How bizarre....... 2009-09-19T16:39:19-05:00 false 12747 2708 2009-09-19T16:39:19-05:00 5072 How odd. I've heard that about compost piles, but never about tomatoes, particularly since people are always saying not to plant peas (or other legumes, but I can't resist) near tomatoes because they fix nitrogen and can make the plant have too much leaves and not enough fruit. I always thought pee was high in nitrogen, but I notice the article says it's really high in phosphorus and potassium as well. So now I'm wondering if I should forget about green sand and get people to go pee in my potassium deficient bed. Hmm... 2009-09-19T18:40:44-05:00 false 12748 2708 2009-09-19T18:40:44-05:00 1237 Well, perhaps I better keep my serious face on here. :) I went searching online for info regarding gunpowder manufacture as I recall that urine was used by the English to obtain the phosphorous needed. Turns out that it was "potassium nitrate":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine#Munitions that they were getting but phosphorous was obtained the same way for "matches":http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions/chemistry/chemicaldemos/urine.htm (or "here":http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/matches.htm ) Also found this link at BoingBoing, "Urine-to-Fertilizer kit":http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/24/urinetofertilizer-ki.html which contains a discussion with the quote... _AND you don't have to save your pee like some weird antisocial cult leader..._ ~ mikefinch I don't know, people and their prejudices. It looks like I know what else to put in my "fertilizer bottle":http://myfolia.com/journals/68022-drip-irrigation-and-fertilizing-lazy-fertilizing now - Next please. 2009-09-19T20:10:30-05:00 false 12749 2708 2009-09-19T20:13:52-05:00 5165 Both sets of grandparents were never shy in sharing that they regularly peed around their citrus trees. Thanks for sharing Nanna!! BTW their citrus trees are about 60 years old and still producing masses of awesome fruit and have never had a nutrient deficiency OR overdose. 2009-09-19T20:23:30-05:00 false 12750 2708 2009-09-19T20:23:30-05:00 4019 I forgot about the Citrus tree, is this an Australian thing or does every Oz backyard have a citrus tree of some description? At every party I can ever remember, the lemon tree was the "gents". They always cropped well too! 2009-09-19T20:37:12-05:00 false 12751 2708 2009-09-19T20:37:12-05:00 5165 Kiwis & Aussies...we pee freely down here!! 2009-09-19T20:39:59-05:00 false 12752 2708 2009-09-19T20:39:59-05:00 4019 What a strange thing. 2009-09-19T21:21:22-05:00 false 12755 2708 2009-09-19T21:21:22-05:00 5072 Here's a link to the full article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf9018917">Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Quality</a>. There's some interesting stuff in there, including a breakdown of plant nutrients present in urine. 2009-09-19T22:17:58-05:00 false 12756 2708 2009-09-19T22:18:51-05:00 2243 What an odd, sort of base discussion!! I think I will leave the peein' on trees to the guys! ;) 2009-09-20T10:44:13-05:00 false 12759 2708 2009-09-20T10:44:13-05:00 5779 "urine from a single human (500 L/year) could fertilize 6300 tomato plants which could produce 2.41 tons of tomato fruits"<br><br>6300 is a big number, but that doesn't work out to much fruit from each plant. small pots, low light, and low temperatures likely account for the low yields, though.<br><br>it's also important to note that stored urine was used in the trial. urine applied directly from the source has several advantages: the elimination of storage and transportation issues and the reduction of ammonia/ammonium burning of plant tissue.<br><br>and for folks who would leave peeing on the plants (or rather next to and in the root zone of the plants) to the lads, here is an "illuminating webpage":http://www.femaleurinal.com/factsandfables.html for your edification. 2009-09-20T11:47:25-05:00 false 12761 2708 2009-09-20T11:47:43-05:00 3098