pee to attack those unwanted weeds.

Foe For Fungus