"P" is for plants: Human urine plus ash equals tomato fertilizer

Seems as if the recent "dialog" about pee in the garden has scientific merit, despite the qualms of the squemish and .... whatever.

Second article of research follows this one.

Wow, I gotta go take a ... you know.

Charlie

Check out the article for active links...

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take note: the secret to growing hearty tomatoes is remarkably close at hand. Look no further than your fireplace and, er, your bladder.

According to a study from a group of environmental scientists at the University of Kuopio in Finland, human urine and wood ash make a reasonably potent tomato fertilizer, boosting plant growth and fruit yield dramatically over untreated plants and nearly keeping pace with conventional fertilizer. The research appears in the August 26 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The idea did not come completely out of left field?urine and ash have individually found use in helping plants grow, and their beneficial aspects appear complementary on paper. A commonly used nitrogenous fertilizer called urea is prevalent in urine, and wood ash (the Finnish group used birch) is rich in nutrients, such as potassium and calcium, that urine lacks.

In the greenhouse test, urine alone actually produced more tomatoes than urine with ash did?and neither treatment produced quite as much as did the researchers' mineral fertilizer. But both urine-based fertilizers roughly quadrupled fruit production when compared to unfertilized control plants. The researchers estimate that the product of a single individual's micturition could fertilize 6,300 tomato plants a year, yielding more than two tons of fruit.

The addition of ash did confer some benefits?those plants were larger and grew fruit with significantly higher magnesium and potassium content. A panel of 20 taste testers rated all growing methods as equally tasty.

Some caveats, remain, of course. The urine in the Finnish study was stored in cool conditions for six months before use, and it is unclear what effects this had on its fertilizing properties. What is more, plants are often highly salt-averse, and it seems reasonable to think that the salinity of urine could be harmful at high enough doses.

Then there's the inevitable gross-out factor: The researchers caution that even though urine is usually free of the harmful microbes found in fecal matter, care should be taken to avoid direct contact between urine-based fertilizer and the plants themselves to prevent contamination.

Also: see page for full reference

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Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Quality

  • Abstract * HTMLFull Text HTML * PDFHi-Res PDF[773 KB] * PDFPDF w/ Links[750 KB]

Surendra K. Pradhan*, Jarmo K. Holopainen and Helvi Heinonen-Tanski Department of Environmental Science, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box

1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland J. Agric. Food Chem., 2009, 57 (16), pp 7612?7617 DOI: 10.1021/jf9018917 Publication Date (Web): August 3, 2009 Copyright © 2009 American Chemical Society *Corresponding author (e-mail snipped-for-privacy@uku.fi; telephone +358 403553169; fax +358 17 163191). Abstract

This study evaluates the use of human urine and wood ash as fertilizers for tomato cultivation in a greenhouse. Tomatoes were cultivated in pots and treated with 135 kg of N/ha applied as mineral fertilizer, urine + ash, urine only, and control (no fertilization). The urine fertilized plants produced equal amounts of tomato fruits as mineral fertilized plants and 4.2 times more fruits than nonfertilized plants. The levels of lycopene were similar in tomato fruits from all fertilization treatments, but the amount of soluble sugars was lower and Cl- was higher in urine + ash fertilized tomato fruits. The ?-carotene content was greater and the NO3- content was lower in urine fertilized tomato fruits. No enteric indicator microorganisms were detected in any tomato fruits. The results suggest that urine with/without wood ash can be used as a substitute for mineral fertilizer to increase the yields of tomato without posing any microbial or chemical risks.

Reply to
Charlie
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Or as the French would say,"Pee pee? Oui,oui.

Reply to
Billy

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> Gardeners, take note: the secret to growing hearty tomatoes is

I used ash to fertilise my tomato plants at work (our work garden). I dumped some around the toms and gently watered in. Went fine.

rob

Reply to
George

First off, glad to learn it was Finland that spent all the money about pee and plants and not the USA. :)

Wood ash is great stuff. I use to have a woodburning stove and I sure do miss the ashes I got from it. Raspberries go bonkers with wood ash.

I have two cousins who were fed fields of potatoes as youngers, just beginning the toddler segment of life. By the time they hit H.S. they each must have been over 300 lbs. I know this comparison is not "right on" but why stuff them every day with potatoes (they had mone!) when there were other choices.

OK, maybe pee makes tomatoes grow bigger and maybe even juicier ;) but really.....

enjoy this day as there will never be another one like it!

Donna in WA

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> Gardeners, take note: the secret to growing hearty tomatoes is

Reply to
Lelandite

:> Second article of research follows this one. :>

:> Wow, I gotta go take a ... you know. :>

:> Charlie :>

:> Check out the article for active links... :>

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:> Gardeners, take note: the secret to growing hearty tomatoes is :> remarkably close at hand. Look no further than your fireplace and, er, :> your bladder. :>

:> According to a study from a group of environmental scientists at the :> University of Kuopio in Finland, human urine and wood ash make a :> reasonably potent tomato fertilizer, boosting plant growth and fruit :> yield dramatically over untreated plants and nearly keeping pace with :> conventional fertilizer. The research appears in the August 26 Journal :> of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. : :I used ash to fertilise my tomato plants at work (our work garden). I dumped :some around the toms and gently watered in. Went fine. : :rob

I routinely throw the ashes from my fireplace on my compost pile. Figure it accomplishes the same purpose. I'm careful what I burn in the fireplace - no color-inked paper. Today, I prepared the soil for my 6 tomato plants. It includes 5 1/2 wheelbarrows full of my compost.

Dan

Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

Reply to
Dan Musicant

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