D.I.Y. The cheapest excellent plant food NOT on the market.

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With so many plant foods available which one should we use? Chemical or organic?
Then there’s the price. Is paying more better or are we paying for the brand name?

What if we can make our own? Or better still why not make our own organic plant fertilizer?

The answer is we do! Every day!
And what do we do with it? We throw it away! Every day!

This is not a joke . . . I’m talking about urine.
Most of us may have a deeply ingrained belief that urine is a noxious substance that must be disposed of, but this is a myth that needs busting.

Human urine is one of the fastest-acting, most excellent sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and trace elements for plants and it’s free.

Fresh human urine is sterile and so free from bacteria. It’s only when it is older than 24 hours that the urea turns into ammonia, which is what causes the ‘wee’ smell.

Dilute one part urine to 10-15 parts water for application on plants in the growth stage. Dilute in 30-50 parts water for use on pot plants, which are much more sensitive to fertilisers of any kind. Urine is always best applied directly to a plant’s root system.

Antibiotics, vitamin supplements and other medications will end up in your urine, but in such minute quantities as to be negligible, especially when diluted in water.

Urine is 95 per cent water, 2.5 per cent of which is urea, and a further 2.5 per cent of which is a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones and enzymes. It is a blood byproduct but despite containing some bodily waste is non-toxic.

In 1975, Dr A. H. Free published his book Urinalysis in Clinical Laboratory Practice, presenting a few of the critical nutrients found in urine, including urea nitrogen, urea, creatinin nitrogen, creatinin, uric acid nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, amino nitrogen, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, inorganic sulphate and inorganic phosphate.

Patrick Makhosi, a soil scientist with Uganda’s Kawanda Agricultural Research Organisation, confirms the efficacy of human urine as a fertiliser. He says that applying urine to growing vegetables once every week for at least two months will more than double the yield.

So, if you want a ready source of plant food that is perfectly balanced for your garden, that is absolutely free, available all year round, consider using your own urine.

There is also the added pleasure of feeling that you are a more integrated part of the cycle of growth in your garden; in the loop, not exempted from it. Happy gardening – and remember these golden rules…

Keep it separate
Separate urine from other bodily waste to keep it sterile. Pee in a bottle or bucket.

Use it fresh
The smell of ammonia also indicates a drop in nutritional content. Use old wee directly on your compost heap only.

Always dilute
Urine is too strong to be used neat on plants. Dilute at least 10:1 and up to 50:1 for use on tender plants and seedlings.

This information is an abridged version of freelance journalist Dorienne Robinson’s article published 22nd September 2010 text>>

Peace n Love StJ

• 10 Mar, 2016
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