Human Urine for Compost, Start to Finish

[iamlevicastle]

You should drink more water, that's some yellow pee pee. Being properly hydrated makes you feel better. :)

[Nicki1Von9Wicked87]

what gets me is that you play with pee ._o altho this is a nice way to save money an the earth :D

lol but y is there a video on how to make jello shots in the suggestions O_o

[OrganicGarden123]

@Nicki1Von9Wicked87 LOL. I personally don't consider myself to be "playing" with my urine, BUT I do garden, which to me DOES include "playing" with the dirt, which DOES include compost made from my pee (and in a bigger picture it is all chemicals that have been reused and recycled on earth for at least thousands of years, and we're made of this stuff too!). Cheers with the Jello shots! :D

[KirstenLeahy]

does your neighbor love your pee bales near the fence?????Good idea still... I pee under my fruit trees, mostly if my partners been to the toilet before me I have a week stomach LOL

[OrganicGarden123]

@KirstenLeahy Hi. My neighbors are wonderful people who enjoy the occasional produce that I can give them, and some of them help care for my garden if I am traveling/away during the growing season. Admittedly, that portion of my FRONT yard is not typical for suburban USA, nor are my gourds growing up the trees on my front yard, but I think they accept my quirkiness! (I don't see any mob gathering with torches and pitchforks, but I'll be on the lookout!) Happy gardening!

[eph5121]

glass is a much better storage container to use because of hygeine issues, even if you empty it every day.

[haywoodfarm]

Human pee is great fertiliser. Ok to use on carbon material as you are doing. Best : a men's urinal flushed with washing machine water (10 water : 1 urine). When full, let sit and ferment for a week. Ideally, only add compost, mulch or worm castings to gardens - add your urine (or fertiliser or manure etc) to worm farms and/or compost heaps. Women can pee in a urinal standing up - can also return their blood to the earth. My YT vid "Food for Thought", or google Humanure. haywoodfarm@yahoo.com

[RaidenTheAlmighty]

@haywoodfarm Peeing is one thing. Using menstrual blood as fertilizer is creepy.

[haywoodfarm]

@RaidenTheAlmighty . We have a lot in common, you, me and menstrual blood! You and I will probably end up back in the earth- Hi There RTA. I wonder why you find it creepy. Where do you think it used to go prior to the flushing toilet, meds and tampons etc? I am not sure what you learnt at school or home - menstrual blood comes from the same place you and I come from. You and I will end up in the earth. And how much menstrual blood ends up in landfill anyway? Creepy? - its a b*oody good idea!

[RaidenTheAlmighty]

@haywoodfarm There's just something off putting about collecting menstrual blood to use as fertilizer. Not many gals will be going for that.

[kaaeyl]

you'll never get a lady friend if you leave the seat up

[boysselle]

Hello,Friend

Can you use your own excrement, too?

What results you had doing this? the soil more alkaline?

You know books said not to use what are you doing, but I will trust  you more

because sometimes books are bias. Thank you very much

[OrganicGarden123]

@boysselle Personally, I do not compost my feces, but there are some who do. I don't know that my compost pile truly gets hot enough to kill all the pathogens/bacteria that can be in human stool.

But using urine is really easy and safe. I don't know of books saying not to put urine in compost, but they may tell you not to put urine DIRECTLY onto your plants (it can burn/kill them, unless you really dilute the urine).

[cyrusp100]

@OrganicGarden123 You can put urine directly onto mature fruit trees without a problem. It helps if you have a thick layer of carbon rich mulch underneath them e.g. wood chips.

[wolfpaw69]

I laughed at your last comment :)

[ovandocarter]

yea yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa­aaaaaaaaaaa

[wheelori814]

i would asume that if your taking medications for anything you might not want to do this!??

[OrganicGarden123]

@wheelori814 Personally, I am not on any medications. But in general, I would probably trust the composting process to convert your meds to its basic atoms (carbon, nitrogen, etc.) more than I would trust the municipal water treatment facility to get rid of those before the consider the water cleaned up enough to send it back to your home as tap water. Still, you probably would NOT want to compost your urine if you are taking oral/IV chemotherapy or similar strong toxins. Happy composting!

[claudius2u]

This is Living! For the husband whose wife is adding her compliment to the pee-project, a lady friend of mine and i shared a five-gallon pail, which suited her anatomy quite well, and I simply placed it on the toilet seat, and went as usual. Also, the water saved, and the kitchen wastes I add to the bucket for later burying in the outside compost pile do wonders for all the earth worms that love the mix!

[MrFlatline5]

You dont drink enough water. Very yellow urine , stay hidrated bro

[OrganicGarden123]

@MrFlatline5 Yes, you may be right.... I could use to drink more fluids. BUT.... there is an optical illusion whereby when you put any urine (even dilute, watery urine) into a gallon-jug, which is also an opaque container, the urine looks MUCH darker than it would look if you pee'd it into a toilet bowel full of water. But I'll still agree with your advice to drink lots of water/fluid each day. Happy Gardening. Peace.

[RaidenTheAlmighty]

@MrFlatline5 Everybody has different hydration needs. It's a myth that we all need a specific amount of water to be healthy. In fact, too much water is actually bad for your health, because it causes your cells to swell, due to over saturation, which impedes their ability to function properly.

[ReneeStealsKids]

This is great! I am about to start a compost pile again after moving and getting rid of my last set up. I've recently gotten into urine therapy (google it) and I'm having a lot of success with it! edvorst asked if any girls knew how to get pee in the jar without getting it all over the floor. Unless you feel comfortable with using a GoGo Girl.. I use a big, old, rinsed-out pickle jar to collect my urine in. It has a wide mouth and holds more. (: feel free to message me with any questions.

[buddybleau]

I do great with the jugs of urine but it can cause problems. My wife tried to help me and it went all over the floor. Seems she can't pee in a little jug. What a mess!

[OrganicGarden123]

@buddybleau Yes, I do think that males have an easier time than women when it comes to aiming the urine stream into a jug. Any women: please post your solutions or constructive insights.

[buddybleau]

@OrganicGarden123 Search around friend, there's a joke in there somewhere. LMAO!

[VTECsqznN2O]

@OrganicGarden123 You take a 2 litter bottle, cut the bottom off, and you now have a funnel :)

[OrganicGarden123]

@VTECsqznN2O Great! OK, ladies... take aim and now you too can add your urine to the compost jug (and then the compost pile)!

[wheelori814]

@OrganicGarden123 lol women can pee in paper cups and then dump it into the jugs! not that difficult. if we can do it in the cups at the doctors office we can do it at home. or to make it even easier, use a bowl!

[GraceFrankHerman]

@buddybleau Buy your wife a urine collector at a drug or medical supply store. Fairly cheap . . . about $5 or so. The winged cup sits on the toilet rim under the commode seat and collects all the urine for women like we who ALWAYS miss the cup. OKAY? Now tell the truth about the composting smell with urine added . . . will the neighbor next door with the manicured lawn and pool call the homeowner's association on me?

[buddybleau]

@GraceFrankHerman Man, what part of this is a joke don't you understand? It was a joke! And the urine does not have a smell because you dilute it with water. Sure sorry I made that comment about my wife.

[DeadEyeRabbit]

i generally while on the job (construction) piss in a bottle and bring it home to dump on compost pile. while at home around the barn and chicken yard, i will piss in the litter in the chicken coop. couple times a yr. it gets cleaned out and composted. good way to absorb the piss and keeps the nitrogen from disspating into the air. holds the nitrogen in till its usable.

[marito001]

ahhahhahhaha, very organic !!!!! LOl

[edvorst]

Do any of the positive effect of urine dissipate over time? That is, if I only empty my jug onto the compost once a week or so, is that less effective than peeing on my compost?

[OrganicGarden123]

@edvorst If I kept a few weeks of urine around before dumping it on my compost... I would have many gallons of urine sitting around, raising my concerns that it would start to leach the plastic jug, or lose Nitrogen to air (ammonia gas), or, most likely, my wife would make me sleep in the shed. :-)

[yes350yes]

Ok which is the truth. on one vid I watched a man was mixing several inches of urine with water in a 5gal bucket and dumping on plants saying urine had phosphate in it and gets lots of blooms. So which is it phosphate or nitrate.

[OrganicGarden123]

@yes350yes There are LOTS of chemicals in human urine. Per NASA, the main things are (in order): Urea, Chloride, Sodium, Potassium, Creatinine, Sulfur - Inorganic, Hippuric Acid, Phosphorus -Total, Citric Acid, Glucuronic Acid, Ammonia, Uric Acid, Uropepsin (as Tyrosine), Bicarbonate, Creatine, Sulfur- Organic, Glycine, Phmolr, Lactic Acid, etc

[ilsdmspjs]

@OrganicGarden123 you didn't list nitrogen???

[OrganicGarden123]

@ilsdmspjs I listed Urea, which is the form that Nitrogen is in within human urine. Urine is a GREAT source of nitrogen for compost/soil/etc. Cheers!

[ilsdmspjs]

@OrganicGarden123 ohhh well in that case, awesome! Thanks, I'll start peeing on my compost pile now

[DontFriendInviteMe]

@ilsdmspjs I'm picturing you wiggling in your computer chair, "holding it" till you got a response LOL

[telby7]

in that case,shouldn't you just piss right on the hay?

[OrganicGarden123]

@telby7 If you are already outside by the hale bale, pee away right onto it (except in my case it is on the FRONT lawn!). But urinating INSIDE the house in a jug is easier for me most of the time since it may be dark/rainy/cold outside, while I am inside, barefoot, etc. Happy gardening!

[brianmo180]

Your on the right track OrganicGarden123. Now its time to start composting your poop too. Type 'humanure' into the search box and watch the videos by jcjenkins.

[exclamation3mark]

sorry you put the pee 1 part pee to how much water?

[11atlantica]

What about stink?

[OrganicGarden123]

@11atlantica Before I started, my main concern was whether the urine would smell, either in my bathroom or in the compost. But the good news is that the bathroom doesn't smell (I keep a cap/lid on the urine jug) and on the compost it soaks right in and I get no odd smell at all. Happy gardening!

[OrganicGarden123]

@Rohloffp 1) About salt: if you look in "ALL comments" for this video, there are some math calculations about the amount of Nitrogen, Sodium, etc., in urine (i.e., what you are adding to compost via your pee). 2) About "end results": First, there thousands of gallons of water that I did not use to flush the urine away, yearly. Also, my other videos show great vegetable crops, gourds, etc., grown using the leaf+urine+scraps compost or grown in straw bales which I had composted by adding urine.

[timwagoner1]

hey, are there any problems with adding urine to compost like deseases if you are planning on using the compost for veggie garden

[OrganicGarden123]

@timwagoner1 Unlike poop/stool/feces, our urine is usually sterile (no bacteria). Most males like myself will go our entire lives without ever getting a urinary tract infection (UTI), and women will be UTI-free the vast majority of their lives, so it should be perfectly fine.

[OrganicGarden123]

@paromipatri Before I started, my main concern was whether the urine would smell, either in my bathroom or in the compost. But the good news is that the bathroom doesn't smell (I keep a cap/lid on the urine jug) and on the compost it soaks right in and I get no odd smell at all. I empty a gallon or two onto the compost a few times per week (mostly depends on when the jugs get full.... week's when I am away a lot for long hours at work, then I'm peeing less at home).

[linaeable]

Yikes!

[SpikenAL]

in the old days every bedroom had a pee pot :) Subing Thanks

[CairnsFoodGarden]

Haha, 'cheers'. Nice. I have been peeing on my compost since I started composting, and as far as I can tell it has done nothing but good. I figured it beats messing up all that drinking water I was flushing. By the way, have you got any good links to some facts about the N content in urine? I'd love to compare it to other fertilizers.

[OrganicGarden123]

@CairnsFoodGarden: if you look in "ALL comments" for this video, there are some math calculations about the amount of Nitrogen, Sodium, etc., in urine (i.e., what you are adding to compost via your pee), but I don't know any other good links about this. Someone should do a mini-paper on this topic! Any graduate students out there?

[meetman3]

Watch out for mosquitoes?.......Watch out for bees!!

[meetman3]

I can hear the guy next door now saying..."Honey, I think that your damn dog is

pissing in this house somewhere! Lately, I smell piss all the time!" Keep on the lookout! I will; Darling. Im going to run next door and get one of those Great Tomatoes! Ive noticed that you dont even have to salt them! They are great...but they make your breath stink! Ill be back in a second......

[OrganicGarden123]

@meetman3: I, too, thought that urine would make my compost smell like.... well... like urine! I am happy to report that it soaks right in and I get no odd smell at all. And, yes, we happily gobble up our tomatoes and they are awesome.

[Riconnaissance]

i tell you what it sure would be weird to come into your bathroom as a guest and see that jug in there. oh, and to make it easier, for guys AND gals: just go pee in your garden! LOL

[Riconnaissance]

even greener as it will cut down on old milk jugs being thrown in the landfill!

[OrganicGarden123]

@Riconnaissance: 1) My wife does have me put aside the urine jug from that bathroom when we have house guests using that bathroom. 2) Peeing the garden is fine too, BUT make sure that you are peeing onto COMPOST not onto fresh growing plants (you may need to dilute your urine for those) AND watch out for mosquitoes, etc. :-)

[Aiondesa]

you want us to put our butt over the bottle...

[OrganicGarden123]

@Aiondesa: I don't know if women have any easy way to collect their urine for composting. As a guy, it is VERY easy to pee into a jug and pour it on the compost when the gallon jug is full, a couple jugs per week. If women have any constructive tips/ideas for your gardening sisters, then please post them.

[Aiondesa]

@OrganicGarden123 it was a joke ima boy o.o i just want to see what people would say

[blkchk]

@OrganicGarden123 I collect into a plastic yogurt container and the transfer to a glass bottle with a cork stopper. The container is bendable and acts as a funnel.

[SpikenAL]

@Aiondesa in the old days every bedroom had a pee pot :) LOL

[ultimatefranklin]

Quick question-a gallon of urine has as much nitrogen as what amount of grass clippings?

[ALETHEIA8881]

easier for a man.... thanks for the vid!

[pureefficient]

this urine is not fda approved therefore untratural. You have been feed to much sythetic junkfood.

[OrganicGarden123]

NITROGEN in normal human URINE: "Normal values range from 12 to 20 grams of Nitrogen per 24 hours."

Thus, let's say urine's Nitrogen is 15 grams/day x 365 days/year = 5,475 grams/year = 12 pounds/year.

That's GOT to help the compost. (especially if you have a mostly carbon-based compost like leaves or straw bales).

[PRLIBRENOWMAGNUS]

by the way my friend its not nitrogen its AMONIA , thats why stink so much

[OrganicGarden123]

@PRLIBRENOWMAGNUS: Actually, in human urine the Nitrogen is mainly in the form of UREA, but probably some gets converted to Ammonia (chemical symbol NH3). Both urea and Ammonia contain NITROGEN, which is much needed by plants. Some small percent of urine in the jug might convert to ammonia. Re: SMELL... Overall, I have been shocked at how smell has NOT been a problem, neither in my bathroom, nor at the compost heap or straw bale.

[Yashaabakadawbra]

My question is, Can u use urine in a compost tea mixed with dirt & leaves to make a fertilizer tea AFTER u have planted your seeds?

[PRLIBRENOWMAGNUS]

@Yashaabakadawbra probavly you will kill the seed , you need to wait until the the plant grow a little and then add the urine ( diluided 1x5 ) by the way not all kind of plant resist the urine * I AM gardener

[OrganicGarden123]

@PRLIBRENOWMAGNUS: Thanks for your insights. I don't add urine directly to seeds or plants (but some other gardeners do, in a very diluted form)... I only add it to compost (or straw bales that I am composting), typically months before I am planting, so I don't really worry about killing the seeds or plants.

[OrganicGarden123]

@Yashaabakadawbra: I have no idea. Probably urine in there won't hurt, but be sure it is very diluted if you are using it directly on plants.

[tabletopphoto]

I advise not using cider jugs. Someone might get mislead!

[mikeygeneral]

@tabletopphoto

LMAO

[kulmuck]

it's the dead of winter here in MD and my compost pile stopped heating up. I have a pile I started last Sept approx 5x4x3 ft high. I been adding urine while the compost pile was heating up, do I still continue adding urine to a cold compost pile, and how much urine can I add safely?

[OrganicGarden123]

I would add as much urine as you have. It may keep your compost hotter, partly since your urine will be warmer than the outdoors but more importantly because you will be feeding the bugs with nitrogen. So, yes, I routinely add urine to a compost that is cold. For your size compost, adding at least a few gallons of urine per week should help nicely.

[pinksarah21]

Cheers!

[dtmbcorp]

What about salt? Isn't that bad for the soil?

[OrganicGarden123]

Some amount of salt is good for soil. Average urine sodium = about 150 mmol per day = 55,000 mmol/year. Multiply that by 23mg/mmol = 1,265,000mg, which is = 1265grams = 44.6215 oz = 2.8 pounds of Na that we pee away per year.

Meanwhile, commercial fertilizers also have Na, such as sodium nitrate (NaNO3).

Maybe someone can calculate for us here how the amount in commercial fertilizers compares to our pee, which has less than 3 pounds per year, even IF we got ALL a persons pee into compost.

[dtmbcorp]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Keep posting videos! This is great stuff. You should check out my latest video, I'm doing my own thing with dirt...

[OrganicGarden123]

Yeah, I saw your mud-walled hut model. Seems like a would be a cool room in the summer. Cheers!

[Gunnarsguns]

No...let it set in the jug....then dump it in the compost. You ought to be able to use the compost right away after you dump it on unless it is still composting. You might want to try liguid composting too...its much faster

[OrganicGarden123]

If I kept a few weeks of urine around before dumping it on my compost... I would have many gallons of urine sitting around, raising my concerns that it would start to leach the plastic jug, or lose Nitrogen to air (ammonia gas), or, most likely, my wife would make me sleep in the shed. :-)

[Gunnarsguns]

Well i can see how the sleeping in the shed issue could become a serious one.Just as an experiment keep a jug around for a few weeks to see what happens...you might be suprised. As far as salt is concerned there was a fellow a few years ago that had a successful hydroponics operation using sea salt as the base for his nutrient solution.

[Gunnarsguns]

It is best to let it set for several weeks and it will turn very ammonia like and be even better for the plants.

[OrganicGarden123]

Thanks for the tip. Are you saying to let the urine "set" in the jug for weeks before dumping the jugful or urine on the compost? Or to let it "set" for weeks IN the compost before using the compost elsewhere?