I directly applied (ahem) urine to my rhubarb patch all winter. I stopped when the shoots started to appear. I have never harvested so much rhubarb before and it’s growing like crazy. I think it even deterred the voles a little bit.
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On the topic of whether to dilute and if so how much; it’s important to factor in weather and soil type. If it’s a dry season and you apply urine at high concentrations there will be more risk of burning plants, but if it’s a wet season (or if you irrigate a fair amount) the urine will naturally become more diluted in the soil with excess salts more quickly leached away. Additionally, high levels of organic matter facilitate fungi which can help bind up excess salts while low organic matter soils may be more sensitive to excess salts.
On the point of urine variations in nitrogen concentration, take into account the protein content of your diet. Urine from dogs (very high protein diet) can burn grass. If you consume lots of protein you should consider your urine more concentrated than someone who consumes average quantities of protein.
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Diluting about 50% seems smart unless you are an old pro at this.
Everybody has seen damage from a dog hiking a leg.
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ive applied it strait up around my trees and bushes but i have a good amount of mulch to absorb it and a fairly rainy climate. most of my trees and bigger bushes grew up on a steady diet of urine for 4 yrs. they grew too well and one of my bush cherries split from too much top growth so i stopped using it. now i just mulch with chic manure in spring every 2nd year and they are full and healthy. i would pour 2c per tree and bush around the drip line in early spring when we still got alot of rain. could put 2c in a 1.5 gal watering can and put that around each tree if you prefer to dilute it.
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You got that right!
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kept mine in a milk jug under the sink in the bathroom. then once full it went out to my shaded shed behind the house. over time it would darken but id use it anyway. just stay up wind. ;).
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I’ll share a little secret…add a 3 or 4 drops of pond DYE to your jug…and anyone spotting it is easily convinced it’s MiracleGro and Water in the jug!
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I’m sure you could attach that fancy application wand to your hose and accomplish the same look too! Just like the lawn care crew, except you want to be extra careful about not dragging your hose through the wet grass…
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So glad to see everyone is out about this. There is an incredible cultural stigma about human waste, which makes it very difficult to discuss the problems and solutions. I’ve used urine for decades, but very seldom mentioned it. Free fertilizer, and way better than pumping it miles to end in some water body where it is definitely NOT needed.
Here’s a link to a Vermont group that’s been working on the agricultural use of urine for a few years https://richearthinstitute.org/.
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If you put wood ash in the container you’re storing your urine in that will help decrease the the oder and preserve the nitrogen while of course adding phosphorus and potassium and other micronutrients I think it’s said to be a complete fertilizer at that point but this is just what I read…but it’s great for us who burn lots of wood and pee a lot and have lots of plants to fertilize lol
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I’ve been a proselytizer since I first saw my brother-in-law using it in the 1960’s. It isn’t a great subject for conversation on a date- anecdotally, I’d say women find the topic much more offensive than men. Perhaps our anatomy makes us closer to the subject- it certainly increases the convenience of collection.
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RE: The Martian - He wasn’t using poop primarily for it’s “nutrients” but for it’s micro-culture (bacteria, etc) that Mars’ soil lacks. Almost all plants use the micro-culture for nutrients, not the soil directly per se.
Sorry to reply to such an old post, I’m an incurable pedant 
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ha! I’m sure you are right. Makes perfect sense. I still love that movie!
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I keep meant to watch it, but the Audiobook was amazing, haha
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Back to the Stone Age. Change your bathroom into a closet, don’t need it anymore.
Ummm- more the age of agriculture and civilization. China never stopped using this fertilizer and we don’t need to throw it away where it pollutes our estuaries or groundwater.
Now urban sewage systems are often recycling all of our waste- however those products are contaminated with heavy metals.
Perhaps I misunderstand your comment.
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@Alan, I know you understand where I coming from. Also there are others on this forum that find these articles offensive.
Talking about China, their systems are not up to par. Our agriculture is up to date, thank you, our sewer system is top notch, I live in the woods, my system is up to date. My fertilizers are great for the next two or three years. I have enjoyed using the wonderful stuff available nowadays, thank you! No more guessing! Pluck and Play.
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Why do you fight instead of ignore?
Applying N. always includes a level of guesswork- even when you use soil or leaf analysis- but I’ve used urine for 45 years and never have to use synthetic N in my vegetable garden nor have I ever burned vegetables or trees with it as I once did with urea and also dried blood (vegetables, not trees).
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Have you listened to the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson? It looooooooong but he does a great job of describing the process of terraforming.
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On the topic of rates, this article recommends anywhere from 3:1 to 5:1 water to urine, depending on the plant, stage of growth, etc. They also recommend approximately a level tablespoon of wood ash to every half liter of 5:1. (Edit: Undiluted urine can be applied to vegetable beds several weeks before planting.)
With prices of fertilizers (and nearly everything else) going up, many of us can’t afford to be squeamish! Nothing harmful will enter the plant. The well-publicized Finnish study of using human urine + wood ash for tomato fertilizer found that
No enteric indicator microorganisms were detected in any tomato fruits. The results suggest that urine with/without wood ash can be used as a substitute for mineral fertilizer to increase the yields of tomato without posing any microbial or chemical risks.
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