Gee Whiz... Why buy fertilizers?

[fredman]

Makes me think......

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... ertilizer/

[fredman]

Found in another article...
Dilute one part urine to 10-15 parts water for application on plants in the growth stage. Dilute in 30-50 parts water for use on pot plants, which are much more sensitive to fertilisers of any kind.

[kez]

for the cost of about $10 for a 1L bottle, I think i'll stick with powerfeed

[fredman]

Urine has a natural balanced N P K and its FREE....
http://permaculturenews.org/2011/11/27/ ... -npk-loop/

[Rintar]

I have been adding urine to plants since my father first taught me to stand and pee..... later in life after he studied more we would add it to a watering can that already had collected rain water and use it diluted sometimes with other additives (seaweed extract or what ever he was experimenting with). Got good results most of the time.

[Rory]

Urine is a very common additive to the base of trees and for some reason the trees situated within a close proximity to a pub often receive higher urination levels. I'd say the flora in Ireland and Australia probably bare the brunt more so than other countries.

[fredman]

I have two 60l containers that I fill with water. I inject my fertilizer in there and water out of it with a watering can. I thus fertilize very weakly with every watering. From now on I will pee in the tanks, and spend that money on other bonsai stuff.
Very eager to see the difference next year this time. I will be back.....

[Brian]

I'm another advocate for urine. I mix it 5 to 1 in my watering can. I have been doing this weekly for the past 12 months with impressive results.

[Phoenix238]

Might wait til we move out of town before trying this, not sure the nosey-back-neighbour-who-likes-to-look-over-our-fence would think too much of it O.o

[trident76]

Why just use number ones? Surely there is some benefit in number twos as well. Waste not want not!

[Phoenix238]

As per the article, while number one's are almost sterile, number two's are capable of transmitting disease. That said, the Japanese collected and used both on their crops for centuries as they didn't have many other options for fertiliser (they did not eat any meat besides fish, so there was no livestock to generate manure)

[Brian]

Don't be bashful. Pee into your watering can, add some water to delude the liquid, then water in the solution on your favourite bonsai.

[Elmar]

As per the article, while number one's are almost sterile, number two's are capable of transmitting disease. That said, the Japanese collected and used both on their crops for centuries as they didn't have many other options for fertiliser (they did not eat any meat besides fish, so there was no livestock to generate manure)

Poop is quite "dirty" and the main method of transfer for Hepatitis and other such micro-bugs... then there is the fact that eating meat (i love my meat) also has a negative effect on the value of the poop, I don't recall what exactly but its the reasons why fertilisers are generally derived from herbivores and not omnivores or carnivores. something about the nutritional value and additional waste products...

[fredman]

That is where I draw the line..... I will not shari on the compost heap

[Elmar]

That is where I draw the line..... I will not shari on the compost heap

Hahaha, very good!



Cheers
Elmar