urine luck gardening

a recent study has shown that the growth and biomass of the plants were slightly higher with urine than with conventional fertilizer (human urine was collected from private homes and used it to fertilize cabbage crops).

you know, urine is one of the purest substances on earth! so that means it is free from bacteria or viruses, so long as it is coming from healthy people..

urine contains large amounts of urea which is an excellent source of nitrogen. supposedly the balance and presence of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium it is widely considered to be as good as or even better than commercially-available chemical fertilizers.

it appears to be better to dilute 10-20 parts water to one of urine for application to pot plants and flower beds during the growing season, this is mainly because undiluted urine can chemically burn the roots of some species. so, you can’t just go and pee on your plants! (who would even think of doing such a thing????)

despite the potential of being a bit "weird" or "off the grid", urine is an awesome, inexpensive (e.g. free) way to keep your plants thriving.

some specifics from the aforementioned study:

"Human urine was used as a fertilizer in cabbage cultivation and compared with industrial fertilizer and nonfertilizer treatments.

• Urine achieved equal fertilizer value to industrial fertilizer when both were used at a dose of 180 kg N/ha. Growth, biomass, and levels of chloride were slightly higher in urine-fertilized cabbage than with industrial-fertilized cabbage but clearly differed from nonfertilized.
  
• Insect damage was lower in urine-fertilized than in industrial-fertilized plots but more extensive than in nonfertilized plots.
  
• Microbiological quality of urine-fertilized cabbage and sauerkraut made from the cabbage was similar to that in the other fertilized cabbages.
  
• Furthermore, the level of glucosinolates and the taste of sauerkrauts were similar in cabbages from all three fertilization treatments. Our results show that human urine could be used as a fertilizer for cabbage and does not pose any significant hygienic threats or leave any distinctive flavor in food products."

why do you think it was cabbage they chose to test this on? and why then conduct the taste tests to sauerkraut??

regardless . . . you are always welcome to pee in my garden. i just may ask that you dilute it before applying it directly to my plants.