Lehcar
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Well.

Being a female... I have never quite mastered the art of peeing standing up nor am I confident enough in my backyard fence to risk contributing directly to the compost pile.

However, I have a very open-minded husband and soon will have a young man in the house who, I am sure, will find it ridiculously fun to pee with dad into the compost pile.

Male bonding. Who knew it could be so easy? :wink:

vermontkingdom
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I have used my pee in the garden, via compost, for years. I keep a bucket full of chopped leaves in the greenhouse, or at this time of the year a bucket of chipped Christmas trees, and use it for a couple of weeks and then it goes into the compost pile. Personally, I think it's ridiculous to flush pee down the toilet and waste the natural fertilizer nature intended to be used where it was consumed. (P.S.-after more than forty years of marriage my wife still doesn't know why I'm able to stay outside for such long periods of time during the day without using the inside facilities. She thinks I have an extraordinary urinary bladder and, I think, it's best if we keep this a secret!)

ameliat
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vermontkingdom wrote: (P.S.-after more than forty years of marriage my wife still doesn't know why I'm able to stay outside for such long periods of time during the day without using the inside facilities. She thinks I have an extraordinary urinary bladder and, I think, it's best if we keep this a secret!)
thanks for the morning laugh and congrats on 40yr of marriage!

Odd Duck
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It was only relatively recently, after discussion with the hubby about how I'd appreciate it if he were to . . . hmm . . . contribute . . to the compost heap, that he opened up and admitted that he avails himself of the bushes around the north side of the house when he's working out in the garage. Mind you, this is not even behind a fence! Dense bushes, yes, but seriously? Not even a fence?

Such a guy thing!

toxcrusadr
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Odd Duck wrote:Dense bushes, yes, but seriously? Not even a fence? Such a guy thing!
There's a reason you didn't already know he was doing that. Some of us are *very* good at it. :P

Bobberman
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Thats funny because about 6 months ago I was thrown off a forum for 30 days for using the word Pee on a family forum which seemed to be something from the 1930's!! Its not even a four letter word. When you get horse sawdust or straw that is where the pee is absorbed and is the best thing for nitrogen in the garden. If mexico only used pee they would have fine crops but they run some of their sewerage into their gardens and have many problems! Pee is great in a compost but if you want something better get urea which is a white bb type pellot . Its great to scatter through the garden and stores nicely! The blood meal also has a nice amout of nitrogen! I guess blood meal and urea are considered organic! Sometimes organic is confusing because natural things like lime stone should be considered organic! Chicken manure is the hottest I guess because thee is alot of pee mixed in! Maybe a baby chicken is called a PEEPEE because of that! Ha! Ha!

The Helpful Gardener
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Just seems silly to waste it, ESPECIALLY when we are using potable water to help waste it... :roll:

HG

toxcrusadr
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Agreed...it's almost as crazy-sounding as buying fertilizer for the lawn, strip mining it back off with the mower, bagging it up and paying someone to dispose of it.

The Helpful Gardener
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Ain't that the unadulterated truth of it, tox? :roll:

2cents
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American's have way too much disposable income. :D
No where in the world do intelligent folks think of throwing away so many things of value. :cry:
Urine is an excellent addition to the compost pile ! :wink:

nickolas
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Yes you can add urine to the compost, I collect urine from both my dad and myself in a bucket and apply it undiluted directly on my many compost piles, it is a very good source of nitrogen as well as most importantly for me a very good organic compost activator.
And it is a good organic fertiliser albeit very strong, I dilute it 1 part urine to 30 parts water.
It is also undiluted a very good organic herbicide , I also apply it on top of my compost to kill any unwonted plants that are growing on top of my compost pile.
Also my dad and I are both vegetarians which means no risk of exec pathogens for the compost to deal with.

Tomwalked
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and let me say... this topic was a WONDERFUL way to get to know you all a little better!!!

such a delightful mix of humor and real, genuine knowledge...

thanks for exposing me to it!

Tom

toxcrusadr
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All right, there won't be any exposing around here! This is a public forum! Please step behind the bushes!

nickolas
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You do have to admit the subject is rather humorous but none the less series.

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Runningtrails
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I keep a "pee" can in the garage, it's a large coffee can. We pee into it, fill it the rest of the way with water ( at least 1:10 ratio) and pour directly onto the heavy feeders. If I want to kill weeds, I pee direcly on them several times.

(We have no neighbors :-)

resin
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very amusing thread ! Only on gardening forum right?
Not sure if I would have a separate bucket to pee in...the vistors might stop coming around ....hehehe but...
My parents live in the country and they have a bio-cycle which composts everything that comes outs of the house no.1s, no.2s and bathroom, laundry and kitchen waste etc. This then waters the fruit trees via a dripper system. (it gets a little chlorine added to kill some germs before this) Not safe to drink though.

barnhardt9999
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My toddler can't (won't) pee in the potty yet but he knows to pee on the pile when we go outside. I thought outside would make potty training easier and more fun but I'm afraid he isn't grasping the toilet concept.

Anyways, urine is a nice nitrogen boost to the pile espcially when you have too many browns. It also helps keep the pile from drying out on hot summer days.

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stella1751
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I was studying compost tea online several days ago, looking for new ingredients to spice up my old recipe. One site mentioned that a cup of urine is an excellent nitrogen source for compost tea. I thought about it, briefly, but I don't think I have the chutzpah to pee in a cup, carry the urine outdoors, and pour it in my tea :oops:

DoubleDogFarm
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Stella, you could cut out a few steps. Pee outdoors into the tea. :>
:lol:
Eric

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hanikai
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Hmm I have a question.. what about smell? I realize other fertilizers smell pretty bad, but human urine has a very distinctive smell, doesn't it? If you have a small compost heap in a confined area (small yard) wouldn't the smell be pretty bad?

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rainbowgardener
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Perhaps if you overdid it, like all the output of a family went in there, temporarily exceeding the pile's capacity to absorb it. But since I have been known occasionally to pee in a jar and take it to my compost pile (we of the female persuasion just really can't do the pee on the pile routine), I can say with confidence that a small amount of pee added to a working pile is instantly absorbed and quickly broken down and does not change the odor.

I don't know about the compost tea, not having experience with that. I would guess it would depend on the volume of tea relative to the volume of pee :)
(Vt: Vp >10 = OK ?).

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stella1751
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DoubleDogFarm wrote:Stella, you could cut out a few steps. Pee outdoors into the tea. :>
:lol:
Eric
Laughed out loud at this one, Eric, even though it makes perfect sense :lol:

toxcrusadr
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Dark summer nights are good for this no matter your persuasion. And if you can't hit the pile, anywhere in the yard will get it back into the soil where it belongs rather than down the sewer. 8)

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Gary350
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hanikai wrote:Hmm I have a question.. what about smell? I realize other fertilizers smell pretty bad, but human urine has a very distinctive smell, doesn't it? If you have a small compost heap in a confined area (small yard) wouldn't the smell be pretty bad?
I keep several 5 gallon plastic buckets full of compost material in my work shop. I pee in the buckets there is no smell at all for about 2 days then it smells like ammonia. Same smell laundry ammonia. I keep a top on the buckets I don't want to loose any of the ammonia it supplies the nitrogen to the compost. Once the compost gets a little wet and a strong ammonia smell I start peeing in a different bucket. I stir the urine compost mix about once a week. In the summer when the temperature is pretty hot compost turns to a very dark almost black color in a month or so and it looks like potting soil. Is volume reduces by about 1/2 then I dump the buckets into a 30 gallon plastic trash can with a top. In the winter compost action is a little slower but it still works. An electric drill type paint mixer works good to stir the compost.

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Tilde
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Pee of people not on meds. What kind of meds would come out and do harm?

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rainbowgardener
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I don't know about doing harm, but many drugs and medications are excreted in urine, hence urinary drug testing.

All the common drugs of abuse can be tested for in urine including alcohol, marijuana, opiates, LSD, anabolic steroids, narcotics, amphetamines, etc.

Water soluble vitamins are passed in the urine as well as many other substances.

The question would be whether any of these substances would be harmful if added to your compost pile. We will stipulate that the vitamins aren't harmful and that most of us gardeners would not have high levels of drugs of abuse in our urine ( :) ). Therefore the question devolves to the unknown other substances. Composting and other forms of biofiltration are very effective at cleaning pollutants, breaking down sewage sludge, even can break down complex pesticide molecules So, I'm guessing that in general, unless you have something really strange in your urine, even if you are on medication, it will not be harmful in your compost pile.

(Incidentally, not all medications are passed unchanged into urine - e.g. when bipolar patients are treated with Lithium, their Lithium levels have to be monitored with blood testing, since it can't be detected in urine.)

toxcrusadr
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Interesting factoid about lithium, Rainbow. I wonder where it goes? It is an ion (similar to sodium and potassium), so one would think it would be excreted the same way. There are only two other choices, sweat and feces.

Anyhoo, it is hard to imagine that mg levels of prescription drugs would have an effect on the average compost pile, esp. if one is composting all their kitchen and yard waste along with it. I would venture to guess they are largely biodegraded as well, although it would vary by the individual compound. I would be less worried about this angle than I would about toxins such as lead, pesticides, etc., simply because these are obviously not highly toxic to humans by definition. But I am just generalizing.

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rainbowgardener
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Thanks, tox... you made me question my assumption. I have to admit, I assumed that the reason the they only do blood tests is that it isn't present in urine. But since you made me look it up, that is not true -- sorry, usually I check first. Now I don't know why they can just to a urinary blood screen, would seem a lot easier.

But yes, that is really the point that some mgs of prescription meds in the compost with buckets of other stuff is really not worth worrying about and most of it would be broken down. And yes, it seems like anything in your urine wouldn't be toxic or you wouldn't have put it in your mouth in the first place...



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