Urine stinks. In fact, the urine from all mammals plays an important role in the earths nitrogen cycle. This means that excessive use of urine can be detrimental to your compost pile and your plants. As a result, itshould not be stored for longer than 24 hoursbefore being used in your compost or garden. Urine Acts As A Compost Accelerator. Consequently, training your dog to urinate on your compost pile isnot a good idea. ANSWER: Yes, unbelievably, human urine is rich in nitrogen and should be added to compost regularly instead of flushing down the toilet. Add part of a premade compost from an earlier batch, worm castings, garden soil, urine, or high-nitrogen teas to start the process. This liquid nitrogen is the fastest method to ignite a slow compost pile. Urine will undoubtedly speed up the composting process by increasing nitrogen levels. Compost heaps should be kept moist but not soggy. It loses its nitrogen content as it dries so its best to toss grass clippings in the compost immediately after mowing the lawn. This can be tricky to measure since not all browns contain an equal amount of carbon. Additionally, human urine may deter rodents and other pests from disturbing your compost pile. Power Rake Vs Dethatcher, How to lift riding mower to change blades, 1 can of flat, room-temperature beer (open the can and leave for 24 hours), 1 can of regular cola that isnt sugar free. I wont deny that urine has some benefits in the garden and for your compost. How To Keep Petunias From Getting Leggy? Too much nitrogen and the pile will start to stink; too much carbon and decomposition will slow down dramatically. Can you compost it, or should you dispose of it another way?, Read More Can You Compost Old Mulch? If you find an old package of fertilizer in your shed that youre not sure if its any good you can toss it in to your compost pile and any nitrogen it has in it will help to accelerate the compost breakdown. Approximately 5 kg of finished compost (3 percent of woodchip weight) will be added. It even has a chance of success occasionally. No, this is not a joke, as funny as it may sound. Grass has an N-P-K value of 4-1-2 when its still green and moist and fresh. Its typically used in the garden as an early season fertilizer that promotes explosive leafy growth. Most often, the reason a compost heap slows to a crawl is an improper balance between nitrogen and carbon materials in the pile. Freshly cut grass clippings added to the compost heap will turn a sluggish pile into a hot mess in no time. In this way, the composts microbial diversity is negatively affected by adding too much urine. Sprinkle it over your soil for a quick crop boost. Exchanging raccoons for bears doesnt sound like a great game plan to me. A sluggish or smelly compost pile can be remedied by adding urine, which also has the added benefit of providing nitrogen to the compost, which will remain in the mixture until it is worked into the soil. Plus, we have a dry compost toilet which is manually emptied onto the compost heaps every few days. The more frequently you turn the pile, the faster itll cook. Its powerful stuff that can burn young plants if you overdo it so always apply it with a light hand. As a guideline, Master Gardener Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott of Washington State University recommends keeping the total volume of coffee grounds in the compost between 10% and 20%. Many great discoveries have happened accidentally? Everything You Need To Know. Is Human Urine Beneficial For Compost? Compost accelerators, compost starters, and other similar products work by adding more nitrogen to your composting pile. Why Do I Keep Finding Peanut Shells in My Yard? When added to the compost bin, undiluted human urine reduces the time it takes for carbons to break down and increases the nutrient values in the completed compost. You may not want to use manure for one reason or another, and coffee is a good substitute for this. An adult Make your own compost activator to keep your pile working effectively and foster the perfect conditions to make high-quality, organic fertilizer for your houseplants and garden. Here are a few tips you should consider if you want to buy a compost accelerator. Its simple enough to avoid this by thoroughly mixing grass clippings with brown materials before adding it to the pile. The other option is to pure the ingredients into a 15 gallon bucket of water and then use a watering can to distribute the mix over the composting materials. When I started composting, I remember trying to figure out the perfect ingredients for my compost heap and whether certain materials would do good or bad! Recent field studies support the benefits of peeing on crops. Avoid harmful chemicals and choose natural products like Jobes Organics compost starter or bokashi bran to keep your finished compost natural and chemical-free. All these elements are necessary for the compost pile to function properly, and therefore all beneficial elements are described as compost accelerators or activators. Bird feathers are made up of approximately 90% keratin proteins and have nitrogen content between 12% and 15%. Adding urine to your compost can not only balance out your ratios (fixing a slow or stinky pile), but will add nitrogen to the compost itself where it will stay until it is mixed into the soil. Compost is an organic matter that is used to enrich the soil and promote plant growth. Mix 4-5 parts leaves to one part green waste. WebBiolan Quick Composter 220eco is intended for year-round composting of kitchen biowaste. yes no Shred all leaves, grass clippings, newspaper, clover and dry compost with a lawn mower or garden shears to give the microbes more surfaces to eat at a time. If you make biochar and pee on it, you are creating an all natural, long-lasting plant feeding system. A simple and rapidsoil testing kit like this oneis all you need. A compost heap turned daily will yield finished humus in two weeks. Humans need to urinate several times a day, but this doesnt mean you should pee on your compost pile every time you go past! A legume and member of the pea family, alfalfa is a flowering herbaceous perennial with several amazing qualities. Tip: The best time to use urine as an activator or accelerator for a compost pile is in the early morning, when the uric acid levels in your urine are at their highest. The more microorganisms at work breaking down the materials, the faster the compost is made. Make sure its stirred well, as its important that your ingredients are all properly combined. The hose is constantly closed so that it may be used to saturate the pile and turn it over. Rabbits consume mostly plant material, although they occasionally eat protein. Accelerators can be purchased or can even be from ingredients you already possess. to speed up the composting process. Wait, you pee on your compost? And because Im an avid composter, I often look at things around me differently. Aside from the homemade compost accelerator recipe listed above, there are a few other things you could use to activate your compost heap and jump start the process. When conditions are too wet, water will fill the pore 4.6 (1,408) $14995. Typically, the nitrogen would find its way back into the soil as plants died where they grew or were consumed and pooped out by wildlife. By Sammie Dejesus | Submitted On July 01, 2009. Dilute to 30-50 parts water to 1 part urine for use on potted plants as they are much more sensitive to Fertilizers of any kind. If you want to know more about the decomposition process itself and why its important to ensure a proper environment in order for your compost heap to turn into a material rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the University of Illinois has a guide called The Composting Process. (Tested & Answered), How To Compost Corn Stalks & Cobs (Easiest & Fastest Way). WebA compost starter/accelerator is a product that jumpstarts and speeds up the process of decomposition in your compost pile. These minerals have been proven to be the primary nutrients required for healthy plant growth, resulting in their addition to commercial fertilizers. However, pee is a waste product and a method our bodies use to eliminate excess salts and other wastes, including heavy metals. The same applies to store bought compost accelerators. Urie is sterile. Adding pee to a compost piletoo frequently will result in a build-up of saltsin the compost, which can lead to a toxic environment for the microbes doing the decomposing, slowing, or stopping the composting process. A single adult male could provide enough pee to fertilize 6,300 tomato plants per year, yielding 2.4 tons of tomatoes. If your piles decomposition rate drops, its probably because the conditions there are no longer favorable to the bacteria and fungi that are doing the actual work. Many everyday items are ideal to use as a compost accelerator as a. Rather than sending these items to landfills, where they would take up space and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, they may be recycled into compost instead. Contender All Seasons Bokashi Compost Starter 2 lbs (1 Gallon) - Dry Bokashi Bran for Kitchen Compost Bin, Compost Food Pet Waste Quickly & Easily with Low Odor by SCD Probiotics 1,641 $1605 $15.25 with Subscribe & Save However, once the urine has circulated through the bladder, it may come into contact with microorganisms that would then end up in your compost. Another great idea mentioned on The Grow Network, is to walk around your neighborhood and ask your neighbors if they have yard waste to spare. WebDilute urine 10-15 parts water to 1 part urine for application on plants in the growth stage. As previously mentioned in this article, keeping the right temperature is important for your microorganisms to thrive. Glacial Rock Dust vs Azomite- Which One Should You Use? 6 Compost Activators to Fuel Your Heap 1. That means it has unnecessary items. How much water do you put in a compost bin? In a nutshell, the kidneys remove any excess nutrients that the body cannot use from the food we ingest, and the urine contains the discarded nutrients. So what are your options with old layers of mulch in your garden? Ensure the beer and cola are at room temperature or slightly warmer, and add them to the bucket with the other ingredients. Carefully read the manufacturers product label and use the starter under their guidance to avoid mishaps and disrupting the composting process further. These high concentrations can result in high salt and nitrogen levels which will be toxic to plants. Urine is a rich source of Nitrogen, and Once the grass is in the compost, turn it after the first 24 hours. Peeing on your compost is good for both the compost you are creating, and the environment itself. For what its worth, many individuals use this method religiously, even going so far as to urinate on their compost pile whenever they add scraps or materials that animals could find appetizing. Yet, its discouraging when your pile stops efficiently breaking down your food and garden waste. Exactly, a urine sample. Long story short, you probably shouldnt be peeing on your compost every chance you get. If youre making a lot of compost, youre looking at a major saving. This risk makes the method you collect the urine important when you intend to use it for composting. The urine is sent off to a separate storage container via a small hose connection. The urine of humans has high concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. FarmerGrows.com is a participant of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program it is designed to provide an aid for the websites in earning an advertisement fee by means of advertising and linking to Amazon.com products. The average NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) value of our urine is 11-1-2.5; it has considerable amounts of nitrogen. Regular aeration will also keep the clippings better distributed throughout the pile. Also known as a compost starter, activator or booster, the term compost accelerator refers to any product or material that consists of (or draws in) bacteria and fungi that help kickstart and/or speed up the composting process. Urine Helps Fight Fungus In Your Garden If you add cat litter to your compost, you should not use the resulting compost to fertilize food crops. Recipe 4: Straw bale bathroom You can urinate directly on a bale of straw until the straw decomposes, and Nepalese farmers have been taking a leak on their crops for centuries. If you have lots of greens, urine on your pile might be a bit redundant and actually hurt your ratio. What is a compost accelerator? Using chemical fertilizers to add nitrogen to the soil is bad for the environment and can be detrimental to our health as well. A Nepalese study found that sweet peppers that are fertilized with human urine and compost yield the most fruits and tallest plants of the eight different fertilizer combinations used in the study. An obvious source of hair could be your local hair salon. Since urine contains nitrogen components (ammonia and urea), you can use it as green material in your compost. Posted on Published: May 24, 2021- Last updated: August 17, 2021. Its not the sort of thing I would normally bother with, as the Really Lazy Composter rarely wants to fiddle with measuring things out into watering cans. When appropriately used, compost has the potential to protect plants from a variety of diseases. With an average N-P-K value of 11-1-2.5, our pee contains significant levels of nitrogen. Keeping your compost moist and damp (as well as turning regularly to aerate it) is one of the most important things you can do. Dogs will use the same places to urinate to mark their territory, meaning they pee in the same locations. According to a Nepalese study, sweet peppers fertilized with human urine and compost yield the most fruits and tallest plants in eight different fertilizer combinations. For a pile to heat up and stay hot throughout the entire composting process, it needs: Smaller compost piles wont retain heat as efficiently as larger ones. The garden soil holds additional microorganisms, which will speed up the process even further. Some folks find it easiest to add browns and greens in equal volume, adjusting amounts as they go along. And not only do we have access to it all year round, but its also completely free. I always keep a hose nearby to add moisture as I turn the pile. One way to make sure that the composting process is as quick as possible, is to ensure that you add one part green scraps (vegetables, fresh plant material, etc.) There are contradictory views on whether or not to use urine in compost, so its essential to assess the situation before diving in. This is the most important compost accelerator. Bobcat 463 vs Bobcat S70 Which One Is Better? Fixing a slow pile is usually as simple as adding more nitrogen-rich materials to the pit. Eliot Colman 7. Peeing on your compost pile helps break it down! Why Do We Need To Add Urine In The Compost? Below is a list of ingredients that you need for a homemade compost accelerator: Large bucket, (5 gallons minimum) 1 gallon of warm water 1 can of flat, room-temperature beer (open the can and leave for 24 hours) 1 can of regular cola that isnt sugar free cup of household ammonia As you probably already know, urine does not have a pleasant odor to smell. WebAdding a few filler materials to your compost pile can help it retain the right amount of water for proper decomposition. Easy. Otherwise your compost heap could develop hot spots which, according to the Cornell Waste Management Institute, could cause some of the beneficial microorganisms to die off. Compost is miraculous stuff. (Amazon). Urine Helps Fight Fungus In Your Garden Sinceyou have no controlover your pets urine or know if the animals are entirely healthy, you should add pet urine to compost with caution. Ideally, composting materials should be between 40 and 60 percent water. Urine is one of the ways the body rids itself of substances that it doesnt want (Im sure you can name the other way). This is especially true if you have nitrogen-deficient soil. Suppose you rake up the fallen leaves in your garden. Too dry, the worms dehydrate, cannot breathe, and cant tunnel effectively. As with used coffee grounds, hair is a great source of nitrogen for your compost heap. 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