Human urine as fertilizer ? What the f are they smoking ??

[PlanetJ]

Hello all,


Let me please blatantly use this topic to self-promote an experiment I am conducting, after being put on to something I would never, ever have tried without Nivek. See Nivek's Need to Know Nature - First Grow Journal - 2015

If you read on 3 posts, you'll get to: Human Urine May Represent the Future of Fertilizer


After recovering, and given the fact that I have two early rooting cuttings .. the game is on. In my current journal, I will be featuring one of these, grown on Bio Nova dedicated, full range. The other one will be grown on a urine/water mixture in 1 part urine to 5 parts water.

I need your help tho .. in order for this test to be the most meaningful (to you), I need to know how you would like it conducted.
I could substitute the NPK in veg and the PK in bloom, for urine, or I could give a pre-set combination of a few of the Bio Nova and Aptus products, combined with urine, or I could give urine only.

Please advice. Last 2 journal updates contain the details and pictures. thanks for helping me out!

 

[nivek]

well I for one will take a front row seat please pj, one for the missus too please. the curious kid in me is even curiouser now. I have a couple of youngish clones nearly identical, I might have to do a test myself, not quite as elaborate as your experiment, just a simple dilution rate. I might just double, or half I guess, the dilution rate to one. not less of anything, more for one. great stuff, makes this fun stuff even funnerer, cheers, thanks for the cudos pj,

 

[PlanetJ]

[quote="Using Urine As a Fertilizer by Nature is Nurture from roll it up]I found this at hg420 and thought it was pretty informative (props to BuddyNugs) so here it is, also i took out a couple of not-so-important paragraphs to meet the 10,000 character restriction

a link to the original thread can be found at HomeGrown420 - Can I use my urine as a fert. (OG refugee thread)


Can I use My Urine as a Fertilizer?

Sure you can. In fact Sweden has tested a full scale urine 'recycling' program. Among their findings they have discovered that urine is a complete fertilizer for farm use, lowers the environmental impact of wastewater, improves recirculation of the 3 main nutrients, and that the hygienic risks are negligible if handled properly. Nature has been making use of urine for centuries before humans had even mastered the art of agriculture. Animal wastes contain nutrients that plants needs, and in return they provide us with nutrients we need. It is a circle that has been broken only in recent years, but before you go using your pots as a urinal you will need to be aware of how to use your urine. DO NOT PEE DIRECTLY ON OR AROUND YOUR PLANTS. You will burn them. The following will detail everything that you need to know to be successful.

Use in Soil
Pure concentrated urine will burn your plants; it must first be diluted with water. Typically a ratio of 1 part urine to 10 parts water is effective. Some have gotten away with a slightly higher ratio on unusually hungry girls. It is recommended that you do not exceed 1:10, even though a nutrient burn with urine is rare, the smell can be unpleasant, and salts will build quickly, at higher concentrations. For younger plants start with a ratio of 1:20-1:30 and work your way up. As always do not fertilize germinating seedlings. Wait until the cotyledons (little round leaves) have fallen off before beginning any fertilizer regiment. Also it is not needed every water, every other or every third is sufficient. Let your plant do the talking, if she is a nice dark green then lay off a little, use a weaker solution and lower frequency, if she is getting on the yellow side then step up the strength a bit. Note: Urine can have a high salt content, depending upon your diet. I recommend that when you water with plain water, you allow some run off (approximately 1/8-1/4 volume of your pot) and toss it, this should rid your soil of excess salts.

Use in Hydro
About 8 ounces (1cup) for every 3 gall or reservoir water has been effective (thanks foto) but you should adjust according to your conditions, plant needs, and smell issues. The nitrogen in urine (ammonia and urea) must first be consumed by bacteria as food. The bacteria then store the nitrogen in the bacterial protoplasm. As the Bacteria die, they liberate the stored nitrogen as nitrate, sort of like a time release capsule, to be taken up by the plants. In soil this is no problem but in hydro setups there may not be enough bacteria culture to breakdown the urea and ammonia. Therefore it will be a good idea to drip your Res water through a porous material that can support a bacteria culture such as lava rocks, ceramic bio filter material, foam, sponge. It is up to you; it does not need to be fancy just able to support beneficial bacteria. This step may not be required if your root mass is large enough or if you have a trickle system through a porous medium like rockwool or coco. To get a good start on your bacteria culture you can get some bio-filter booster liquid from any aquarium shop. This liquid contains "good" bacteria that will help you develop a thriving population use as directed (usually a few drops per gal.)


Nutrient Levels (approximation, will vary according to diet)
Alanine, total ..... 38 mg/day
Arginine, total ..... 32 mg/day
Ascorbic acid ..... 30 mg/day
Allantoin ..... 12 mg/day
Amino acids, total ..... 2.1 g/day
Bicarbonate ..... 140 mg/day
Biotin ..... 35 mg/day
Calcium ..... 23 mg/day
Creatinine ..... 1.4 mg/day
Cystine ..... 120 mg/day
Dopamine ..... 0.40 mg/day
Epinephrine ..... 0.01 mg/day
Folic acid ..... 4 mg/day
Glucose ..... 100 mg/day
Glutamic acid ..... 308 mg/day
Glycine ..... 455 mg/day
Inositol ..... 14 mg/day
Iodine ..... 0.25 mg/day
Iron ..... 0.5 mg/day
Lysine, total ..... 56 mg/day
Magnesium ..... 100 mg/day
Manganese ..... 0.5 mg/day
Methionine, total ..... 10 mg/day
Nitrogen, total ..... 15 g/day
Ornithine ..... 10 mg/day
Pantothenic acid ..... 3 mg/day
Phenylalanine ..... 21 mg/day
Phosphorus, organic ..... 9 mg/day
Potassium ..... 2.5 mg/day
Proteins, total ..... 5 mg/day
Riboflavin ..... 0.9 mg/day
Tryptophan, total ..... 28 mg/day
Tyrosine, total ..... 50 mg/day
Urea ..... 24.5 mg/day
Vitamin B6 ..... 100 mg/day
Vitamin B12 ..... 0.03 mg/day
Zinc ..... 1.4 mg/day

approx 2 liters is excreted /day.

Human urine is a great source of auxin, in fact one of the most potent auxins can be found in human urine; indol-3-acetic acid or IAA. Among many things auxin is known to stimulate flower growth, promote ethylene production, and stimulate root growth.

I have gone though an entire grow using urine without any deficiencies, but many feel that during flowering your phosphorus levels are too low. If you desire, a bloom fertilizer may be used in tandem during the flowering phase.
A tea made with the Russian comphry plant (3.6-1-10.6) is an excellent organic bloom fertilizer for those of us who do not wish to use chemicals at any step. Also a tea of bone meal, or bone meal in your soil mix is probably the best way to add Phosphorus.

In addition I would, and have, cut back on the amout of urine used in the flower period (both frequency and consentration). There is some evidence that Nitrogen in excess will inhibit flower growth, and increase your 12/12 time.

Your body can only absorb about 10-15% of a multivitamin/mineral pill the rest is flushed out with your urine. Taking a multivitamin/mineral about 3 hours before your urine collection can give you many vital micro nutrients.

A balanced and healthy diet means balanced and healthy urine. Keep fit and eat well and you should have nutrient rich urine and happy plants.

PH
The PH value for human urine can range anywhere from 5 and 8.5 but most often is found between 5.5 and 7.5 in healthy individuals with a balanced diet. A value of 6 is average. High protein diets can lower PH (more acidic) and Vegetarian diets raise PH values (more alkaline). Urinary infection will increase PH value. Test your PH and lower it (coffee, lemon juice, or vinegar are great organic PH downs) if any higher that 6, especially if in a hydro system, or increase your protein consumption. If the soil you are using is fairly acidic, like peat moss you will want to make sure you are not dropping it too low with acidic urine; dolomite lime can help you buffer this up, or increase your vegetable intake and lower your protein.

Pro's

It Works
Tried and true. In my (and a few others) opinion it works as good as commercial fertilizers when used properly. A side by side clone to clone test has not yet been done (to my knowledge), but there is no question that urine produces healthy, frosty, dank nugs, as good as anything out there.

Cheap
You can't beat free can you? Not likely. Weather you are growing for pleasure or profit saving money is something that I think we all desire. If you have no problem with spending the money, then go right ahead. Call it ghetto if you want, I call it natures gift, and I intend to make the best of it.

Available
It's like fertilizer on tap. No hasty visits to the hydro/garden shop. No "I'll have to do without for a while". It's always there when you need it.

Environmentally friendly
Many of us would like to preserve the earth. Well organic fertilizers are the way to go if this is part of your ethos. Chemical fertilizers are produced from petroleum products, natural gas, and coal. Minerals are made more soluble with acids. After the compounds are used by the plant the contaminants left over in the soil can become poisonous and over time can leave the land depleted and 'dead'. Using organic fertilizers closes a cycle of life that has existed for millennia. We feed the plants and they feed us, much like the oxygen and carbon dioxide cycle.

Compost
Urine in your compost pile is probably the best way to get extra Nitrogen into your mix.

Con's

Salt content
Human urine will contain various salts. Depending on diet your urine can contain up a max of 2.2% salt, this is because the human kidney cannot concentrate salts to greater than 2.2%. On average salt content will be about 30g/L Total dissolved solids constitute about 5% of urine volume. As previously stated it will be to your benefit to allow some run off when watering and toss it, this will rid your soil of excess salts.

Infections and parasites
Hygienic risks are negligible, unless the urine comes in contact with pathogens after leaving the body. The urine of a healthy person is sterile in the bladder. If you have a urinary tract, or kidney infection your urine will contain bacteria that can infect others. It is quite impossible for the infection to be passed through the plant, bud or smoke. If you are sick the majority of pathogens that can transmit disease will die within 24 hours of leaving the body. Infections will increase both your salt content and PH values, and can contain bacteria that consume nitrates.

Imprecise
Urine fertilizing is not an exact science. Exact nutrient levels and concentrations cannot be accurately established without the proper equipment. Notwithstanding some trial and error is necessary in every fertilizer regiment. Certain strains can have differing tolerances, different growing conditions and methods vary in their ability to deliver nutrients reliably.[/quote]

You might want to read this as well Nivek .. great stuff.

 

[nivek]

that's awesome info, me and the missus was chatting last night and wondering about the salt content, and if that is an issue. this info is going to answer that,, super stuff pj, thanks

 

[BanjaxFarmerX]

One thing I do know J, if you use one, your grow room may mink like a public toilet.

Im going to research this and come back with some science (yes im bored)

 

[MassMedMan]

I might give my girls a golden drink tonight,,, sounds kinky now that I think of it.....

I wish I hadn't read this, well, been reading this subject a lot today, I'm making tea for next feeding and I'm almost positive some pp will be in it.

 

[MassMedMan]

True story

Back in HS me and a few buddies had less than 12 hours to come up with "new" product for a senior marketing class. All stoned after school the day before the project was due,, me and three friends peed in a apple juice bottle (just a tip full) lol , a gallon bottle, put some other stuff in it to throw them off, made a label and called it ,,,

URinLUCK punch.

Whole class drank it, (except us, which if the name we came up with didn't ring a bell, us not drinking should have) a few kids even got seconds. Fools, especially coming from me and my gang

I was a bad kid

Lol

 

[nivek]

i wanted to like that last comment, but , no way,, that is very gross.

i will say about the smell, mentioned in my journal as well, there is smell associated, least when i enter my room i can smell 'something'. it is musty maybe, but not unpleasant in any way. my wife never says a word about the smell. i used to have a jam/music room that had a 'smell' too, i sure miss that smell. must say though,, i do not use a one to 5 ratio,, that might create a slightly larger issue,, guess we will see, cheers

 

[MassMedMan]

There is a reason I ended up in the military straight out of school.

Funny, now we're all grown up, married, mostly responsible with kids, but once a year when I see those guys around the holidays or something it's one of the first subjects that comes up..... still makes me smile right now thinking of it.

But, it is gross... lol

 

[GoodLuck]

You will do the same when your old and gray looking back on the early days of growing and glad you did.

 

[TattooedJT]

 

[Stealthboat]

Will the urine be affected much by your diet? Will you try to factor that in?

 

[NuttyProfessor]

lol nothing wrong with a bit of pee

ive done it using baby milk and pee , great stuff hahahah



Re Veg Clone - Fed on Infant Milk Formula Only - Yes I Am Mad!

 

[NuttyProfessor]

 

[Richard Richardson]

If you read on 3 posts, you'll get to: Human Urine May Represent the Future of Fertilizer

After recovering, and given the fact that I have two early rooting cuttings .. the game is on. In my current journal, I will be featuring one of these, grown on Bio Nova dedicated, full range. The other one will be grown on a urine/water mixture in 1 part urine to 5 parts water.

5:1 may be too concentrated, I would stick to 10:1 - Mercola has no references for that 5:1 ratio

 

[PlanetJ]

Will the urine be affected much by your diet? Will you try to factor that in?

To some degree, yes. I will not try to factor it in .. as I have no means to check how exactly my diet is influencing nutrient levels. I can go make wild guesses, but anybody with some real knowledge on the subject, would just shake his or her head, and proceed to mop the floor with my results

5:1 may be too concentrated, I would stick to 10:1 - Mercola has no references for that 5:1 ratio

There kinda is, but the other quote suggests 1:10 to even 1:25. Here's the reference from mercola:

However there is nothing that is preventing you and your family from implementing this system now. If you have a garden, it is relatively easy to collect your urine and apply it to the garden. This will present less of a burden on your water filtration facility, but, more importantly, it puts the nutrients where they belong, back in the soil, not in the water system. It is easy to collect the urine in one-quart wide mouth Ball jars and then transfer them to larger 2.5-gallon containers if you need to. Just be careful to dilute it about 5:1 before you apply it to the soil that surrounds the plants you want to nourish.

Less diluted will prolly give me salt issues down the line.

 

[PlanetJ]

paddy, thanks for sharing, and boosting my confidence that I wont kill a plant in the name of curiosity

 

[PlanetJ]

The girls, a little over 14h later:

Bio Nova dedicated

PlanetJ pee-pee

 

[MassMedMan]

How much per gallon? Anyone wanna guess? I could dilute it in a gallon, but I don't need much and figured I'd point my boy inside the rim, for a quick second

Not trying to be gross, but I'll put a cap full in my tea I'm giving them the next few days.....

And I assume it's a mid stream thing,, don't take the first squirt or the end of it?

 

[GoodLuck]

That's hilarious peter, you make me laugh. I have been sincerely considering the pee. means I would have to make my diet better. Also Russian Comfrey Bocking 14 or Bocking 4 is a great natural NPK booster. and it grows like a mother, and it is a real resilient perennial that can be harvested 3 times a year. I am adding it to the worm bins and compost piles.