Researchers in Finland are reporting successful use of an unlikely fertilizer for farm fields that is inexpensive, abundantly available, and undeniably organic — human urine.
Despite the ‘yuk’ factor, urine from healthy individuals is virtually sterile, free of bacteria or viruses. Naturally rich in nitrogen and other nutrients, urine has been used as fertilizer since ancient times.
In the new study, Surendra K. Pradhan and colleagues collected human urine from private homes and used it to fertilize cabbage crops. Then they compared the urine-fertilized crops with those grown with conventional industrial fertilizer and no fertilizer.
The analysis showed that growth and biomass were slightly higher with urine than with conventional fertilizer.
I’ll bet results were better than they would have been even 100 years ago. There has to be higher levels of useful nutrients in our urine, nowadays just because of a generally more expansive, more inclusive, diet.
What do they mean by “unlikely”? Human urine and feces has been used as fertilizer for ages. Medieval Japan used it extensively since they didn’t have much livestock to depend upon.
Anyone that owns a big dog and has a lawn knows that this article is highly suspicious.
I think the ‘yuk’ factor is a North American thing. You should see what they put into rice paddies.
Wow what a great idea.. I wonder if it would help to take certain vitamins and minerals.. a little extra potassium maybe?
Think I’ll grow a special tomato plant just for my mother in law next spring.
My aren’t these tomatos plump and juicy..
Go Green!!!
Can you imagine the stench from these farms? Brilliant concept. Turning the USA into Mexico or India…another step.
# 6 As if the artificial fertilizers don’t stink. Just drive along I-5 through NorCal and Oregon in spring to get an idea.
#6
That’s not a marijuana plant there, is it? If it is, the plant itself might help ameliorate the odor. Or so I’ve heard.
Why go through the extra step of pouring it on crops?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVsWxooh9OQ
Human shit is even better, and its quite easy to compost and use safely….
I want a billion or so dollars for a study to determine that human beings exhale carbon dioxide which plants find useful.
This study is about a 9.5 on the duh meter. But perhaps that’s what happens when you spend too much time in a sauna.
American piss is considered the most expensive in the world due to all the pricey vitamins and mineral supplements that we take…and then we pee most of it right down the toilet…better for Mutha-in-law tomatoes, I agree!
I wonder if we could powderize our piss and sell it to the Chinese as “The World’s Most Potent Aphrodisiac, “…even better than Viagra?! I believe they’d line up to buy it.
8, that’s a tomato plant.
10…I don’t want to know why you know that…
Once in England it was the law to keep urine until it was collected by the piss man. It was used as a nitrate source for black powder.
Well, give the high nutrient value in urine, according to the Finish, maybe they will want to bottle it and sell it as a new energy drink. They can call it Yurine.
I would think that our current urine quality is worse due to all the processed food and chemicals we ingest.
The Romans collected it at wash centers for boiling down to ammonia concentrate for washing clothes.
The Chinese have collected human urine for use as a fertiliser for millenia – and they still do.
I think we should try to use sport drinks for our crops… It’s got electrolights!!
OK,
read it,
HEALTHY persons, ONLY…
Same as computers, Garbage in, Garbage OUT…
If you arent eating healthy foods, Then you AINT getting healthy OUTPUT.
#16, they call it ‘night water’