We use septic here @Alan so the leach lines also allow all liquid in the system to escape about 10 feet down underground. Its basically a pretty simple system of gravel and very long laterals with a 1000 gallon tank to catch solids. The bacteria help to break it all down. No one is smelling anything 10 feet down. Last time i pumped it out after 5 years and the guy said there was no need to call him next time call in 10 years. That just simply means bacteria are doing their job.
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āFor my own trees I still stick to organic fertilizer, but I only have enough urine for so many trees. It works as well as any synthetic N so I recommend that at least men make use of that particular resource if you donāt find it disgusting. If you water it in the smell disappears quickly.ā
I was doing that for quite a while. There was a also a discussion on here that prompted a lot of controversy. Iāve learned not to go there, in general, however I have a couple of comments -
I think some trees do well. My sweet corn grew very well. However, I think I killed a few, very nice, 12 foot tall young specimen trees. One ginkgo, one linden, one birch. The only thing they had in common was that source of N. I did dilute 1:10. So thereās that. I wondered about other causes. These trees also had heavy mole populations. Maybe voles used the mole tunnels to chew roots. The other factor is, I take a medication. Maybe that was toxic to the trees. Bottom line, I no longer do that. We also have a septic system. Maybe the grass over that gets fertilized that way. I donāt have trees in the drainage field.
Mostly now for nitrogen I use compost and chicken house cleanings. I also sometimes use some lawn fertilizer. Not weed/feed, just feed only.
This post reminds me, I should get some for my baby trees. I want good growth this year.
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Bear_with_me you have salt in urine. That would be what kills trees.
Unless the species is salt tolerant, better to avoid. There may be N
but there is harmful sodium.
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Absolutely.
Being in a very dry climate, my #1 priority is water conservation/efficiency so not introducing salt is critical.
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Good point and people in that climate should not use things like chemical fertilizer long term as it builds up. Did not see your post earlier.
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Interesting post. I was lookup some neem oil, and ran across the product description for a neem based product claiming to maximize effectiveness of urea. Is this something that sulfur coated urea overcomes based on its design? If Iām reading correctly, itās saying that a lot of your urine (possibly sulfur coated urea) nitrogen is lost through this process.
Urea is the major source of Nitrogenous fertilizer world wide. However, a large part of the Nitrogen from Urea is lost and does not add to the nutrient value. With the increasing cost of Urea production, it is becoming important to save and judiciously use every part of the urea prill. āNitrogen from Urea is released in the soil and leached by the activity of nitrifying bacteria Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas. These bacterias turn nitrogen in nitrite and then into nitrate which is highly mobile in nature when present in the soil. By these processes, approximate 50% to 65% of nitrogen provided by urea is lost. A solution to this problem of nitrogen loss from urea is to coat the area with āNEELCOAT NM Lā
Advantages of using āNeelcoat NM Lā in Urea
- Slows down the process of nitrification of urea.
- Enhances the yield by 48%.
- Decreases urea requirement, hence economical.
- āNeelcoat NMLā urea affects the slow release of nitrogen during the critical phases of growth.
- Controls nematodes, termites, pests and insects.
- Excellent soil conditioner and Natural Bio Pesticides.
- Environmental Friendly and Non-Toxic.
- Reduces Urea Consumption.
- Convenient and easy to apply.
- Packing āNeelcoat NMLā is packed in tanker load / IBC / Barrels
Do you ever dissolve the urea in water before applying to peach trees?
When I feel an urgency for immediate release I will dissolve straight (non polymer coated) urea in water- but be careful with it. It can burn. It also takes a bit of effort to dissolve.
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Man-made N will help break down stuff in your compost pile pretty quickly too.
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This post is very interesting to say the least,!1
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Iāve been extremely slow to learn this lesson. Been afraid of overdoing it and have been way underdoing it for many years.
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Thanks Clark for a very interesting series of history!
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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Ok, so gotta ask, Alan - as Iāve seen a few references to āif youāre a manā, in the urine for N talk. Is there a scientific reason, or is more of a comfort or ease of collecting it?
If the later, I can remember from my mountaineering days a number of women using theseā¦ what woman on a rope team on a glacier really wants to have to get out of their harness, remove all their clothing, and still be next their climbing buddies peeing. As men, we definitely have it easier. But, a solution was born. Perhaps should also be marketed for the female orchardistā¦
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Is sulfur coated urea something broadly available? I donāt see a ready source.
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Thereās a great book I read about Fritz Haberās life called The Alchemy of Air. Excellent read.
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Yes, I was thinking mostly about ease of collection. It would be sexist to assume women are more squeamish about collecting body waste than men without data to support it- but we are all influenced by our anecdotal observations even if they are warped by pre-conceived prejudices.
In this case, I canāt help but run with this kind of prejudice due to the number of times my wife has registered her disgust with my own collection and use of urine- yet she has no issue with stable waste. I guess humans are more disgusting than horses.
Anyway, Iām sure female members will be grateful to learn of these tools of collection. Game changer 
.
Now, can I get my wife on board? So much waste going to waste.
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Interesting story about estrogen in urine used for fertilizerā¦Change in estrogenic activity in stored human urine before reuse as fertilizer | International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture
Should I stop taking the pill so I donāt get anyone pregnant before accelerating my compost pile?!?
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Thank you for the suggestion!
Think it is less disgusting this way for men for some reason. Consider running the hose right out to the compost pile. Carrying buckets of piss is not most peoples thing they like to do.
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