However, the jury is still out on how effective pee may be at keeping your compost pet free. Web7. A Nepalese study found that sweet peppers that are fertilized with human urine and compost yield the most fruits and tallest plants of the eight different fertilizer combinations used in the study. Most products also include other nutrients, plus bacteria and fungi, that help accelerate the composting process and increase compost quality. At the same time the compost accelerator will ensure that your compost heap stays moist, which is an important criteria for a successful decomposition process. Signs of an imbalanced compost pile include slow decomposition and chunks of unprocessed waste. If youre already swimming in a sea of greens, adding more urine to the pile may be pointless. There are a number of things that can be used as a natural compost accelerator. Urine stinks. Azomite vs Dolomite Can They Be Interchanged? Sometimes, even the best-maintained compost system gets out of balance. No spam! The amount of urine added to the compost would be too much. And its free, readily available, and renewable! To prevent attracting pests to your compost pile and to speed up the composting process, bokashi composting is a great way to pre-compost your food waste. Composted coffee grounds boosted the growth and yield of beets, cabbages, and soybeans in one experiment, while in another it hindered the development of alfalfa, clover, and Chinese mustard. If your compost heap gets too hot, some microorganisms could die. Urine is a rich source of Nitrogen, and This is the most important compost accelerator. It loses its nitrogen content as it dries so its best to toss grass clippings in the compost immediately after mowing the lawn. What compost accelerators do is promote the decomposition process by encouraging the growth of bacteria and fungi, which will help break down organic materials in your compost heap. Peeing on your compost is good for both the compost you are creating, and the environment itself. Even National Geographic acknowledges this. Urea is used as fertilizer in agriculture. You might be able to collect this for use in composting. For example, if your compost pile is drying out, adding water and tossing the pile could solve the issue on its own. People always say stuff like urine is sterile, which is mostly true. This blog is about sharing everything that Ive learned in the hopes that it will help others discover the amazing rewards of composting More about me Legal Information: Help Me Compost is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com. To process a pile of leaves or woody matter, apply blood meal at a rate of 2.5 ounces for each cubic yard of carbon materials. Like many things in nature, water is key to making compost work. Long story short, you probably shouldnt be peeing on your compost every chance you get. Rather than sending these items to landfills, where they would take up space and emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, they may be recycled into compost instead. Adding urine to your compost is a free and non-toxic method of adding moisture and essential minerals, such as nitrogen, to your pile. Nevertheless, I strongly advise you to keep the urine-mixed compost away from your vegetables. Compost accelerators, compost starters, and other similar products work by adding more nitrogen to your composting pile. For this purpose, you could use hay bales or get an insulated compost bin. Does urine speed up compost? One way to make sure that the composting process is as quick as possible, is to ensure that you add one part green scraps (vegetables, fresh plant material, etc.) Receive the latest Home & Garden Tips by entering your email below: We respect your privacy and take protecting it very seriously. Still, others should not since they contain synthetic materials that will not break down in your compost. Add part of a premade compost from an earlier batch, worm castings, garden soil, urine, or high-nitrogen teas to start the process. According to The Grow Network, these 5 things are great compost boosters and are often completely free: Once youre done weeding your garden or mowing the lawn, save the clippings and add it to your pile. Recent field studies support the benefits of peeing on crops. Too dry, the worms dehydrate, cannot breathe, and cant tunnel effectively. Yep, urine. What is a compost accelerator? How can I compost without attracting rats? Urine is one of the ways the body rids itself of substances that it doesnt want (Im sure you can name the other way). Exactly, a urine sample. And if Im out stirring up my compost and my hose isnt workingwho knows what might happen. One of the other concerns is that adding a significant amount of urine to your pile will reduce microbial diversity and allow acid-loving microbes to flourish. To fire up a slow pile, add and handful or two before giving the heap a turn. Urea is widely used as a fertilizer in agriculture. Another idea could be to invest in actual insulation material, which you can get at any local hardware store in large or small batches. One thing to keep in mind though, is that some hair couldve been treated prior to being cut and there may still be some chemical residue left on the hair strains. Although it might come as a surprise to many, its a well known fact among the gardening community that urine can speed up the composting process! Keep your pile or the contents of your bin or tumbler at no less than three cubic feet to ensure it generates enough heat to function and is damp, not wet. The high nitrogen and salt levels will make the environment in the compost pile toxic, and the decomposition process will slow down or halt altogether. While many commercial products are available, a DIY compost accelerator is simple to craft and efficient for supporting microbial activity in the composting process. Ideally, composting materials should be between 40 and 60 percent water. Turned every other day, three weeks. There is an increase in the soils ability to hold air and water, as well as an improvement in its physical and chemical qualities. There are several reasons why your compost pile may be sluggish. The addition of nitrogen drives the decomposition of the brown or carbon elements in the compost pile. Hot composting makes compost fast. Buy on Amazon. Blood meal is also the perfect foil for a lethargic compost pile. Compost is miraculous stuff. Convino Compost Starter 4. On the one hand, used coffee grounds are a great source of nitrogen that will certainly rouse a sleepy compost heap. yes no Shred all leaves, grass clippings, newspaper, clover and dry compost with a lawn mower or garden shears to give the microbes more surfaces to eat at a time. Urine is effective as a compost ingredient because of its mineral and vitamin content, the concentrated amounts of nitrogen-rich urea, and the water content. Making your own compost accelerator is easier than you think, and can be done with very basic equipment at a low cost. Ideally, composting materials should be between 40 and 60 percent water. Once the grass is in the compost, turn it after the first 24 hours. Note: The urine used in compost must not be contaminated by any fecal matter, which introduces dangerous pathogens to the mix. The addition of this liquid gold is easily the quickest way to fire up a cold compost. This is a mix of seaweed, bacteria and fungi. Compost accelerator really does accelerate compost. Adding blood meal to compost that already contains some greens will take a bit more guesswork as you dont want to throw your C:N ratios out of whack. However, when your compost heap is inexplicably slow and inactive, or has been long forgotten and neglected, there are ways to wake up a sleeping compost and kick it into humus-making action. My husband says he should pee in the compost pile and it will make better compost, but thats disgusting! to two part brown scraps (dead/dried plant materials, hay, etc.). The green nitrogen-rich pee perfectly balances the brown carbon straw material. Saving your pee for the compost pile is alsomore ecological! Somewhere along the way, at least as far back as the days of the early Roman Empire, clever and impatient humans discovered how to replicate this process and speed it along considerably. Water is the main ingredient, which helps keep the compost pile moist and provides a suitable environment for the microbes responsible for decomposition. This risk makes the method you collect the urine important when you intend to use it for composting. It is best to dilute it at a 1:6 or 1:8 ratio. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Compost is an organic matter that is used to enrich the soil and promote plant growth. Urine contains significant amounts of salts as well as poisons such as heavy metals. 11 Reasons Why Plants Keep Dying In Same Spot, 7 Ways To Fix Hydraulic Quick Coupler Stuck, Why Are My Vinca Leaves Yellow? This philosophy also spills over into lifestyle through a return to our ancestral roots by becoming more self-reliant, wasting nothing, and living simply. When it leaves the kidneys. If you are judicious in your urine use, this typically wont be a problem, but both salt and heavy metals can build up in your soil over a period of years and make it less hospitable to plants. WebThis compost accelerator pack is what you need to create a unique garden-ready compost within just a month. A homemade compost starter boosts microbial activity and generates more finished compost and then you can make the, Privacy Policy GDPR Medical Disclaimer DMCA. Urine is suitable for your compost, but as we know, too much of a good thing can become detrimental when used in excess. So why would people want to use urine in compost? Lindsay Sheehan is a writer, researcher, and lifelong gardener who loves little more than the thrill of nurturing living things from dormant seed. COPYRIGHT 2023 RURAL SPROUT | Wisteria on Trellis Framework by Mediavine, our guide to using blood meal in the vegetable garden. The alternative is to urinate directly on the compost pile. As you probably already know, urine does not have a pleasant odor to smell. And because Im an avid composter, I often look at things around me differently. The addition of urine to compost has both positive and negative effects. Try adding urine if your compost bin is slow to break down your compost material. If the compost doesnt heat up within 24 to 48 hours, add a little more. Though it might seem counterintuitive, urine is a free compost accelerator and works surprisingly well to stimulate the decomposition process. Adding greens to a compost heap is a common practice because of the high nitrogen content of these materials. Ideally, it will contain 40% to 60% moisture at all times about the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. We may earn affiliate commissions on purchases made from links on this page. As a result of the compost-boosting characteristics of human (or animal) urine, adding this wastewater to the compost will function as an accelerator and help to initiate the decomposition process. How Often Do You Empty A Composting Toilet? Stir until the solution is thoroughly mixed, and spray or pour it over the compost pile. These high concentrations can result in high salt and nitrogen levels which will be toxic to plants. Adding urine to your compost can not only balance out your ratios (fixing a slow or stinky pile), but will add nitrogen to the compost itself where it will stay until it is mixed into the soil. When you see the benefits you wont be able to get enough of it! Add ingredients, stir. For example, you hear a lot of gardeners using ashes as fertilizer in the soil. And if so, what benefits could there possibly be to justify adding urine to my compost? As urea breaks down into ammonia, the odor becomes even more intolerable. Can you recycle urine and add benefits to your composting process? What Is Making Dirt Mounds in My Yard? Theres something for every system, from a microbial inoculant to introduce new microbes to your compost bin to supportive nitrogen and carbon mixtures to jump-start the microbes you already have. The straw will soak up the urine and the associated nutrients and can be added to your compost pile. If the temperature drops below 120 degrees, try tossing the pile in order to mix the contents. Especially since my compost is destined for my vegetable garden (I dont pee there either), and I am extremely conscientious of what goes into my pile. How much water do you put in a compost bin? If you think about it, this practice saves using fresh, clean water to flush it away and does not pollute natural watercourses. Sprinkle it over your soil for a quick crop boost. If youre making a lot of compost, youre looking at a major saving. I always keep a hose nearby to add moisture as I turn the pile. On the homestead, alfalfas nutritious foliage makes excellent forage and feed for chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, and many other barnyard animals. Compost will break down most efficiently between 150F to 160F (65C to 71C). Human urine is one of the quickest-acting and most effective sources of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace elements for plants, all of which are in an optimal form for osmosis. If you have a lot of urine in your compost, it might not smell nice because of the ammonia. Composting Wood Chips And Cow Manure (Or Tip: If you live near a farm, used straw animal bedding has precisely the same valuable combination. How to further accelerate the composting process, #4 Insulate your compost heap in cold weather, according to the Cornell Waste Management Institute, How to Decrease Water Pressure in the Garden Hose, What does a power rake do? If peeing on crops can replace the need for fertilizer, peeing on compost could do the same. When your hot compost pile starts to underperform, a homemade compost accelerator helps. 6 Compost Activators to Fuel Your Heap 1. Adding coffee grounds increases the level of nitrogen which is an essential nutrient for microorganisms. (Answered). However, you cant go on vacation since you must stay at home and urinate on your composite. Excessive amounts of urine willadd too much nitrogen, slowing decomposing. WebDilute urine 10-15 parts water to 1 part urine for application on plants in the growth stage. Human pee adds the same minerals to your compost and will enrich the final end product when the compost has matured. And as a compost enthusiast, this may have given you a bright idea! It gives you valuable insight into the soils starting point. Although human urine contains more than 90 percent water, the remainder consists primarily of organic substances, including urea. 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