Using Urine as a Fertilizer

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RootsRuler

RootsRuler

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Has anyone ever tried this?

 
RootsRuler

RootsRuler

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urine used in professional grow is filtered then used diluted

i do believe it's not that simple to filter your own urine and know how much you need to dilute it.
From the limited amount of reading I've done you have to let it sit for a few months to kill off whatever pathogens may be in it but my question is how do you know the actual ratio of NPK you have in the urine? I've read you have to do a mix of 20/1 water to urine.
 
D

dean1963

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sorry bud, but why would anyone ever think of this?
disgruntled neighbour, pissed off wife maybe, or pissed wife peeing in the bushes.
sounds kind of weird when you can just buy phosphorus, but to each their own i guess
 
RootsRuler

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Urine fertilizer is already being implemented in Africa in areas that are too poor to afford fertilizer to great effect.

 
growsince79

growsince79

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Urine fertilizer is already being implemented in Africa in areas that are too poor to afford fertilizer to great effect.

Pretty sure most of the planet has used it for 4-5000 years.
 
sambapati

sambapati

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Thought I had an open mind. I guess not!

Between urine and biochar one could augment any weed (or anything else) grow. I farmer named Little Dabbie advocated for this here on THC farmer and I read about the Rich Earth Institute recently in the newspaper. Funny that in Asia things like cistern bathing are pretty standard to save water on the farm, where the 'western' word doesn't get how the idea would save so much water. Why not? OldChucky....I will send you out a can opener (lol)

How It Works​

Urine Diversion is the practice of keeping human urine separate from the rest of the wastewater stream. Urine contains most of the plant nutrients found in human waste. Separation of urine at the source keeps these nutrients from causing water pollution and allows them to be used as an agricultural resource.

For millennia, people around the world have been collecting their urine to fertilize plants (see our FAQ on using urine in home gardens). While this is already a common practice in many communities, there is a new movement growing to incorporate urine reclamation into infrastructural design.

There are a wide range of methods for diverting urine, as well as treatment and application on farms or gardens. For a full breakdown of these steps, please read our Guide to Starting a Community-Scale Urine Diversion Program. Below is a description of how urine is collected, transported, treated, and applied under our community-scale urine recycling program.

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1. Collection​

5-gallon Portable Urine Collection System

Rich Earth’s “cubie” and funnel system is the most commonly used by our urine donors. This portable unit enables them to collect urine while keeping odors contained (which also means that nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization is minimized.) The funnel assembly screws securely onto the jug. A ping-pong ball sits inside the funnel, sealing the opening and blocking odors but enabling urine to pass through.

When the cubie is full, the user unscrews the funnel and attaches a water-tight cap. The urine is then brought to Rich Earth’s urine depot for donation.

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Plumbed Tanks

Urine can also be stored on-site and collected by a pump-out service once or twice a year. A variety of systems can be designed to divert urine to a plumbed tank.

Urine-diverting flush toilets have a special urine collection system at the front of the toilet bowl, which catches the urine and drains it to the urine collection tank. Many urine-diverting toilets require little to no water to flush urine, resulting in substantial water savings.

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Waterless urinals are becoming common in public restrooms for water conservation purposes. They can easily be plumbed to urine collection tanks as well.

Finally, urine-diversion is being used in many parts of the world in conjunction with dry toilets for hygiene purposes–sanitation is improved by separating the urine because it allows the feces to dry, killing harmful pathogens more quickly. These systems also have the potential to be used to collect urine for fertilizer re-use and compost the feces. There are a variety of urine-diverting inserts available commercially for home construction of urine-diverting dry composting toilet systems. The Separett insert is a commonly used product in the US.

2. Transport
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Transportation of urine from the collection site to the treatment center and/or farm application site can be done using a septage hauling partner or using a specially designed urine pump-out truck. In the case of home use (including farms that have on-site collection systems or urban gardens) this step is not necessary.

3. Treatment

When urine is used to fertilize produce for public consumption, sanitation is recommended by the WHO guidelines. This can be accomplished through either storage (68°F/20°C or higher for six months) or pasteurization (176°F/80°C degrees for 1.5 minutes). The Rich Earth Institute has developed a computer-controlled pasteurizer with a high-efficiency heat exchanger to sanitize urine quickly and energy-efficiently. High temperature composting and ultraviolet exposure are methods that may also be suitable for sanitizing large volumes of urine.

Storage capacity is a major expense and logistical challenge in large-scale urine recycling. Technologies to concentrate the fertilizer in urine into a smaller volume will play an important role in making widespread urine recycling economically viable. Methods for concentration include reverse osmosis, freeze concentration, evaporation, and vapor compression distillation.

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4. Application

 
Oldchucky

Oldchucky

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I guess it’s not much different from drying out the sludge at sewage treatment plants and using it in fertilizer. I saw one site say urine is 10 – 1–4.
 
Rebeccalovato777

Rebeccalovato777

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Urine fertilizer is already being implemented in Africa in areas that are too poor to afford fertilizer to great effect.

I know ashes work quite well as well as bird poop especially bat poop great fertilizer!
 
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