Are you an avid veggie producer? Or perhaps an aspirant home grower? What would your reaction be if someone offered you an ongoing supply of fertiliser. At no cost? Unlikely? Impossible?
Well, amazingly enough, do you have it already. You've always had. In fact everyone has it. I call it alphabet fertiliser - p.
It contains a generous amount of fixed nitrogen, the nutrient for which legumes are famous at fixing into the soil. We, instead, habitually put it down the toilet. It also contains significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, beloved by plants everywhere and must have's of content lists in the fertiliser aisle.
I had wondered about this for years and eventually, having crystallised my thoughts into a question, had it answered in minutes through a most interesting article in which I was amazed to read that urine even contained superphosphates! Seriously, for free!
So what's the deal? Why does almost no one use urine as a fertiliser? Well, after having trialled this neglected wonder for nearly a year, I cannot imagine why. I can, however, happily report that my veggie yield has probably doubled in some cases, the tomatoes even more, absolutely working better than purchased fertilisers I had used before.
As far as sustainability goes there can be little better than this. As well as promoting home grown veg with all its benefits of nutrition and diminished carbon footprint, it also saves water (you put it on your veggie patch instead of flushing it) and avoids having to neutralise nutrients at the waste water plant. I could hardly think of a process more organic, although the EU apparently doesn't entirely agree with this sentiment, which seems a little ludicrous.
Sadly however separation systems, at least in my neck of the woods, are far beyond mainstream. Far beyond affordability as well unfortunately, with a separating toilet costing $600 (excluding international postage...). So the watering can remains the system of choice, which works well enough although understandably limits the catchment - enterprises such as this only work when the infrastructure integrates seamlessly.
Happy vegging!
