The Naked Scientists
  • Login
  • Register
  • Podcasts
      • The Naked Scientists
      • eLife
      • Naked Genetics
      • Naked Astronomy
      • In short
      • Naked Neuroscience
      • Ask! The Naked Scientists
      • Question of the Week
      • Archive
      • Video
      • SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
  • Articles
      • Science News
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Answers to Science Questions
  • Get Naked
      • Donate
      • Do an Experiment
      • Science Forum
      • Ask a Question
  • About
      • Meet the team
      • Our Sponsors
      • Site Map
      • Contact us

User menu

  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Help
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Recent Topics
  • Login
  • Register
  1. Naked Science Forum
  2. General Science
  3. General Science
  4. Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« previous next »
  • Print
Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?

  • 20 Replies
  • 14448 Views
  • 0 Tags

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline weed4me (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 29
  • Activity:
    0%
Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« on: 24/08/2006 23:43:18 »
my crazy uncle gets drunk almost every nite and while going out for a quick smoke has taken to urinating in my garden...nice eh? i didnt know until recently when i walked out to smoke and then quickly walked back in (lol) however the grass in the "specific" area seems to be growing faster...any ideas why? im guessing something to do with the nitrogen in urine (i've read nitrogens good for plants) but also think he mite hav been suppin mircle grow in a drunken stuper...hmmm anything ne1??? not that im annoyed now iv forced him to mow my lawn. ahhh that lovely cloud and its silver lining..

"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
« Last Edit: 23/11/2019 23:01:36 by chris »
Logged
"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
 



Offline neilep

  • Withdrawnmist
  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21211
  • Activity:
    1%
  • Thanked: 119 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #1 on: 25/08/2006 00:05:59 »
I thought urine killed grass ! (and I don't mean ' da erb'  [;)])

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Logged
Men are the same as Women, just inside out !
 

Offline daveshorts

  • Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • *****
  • 2568
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 1 times
  • Physics, Experiments
    • http://www.chaosscience.org.uk
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #2 on: 25/08/2006 00:09:53 »
The other issue is that this year it has been so dry the water may have made a difference. but yes urine contains urea, which is a byproduct of breaking down proteins and does contain nitrogen, which will probably make the grass grow faster.
Logged
 

Offline neilep

  • Withdrawnmist
  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21211
  • Activity:
    1%
  • Thanked: 119 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #3 on: 25/08/2006 00:05:59 »
I thought urine killed grass ! (and I don't mean ' da erb'  [;)])

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Logged
Men are the same as Women, just inside out !
 

Offline daveshorts

  • Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • *****
  • 2568
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 1 times
  • Physics, Experiments
    • http://www.chaosscience.org.uk
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #4 on: 25/08/2006 00:09:53 »
The other issue is that this year it has been so dry the water may have made a difference. but yes urine contains urea, which is a byproduct of breaking down proteins and does contain nitrogen, which will probably make the grass grow faster.
Logged
 



Offline weed4me (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 29
  • Activity:
    0%
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #5 on: 25/08/2006 17:32:05 »
hmmm wonder if theres a retail opportunity then?? cheers for the answers tho

"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
Logged
"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
 

Offline neilep

  • Withdrawnmist
  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21211
  • Activity:
    1%
  • Thanked: 119 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #6 on: 25/08/2006 18:06:16 »
I suspect the retail opportunities would be rare as people would just need to collect their own ' wee wee ' ..but, you never know...an entrepreneur with the right pitch may find a novel way to market it. Perhaps using animal wee wee !!..I imagine a cow and horse wee wee in not ' wee ' quantities !!..and I suppose ..convenience would win. people may not want to collect their own urine and store it..unless a clever attachment could be built into the toilet....one press of a button and the contents are syphoned out to a barrel for treatment !!..or something to that effect.

hey ...I'm warming to the idea now !!

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Logged
Men are the same as Women, just inside out !
 

Offline weed4me (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 29
  • Activity:
    0%
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #7 on: 25/08/2006 23:08:17 »
we'll discuss it over lunch lol although your idea of the toilet shypon doesnt appeal, ud be mixing it with huge quantities of water, and it might dilute it so much that it doesnt work. wonder if you could find a way to dry it and crystalise it, make like a revolutionary new fertalizer...organic fertalizer... i dunno tho...ur the pioneer of bathroom science matey.

"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
Logged
"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
 

Offline daveshorts

  • Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • *****
  • 2568
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 1 times
  • Physics, Experiments
    • http://www.chaosscience.org.uk
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #8 on: 26/08/2006 00:46:26 »
I wouldn't say it was particularly revolutionary, slurry - a major byproduct of cattle farming has been used as a fertilizer for ages, and it is a mixture of urine and faeces. Composting toilets are used to make compost to make the garden grow, etc etc
Logged
 



Offline weed4me (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • 29
  • Activity:
    0%
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #9 on: 27/08/2006 01:33:17 »
now thats just peeing on my bonfire.

"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
Logged
"You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is."
 

Offline Monox D. I-Fly

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • 447
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 7 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #10 on: 22/11/2019 08:01:46 »
Quote from: neilep on 25/08/2006 00:05:59
I thought urine killed grass ! (and I don't mean ' da erb'  [;)])
I thought so. Once I peed on a weed and after about a week it died.
Logged
 

Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21148
  • Activity:
    71.5%
  • Thanked: 60 times
  • Life is too short for instant coffee
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #11 on: 22/11/2019 10:06:25 »
"Thamesgro" commercial fertiliser is sterilised pee and poo from all the sewage plants in London. Most of your Essex-grown salad crop, Kent fruit and hops, and a fair bit of malting barley from the Home Counties, is recycled cockney wit.

Other rivers are available.

Enjoy your lunch!
Logged
Helping stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline Bored chemist

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 31101
  • Activity:
    13%
  • Thanked: 1291 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #12 on: 22/11/2019 17:53:39 »
Most people's urine has too high a salt content to work as a fertiliser.
However, some plants like sugar beet are relatively salt tolerant and also, if a plant is growing in soil; that's badly deficient in nitrogen the urea in urine might do enough good to offset the harm done by the salt.

A much more interesting question is how did anyone come to the conclusion that this

Quote from: Monox D. I-Fly on 22/11/2019 08:01:46
I thought so. Once I peed on a weed and after about a week it died.

was worth necromancing a long dead thread for?
Logged
Please disregard all previous signatures.
 



Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21148
  • Activity:
    71.5%
  • Thanked: 60 times
  • Life is too short for instant coffee
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #13 on: 23/11/2019 00:22:07 »
Tomatoes in particular enjoy a regular drink of urine - reputed to be the secret of many champion growers. I wonder if they derive from a coastal species, or whether they are so hungry for nitrogen that they put up with the salt?
Logged
Helping stem the tide of ignorance
 

Offline Bored chemist

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 31101
  • Activity:
    13%
  • Thanked: 1291 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #14 on: 23/11/2019 00:32:01 »
Quote from: alancalverd on 23/11/2019 00:22:07
Tomatoes in particular enjoy a regular drink of urine - reputed to be the secret of many champion growers.
If I was a champion tomato grower that's exactly the sort of story that I would tell my rivals (at the risk of pissing myself laughing).
Logged
Please disregard all previous signatures.
 

Offline Monox D. I-Fly

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • 447
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 7 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #15 on: 23/11/2019 03:37:45 »
Quote from: Bored chemist on 22/11/2019 17:53:39
A much more interesting question is how did anyone come to the conclusion that this

Quote from: Monox D. I-Fly on 22/11/2019 08:01:46
I thought so. Once I peed on a weed and after about a week it died.

was worth necromancing a long dead thread for?

Because I'm bored?

It looks like the moderator didn't mind either.
Logged
 

Offline alancalverd

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 21148
  • Activity:
    71.5%
  • Thanked: 60 times
  • Life is too short for instant coffee
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #16 on: 23/11/2019 08:00:11 »
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170308-why-a-german-lab-is-growing-tomatoes-in-urine

worth reading
Logged
Helping stem the tide of ignorance
 



Offline Colin2B

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ********
  • 6476
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 708 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #17 on: 23/11/2019 15:21:33 »
Quote from: Monox D. I-Fly on 23/11/2019 03:37:45
It looks like the moderator didn't mind either.
We only intervene when someone breaks the forum rules.
Lack of comment should not be taken as approval  ;)
Logged
and the misguided shall lead the gullible,
the feebleminded have inherited the earth.
 

Offline evan_au

  • Global Moderator
  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • ********
  • 11033
  • Activity:
    8%
  • Thanked: 1486 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #18 on: 23/11/2019 17:12:51 »
We excrete a lot of valuable chemicals - including phosphorus, necessary for building DNA, and hence cell replication.

However, I understand that our current sewage treatment plants are very inefficient - they would work much faster if the urine were separated from the feces. So some countries are promoting toilets that keep them separate from source.

Unfortunately, the sewage system in my country just carries them together.

Recently I watched a documentary* on the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation promoting safe sewage systems. Unfortunately, some of the potential competitors just burn the sewage, losing these valuable minerals.

*It was part of a series called "Decoding Bill's Brain", available on Netflix.
Logged
 

Offline RD

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 9094
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 163 times
Re: Will urine fertilise my garden and make plants grow better?
« Reply #19 on: 24/11/2019 17:51:57 »
Quote from: evan_au on 23/11/2019 17:12:51
Recently I watched a documentary* on the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation promoting safe sewage systems...

Here's Bill Gates watching "synthetic faeces" being flushed down a prototype crapper ...
https://www.fastcompany.com/3021855/designing-the-toilet-of-the-future-youre-going-to-need-this-fake-poop#1

BTW if anyone is looking for brand-names for pretend-poo, how about...
"ershatz", "similiturd", "ana-logs", "ploppelgängers", "dookie-likes", or "I can't believe it's not sh1t".
Logged
 



  • Print
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags:
 
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
  • SMF 2.0.15 | SMF © 2017, Simple Machines
    Privacy Policy
    SMFAds for Free Forums
  • Naked Science Forum ©

Page created in 0.378 seconds with 77 queries.

  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Get Naked
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • We love feedback

Follow us

cambridge_logo_footer.png

©The Naked Scientists® 2000–2017 | The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks created by Dr Chris Smith. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large.