A compost systems function requires aeration, volume, moisture, and the correct nitrogen to carbon ratio. These three are the main nutrients that are essential to healthy plant growth and ones that you see referred to as NPK on plant fertilizer labels. Though it might seem counterintuitive, urine is a free compost accelerator and works surprisingly well to stimulate the decomposition process. It is an outhouse with a urinal and a composting toilet. However, following the guidelines above, its a great way to add nitrogen and trace minerals to your compost. (Why Its A Cut Above The Rest)Continue, Do you compost? If so, how should you do it, and are there any dangers when adding urine to compost? Others prefer a more exacting method of tossing 2 to 3 buckets of carbon for each bucket of nitrogen. Kitchen waste is high in nitrogen so is a green material for compost. Alexia Allen from Hawthorn Farm recommends a method of making a big pile of leaves and then adding urine to it over winter. These products are easy to obtain, and you likely have some of them at home. While humans will urinate several times a day, it is not necessary to add it all to the compost heap too much is not always a good thing. This may be something you have never thought about before, but the benefits are real and seriously worth taking into account. Lindsay Sheehan is a writer, researcher, and lifelong gardener who loves little more than the thrill of nurturing living things from dormant seed. Being free and readily available, whats not to like?! Confident composters wont hesitate to put a well-rotted humanure compost in vegetable gardens, whereas less trusting composters opt for applying it to fruit trees. Urea is widely used as a fertilizer in agriculture. However, this practice should be done with care to prevent contamination by pathogens or creating too much nitrogen content in the composting process. By spring she claims it will be extra-rich and crumbly and better than your average compost. Ultimately it may depend on how private your heap is or how bold you are as a person. Composting is a fantastic way to reuse and recycle organic waste like kitchen scraps, grass clipping material, and dry leaves. I was dumb. An herbal compost activator usually contains a mixture of the following seven ingredients: yarrow, chamomile, dandelion, oak bark, valerian, nettle and honey. Urine makes a fantastic compost accelerator. But is floss biodegradable? However, if you are adding urine directly to the soil make sure that you dilute it. Believe it or not, bird feathers are an amazingly rich source of nitrogen. Excessive amounts of urine willadd too much nitrogen, slowing decomposing. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, It then gets added to a watering can and diluted about 10:1 for fertilizing veggies, fruit trees, addition to the compost pile, or whatever else needs fertilizing (although I havent used it on the grass yet). Thank You. Blood meal is also the perfect foil for a lethargic compost pile. Keep your pile or the contents of your bin or tumbler at no less than three cubic feet to ensure it generates enough heat to function and is damp, not wet. You may have heard that urine is good for your plants. He has lived as an expat for over a decade, worked in nearly a dozen countries, and visited dozens of others in the meantime, subjecting the planet to a fiery mix of permaculture, music, and plant-based cooking. Blood meal has an N-P-K of 12-0-0, making it one of the richest organic sources of nitrogen. The wee of one person is said to be rich enough to fertilize a tenth of an acre of vegetable garden for the year. I enjoyed reading that. Turn your compost frequently with a garden fork to speed up the activity of the microbes. Its powerful stuff that can burn young plants if you overdo it so always apply it with a light hand. Diluted and put straight amongst the plants or undiluted in the compost pile, it will give your garden a boost. I live remotely on acreage. One other unexpected, and highly beneficial ingredient, you can add to a homemade compost pile is human urine. Composting was always important in the places he worked at and each had bays to produce their own compost in-house for use around the gardens. Add ingredients, stir. There are other ways to add urine in compost without it being put directly onto the heap itself every time. More work for a dev. Especially when you have loads of carbon-rich yard waste and not enough greens to match, blood meal can act as the sole nitrogen provider in the heap. (The Ideal Solution)Continue. Whether you compost to enrich your garden soil, make compost tea, or dispose of your kitchen waste responsibly, its crucial to keep the composting process moving. Unless someone is directly walking past and looking up my driveway is not able to be seen by passers by. That accounts for over 90% of what we are peeing. Uric acid works great for eliminating and discouraging fungi on plants. These high concentrations can result in high salt and nitrogen levels which will be toxic to plants. Use simple things to kick-start the composting process and get your tumbler back to peak performance. If you dont have access to bird feathers, feather meal is also an option. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. This is why a spot that gets peed on repeatedly, as the ground beneath a fire hydrant, will often turn yellow and die. Urine is a rich source of Nitrogen, and will . Urine Compost Accelerator. This temperature range is hot enough to destroy pathogens and weed seeds, but not so hot as to kill off the beneficial microbes in the pile. As well as speeding up the process it also makes the resulting compost even more rich in nutrients. How To Compost Urine To get the most effective use of urine without the effects becoming detrimental to the compost or your plants, there are a few things to keep in mind Drew is a former professional gardener who worked primarily for the National Trust in the UK, along with spending time in productive kitchen gardens. Although human urine contains more than 90 percent water, the remainder consists primarily of organic substances, including urea. SHOULD I STOP OR KEEP DOING THIS EVERY MONTH? It actually has been found to contain up to 3000 metabolites. Hot composting relies on the perfect conditions inside your compost heap, tumbler, or bin to make an ideal environment for decomposition. To get the most effective use of urine without the effects becoming detrimental to the compost or your plants, there are a few things to keep in mind. Depending on the waste items you want to breakdown it can take months or even years. Knowing this, if there is a particularly problematic spot with weeds, it possible to use 100% urine to try to get rid of the issue. The Truth About Tea and CompostingContinue, I have to admit Im a bit of a wine fan! A compost heap turned daily will yield finished humus in two weeks. Is It Legal? Using a compost accelerator is not all that difficult. Urine fits in as one of the green layers in composting, along with the likes of grass clippings from mowing a lawn and kitchen waste, that all contain nitrogen. Candles are a popular household item. 8. One is to add urine directly to straw until it decomposes and then mix that into your compost heap. Can you compost wine corks? I like their transparency and that they use a 100% bio-organic mix. Another popular method for composting with urine is creating a pee bale, which is used for a while and then added to the compost. To lower it, add animal urine (sold at many garden stores) or other nitrogen-rich substances. However, if you have already added a lot of nitrogen-rich matter like grass clippings, then this . Place a handful of garden soil or finished compost into to your new compost pile to start the composting process. But if youre like me (impatient) and want something that will move the needle, weve got a method. To further give bacteria a boost were going to add in a source of nitrogen (the same reason people pee on their compost). I dont only use fresh urine, it often is 4 or 5 weeks old before I get round to using that particular bottle the plants love it just the same as if it were fresh. Urine has ahigh nitrogen content,but it also containspotassium, phosphorus, and other trace elements that are good for plants. This blog is about sharing everything that Ive learned in the hopes that it will help others discover the amazing rewards of composting More about me Legal Information: Help Me Compost is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com. It costs nothing, and you will reduce the water you use in your garden and use less chemicals as a result. I am pleased & proud that social constraints do not affect my ability to make the most of such a valuable resource. 2) Use the acidic nature of the urine to break down the alkaline claypan. The green nitrogen-rich pee perfectly balances the brown carbon straw material. I also sometimes add veggie cooking water, whey from making Kiefer, The liquid that comes from making tofu, and some kombucha that got to sour. No smell !! What is a compost accelerator? However, when your compost heap is inexplicably slow and inactive, or has been long forgotten and neglected, there are ways to wake up a sleeping compost and kick it into humus-making action. I can certainly appreciate this article and feel like this has so much more importance than might have been stated! Urine contains nitrogen-rich nutrients like ammonia and phosphorus, as well as a variety of other chemical-rich nutrients, which are found in the breakdown products which will help your plants thrive. Alfalfa meal can be used proactively to heat a pile by sprinkling it between brown and green layers. Uric acid accelerates the compost process, allowing you to get to the end product faster. Adding urine to a new compost pile is similar to adding acommercial compost acceleratorto boost the process. Some cat litter can be added to compost. latest news on alan alda; heart evangelista parents and siblings random package from am conservation group urine compost accelerator. These minerals have been proven to be the primary nutrients required for healthy plant growth, resulting in their addition to commercial fertilizers. The microorganisms within your compost require nitrogen to build proteins. Peecycling is simply another aspect of this, that is the term is given to recycling human urine and using it to help feed plants and crops. Despite simple and effective ways of making composting toilets, humanure does still bring about some controversy with those who are worried about pathogens. I just follow the recipe and, if the cookies are good, I chalk it up as a success. I have been saving urine and pouring it on my compost pile. For example, Im forever asking myself, can I compost that? So, of course, that question naturally applies to, Read More Is Cork Compostable? Maybe I better watch how often I water the garden. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Ill leave those recommendations to the professionals. Also it is readily-available, free, and incredibly easy to add to any compost heap. Heres how it works. Compost can be ready in as quick as four to six months if it gets hot enough. Aim for at least a 2:1 carbon-to-grass clippings ratio. Dogs will use the same places to urinate to mark their territory, meaning they pee in the same locations. Roebic Bacterial Compost Accelerator at Amazon | $14.78 (opens in new tab). Enough to fertilize a tenth of an acre of vegetable garden for the year can certainly appreciate this article feel... Remainder consists primarily of organic substances, including urea burn young plants if you never... Excessive amounts of urine willadd too much nitrogen content in the compost process, allowing to! It gets hot enough to reuse and recycle organic waste like kitchen,... Just follow the recipe and, if you have already added a lot of nitrogen-rich matter like grass clippings then. 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