OK, are you over the shock now? In the not too distant past, we didn’t have the luxury of having a small room in the house where we could throw out our numbers one and two. But have you ever wondered how we managed before the toilet? Not that I want to go into history, but let’s just say that before the times of our current disposable society, people thought of multiple uses for almost everything.

Well, maybe you didn’t know that human urine is the most excellent and fastest acting source of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and some trace elements. Not only that, but we all have a constant supply throughout the year, and it’s free! It doesn’t take much effort to create this wonderful organic liquid fertilizer.

Some men I know are more than happy to indulge a tree, bush, or lawn (out of sight, of course).

Did you know that many toilets use between 50 and 100 liters of water per day to flush around 1.5 liters of urine? And the high levels of nutrients in our wastewater systems lead to algae growth, ultimately leading to the death of plants and animals in all of our waterways.

What are the advantages of using urine as an organic liquid fertilizer?

By not flushing this valuable liquid down the toilet, you are reducing your water consumption, which is good for the environment and your wallet.

Will reduce the amount of sewer runoff

There will be fewer nutrients in our waterways

Urine as a liquid fertilizer is available in a chemical form ideal for use by plants.

Gardening costs are lower since your liquid fertilizer is free

It is available all year round and there are no transportation costs.

Just so you know, fresh human urine is sterile (unless there is a urinary tract infection – this urine should not be used) and therefore does not contain bacteria.

I recommend that you dilute urine 10-15 parts water to 1 part urine for application to growing plants. Dilute at 30-50 parts water to 1 part urine for use on pot plants as they are much more sensitive to fertilizers of any kind.

Trees, shrubs and lawns must resist well without being diluted. Without the use of liquid urine fertilizer on all food plants at least two weeks before harvest. Apply under fruiting plants, not directly on foliage.

Do not use urine older than 24 hours on your plants as the urea converts to ammonia and will burn your plants. If it’s not fresh, add it to your compost heap. Adding undiluted human urine to your compost heap will help heat it up quickly as it is an excellent activator and will increase the final nutrient value.

As far as antibiotics, vitamin supplements, and other medications go, yes, they will end up in the urine, but in such small amounts that I think they are insignificant, especially when diluted.

So put this excellent source of free liquid fertilizer to good use in your garden, instead of adding to the burden we as humans put on our environment.