Human urine as organic fertilizer

Generally, urine is the liquid waste from our body but in the Asian agriculture, it’s common to use urine as a good source of nitrogen and other minerals and, providing it is used correctly, is completely safe.  The research at University of Kuopio's Department of Environmental Sciences in Finland assumed that the nitrogen contents of human urine could be a good fertilizer for many other plants or crops.  

The study said that the cabbage fertilized with urine was compared with similar plots of cabbage that either went unfertilized or where commercial fertilizer was used. At harvest, the cabbage enriched with the urine had several advantages: It was slightly larger, it grew to its maximum size more quickly, and, for most of the growth cycle, it suffered less bug damage than the commercially fertilized variety.

I tested to water with the mixed urine 2 times a week in the morning and now, my plants (such as vegetable, roses, orchid, cactus and etc.) grow well and quickly like they do in the rain season. 

How to keep and use it

• Keep it separate. The golden rule with urine use is to keep it separate from other bodily wastes. Urine is clean and needs to be kept that way. Pee in a bottle, or invest in a urine-separating toilet.
• Dilute urine with water at 1: 10.  The pure urine is too strong and salty to be used neat on plants.    
•  Use it fresh. We all know that stale urine smells. That's ammonia, and it's made from nitrogen. The smellier your collected urine, the less nutritious it will be for your plants, as well as being unpleasant to apply.

•   Water at the roots. It's good practice when watering not too splash the leaves, but to water at the roots. This saves on evaporation, and dry leaves are much more resistant to disease.

• Feed hungry plants. The plants that will benefit most from urine fertilizer are the ones with the highest nitrogen requirements. Try it on leafy vegetables like cabbages and cauliflowers, corn, or anything that needs a quick pick-me-up.

Other use. 

Neat urine is too strong to be used directly on plants, but it can be used as a weedkiller; a few applications, especially if used on hot days, should finish off your weeds. It can also be used neat as a winter spray for fruit trees, to discourage fungal diseases.

Using urine is the real organic gardening: it is a relatively clean substance.  You can save money, fossil fuels (used extensively in the production of chemical fertilizers) and water (no need to flush!).   

EM for green garden

What is EM?

EM is is an acronym for Effective Microorganisms™. It is a brand name referring to a line of microbial-based products using a technology developed by Japanese scientist Dr. Teruo Higa who was a Japanese professor of horticulture at the College of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus.

"EM Technology" uses a laboratory cultured mixture of microorganisms consisting mainly of lactic acid bacteria, purple bacteria, and yeast which co-exist for the benefit of whichever environment they are introduced, as has been claimed by the various em-like culture purveyors.

Dr. Higa claimed that 3 groups of microorganisms exist: ‘positive microorganisms’ (regeneration), ‘negative microorganisms’ (decomposition, degeneration), ‘opportunist microorganisms’.

Benefit of EM

EM has the benenfits in the various fields: agriculture, wasted water managment, household.

EM is the great and useful technology and it is the helpful choice for the organic farm/garden. I write about the EM, not for trade or commercial but I just want to share my experience about EM which is good for my plants and can save my money for ferlitizer.

Usage of EM

There are many ways to use EM. The simplest way is mix a cap of EM with 1 liter water and water to your tree.

Weekly, I mix the EM with water and water that solution to my plants. I got the recipe from my friend:
mix EM with an egg (including its finely broken shell), sugar mollass or yogurt and 1 litre water into the bottle.

Shake the bottle and leave it for 1 week.

Then you'll get the growing hormone solution. Combine the 1 cap of solution with 1 litre water and water to your plants. I do it once a week and I think it's good for my garden because the rose, orchid and cactus grow so well.   

Or you can make the organic pesticide from EM:

Mixing Warm water 300 ml
Molasses 50 ml
Natural vinegar 50 ml
Whiskey or ethyl alcohol 50 ml
EM liquid concentrate 50 ml

Select a suitable sized container for mixing, some plastic bottles with caps for storage and a funnel. Add the molasses to the warm water and stir till thoroughly mixed.

Add the vinegar, whiskey and EM concentrate. Pour the mix into the plastic
bottles and add small quantities of chopped garlic etc.

Seal as tightly as possible and leave in a warm dark place (20-30 C). Release any gas produced at least twice daily by releasing the cap.

The EM is ready for use when the production of gas has stopped and the product has a sweet fruity smell. The mix can be stored in a dark cool place which has a uniform temperature for up to 3 months. If garlic etc. has been used, filter this out before storage. Do not store in the refrigerator.

In my opinion, EM is a part of organic fertilizer.  It can add the microorganisms into the soil and help the plants to grow well.  However, EM can't not be replaced with the fertilizer perfectly.  You still need to give the necessary nutrient (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) to your plants.