Psychological cons of Urine in the garden?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by sweetpea, Aug 26, 2010.

  1. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

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    I am a total fan of using urine in the garden, and I understand how the plant uptakes the specific components of it, not the urine itself, but I am wondering what people think when it freaks them out when urine is used in the garden or in compost. :)
     
  2. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    g'day sweetpea,

    after years of reading these type of threads i see it as the dreaded "yuk" factor, some peson who uses their station to say something negative(mostly because of personal prefference) starts a snowball and you end with what may have been quiet innocent to begin with being blown out of all proportions. the question to ask is "show us all the ahrd copy real life health issues filling hospitl wards or doctors surgeries because some one use urine in their garden. have used same for around a decade or so have shared heaps of produce have had not one illness from our produce being eaten. isn't it part of pemaculture practise to recycle and manage our own waste?? we miss our composting toilet, too easy to push a button and let someone else manage it, and they do what they recycle it and feed it back to us, now where is the yuk factor?? and least but not last us userers of the product aren't wasting expensive so called drinking quality water to flush it down the system. you may find the yuk factor ones flush all the time and also may be low end users of second hand wate for at least toilet flushing.

    anyhow be interesting to see what comments may come.

    len
     
  3. permasculptor

    permasculptor Junior Member

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    I believe the primary health benefit of peeing in the garden is that you earth yourself.
     
  4. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    I have a catoon image of that; which is literally shocking!
    see also
    https://forums.permaculture.org.au/showthread.php?6895-urine-in-the-garden&highlight=urine


    MMM Cons:-
    Accidents
    [​IMG]
    being caught by the neighbour?
    [​IMG]
    being female?
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Too much plant growth?
    [​IMG]
    Salt build up?
    Contaminants in pee?
    [​IMG]
    Effects on water table?
    [​IMG]
    Indoor or balcony gardens?
    [​IMG]
     
  5. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    There's not much too add after MA's coverage of the topic!
    My list of why I reckon someone would be put off -
    Worry about the smell and that might it bother visitors to the garden who might think you to be some uncultured yobbo.
    The paranoia that it is somehow infectious (it isn't - unless you have an infection urine is by definition sterile).
    And either the overwhelming fear (I suspect more for women than men) that someone will see you if you pee on the spot, or the yuck factor of having to pee in a receptacle - carry it - possibly spilling some - and tip it in the garden. And the receptacle might smell in the house.
     
  6. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    hey eco'

    no persisting smell if there is even in the first instance. not put all in one spot.

    len
     
  7. kaviare

    kaviare Junior Member

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    I think a lot of it is just general 'ick' reaction, an automatic thought that if it's from 'down there' then it must be 'dirty'. I mean, we are constantly sold washes and cleansers and told that we need more disinfectants, etc. Obviously SOMETHING is making our houses filthy! Why ELSE would you need a blue duck thingy in your toilet? Because it's gross, that's why.

    Also, I think, there is a general ignorance about what things are and where they come from. I remember telling someone I'd really rather have planted my passionfruit over an ox's heart, but blood and bone would have to do. The reaction was a definite 'eeew!' and then a bigger one when I explained what blood and bone IS - I mean, sure, it's got a very confusing name, I can see how you wouldn't realise :p People in general seem to have a certain attitude that things that you buy in a bag or a bottle are fundamentally different and better than the versions you can make yourself. As a crafter, the version I get of this is 'you knit that jumper yourself?! But it looke BOUGHT!' which I find highly insulting even though I know what they mean to say. Things come from shops, and anything else is somehow less good and possibly done wrong.

    I know the thing that is stopping me from being more consistent with utilising my free fertiliser is the practicalities of it. Basically, I'm lazy (which is why I like permaculture!) and I don't want to go out in the cold and wet to pee, besides which my backyard is still pretty exposed and the citrus trees are in the VERY exposed front yard. Peeing in a bucket is smelly and not much easier. I need to get something with a lid so I don't have to traipse outside every time.

    One of my successes of the weekend was explaining how good urine is for the garden to the man, who was visiting my place. A half an hour later he got up and I said 'where are you going?' His reply was 'I'm off to start your compost'. And so he did.
     
  8. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Yeah Len I know that, but it is what worries people. My brother and Dad used to pee in the one spot that always got the afternoon sun and that got a bit high at times if you walked past.... But if you spread it around and water it in there's no issue.
     
  9. pippimac

    pippimac Junior Member

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    I'd love to recycle my urine, but my living environment is really not set up for it.
    I flat, and leaving a piss-collector around would really freak my flatmate out. If I was a guy it would be easier to sneak out for a 'moment' with the compost heap, but I'm not ready to try and master the subtle night-time stand-up!
    I also live in suburbia. One neighbour has voiced her fear that my compost will attract mice; so being spotted pissing in the garden would have her dobbing me in for exposure or something.
    I'm not going to say "stuff you all, I'll pee wherever I want". I like my flatmate and the property his presence allows me to have, and as for the neighbours...actually, I suppose I'm basically too wimpy to lead any suburban guerilla pissing movement!
     
  10. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Get a wide mouthed Fruit Juice Jar with a screw top lid. Preferably Apple. Pee in that, put the lid on and tell the flat mate that it is your special juice and he can't drink it. No smell. You'll soon find out if he was the one who pinched the last of the chocolate biscuits too....;)
     
  11. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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  12. saibhaskar

    saibhaskar New Member

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    Open Toilets

    People pee openly in the public places in urban areas a common practice in parts of India. Mapping such places is an effort to create awareness among the people and the responsible organisations / agencies in creating such facilities for both Women and Men. Here I share the observations from Hyderabad (with more than 600 thousand population), India. In public places people urinate causing inconvenience to others, polluting environment, lessening the value of a place and pride. It was found that after every 100 meters along the main roads people find a place to urinate. The public conveniences created mostly on the footpaths are not used by many. The number of such public conveniences should be increased in number and mostly near these priority areas.

    Bus stops
    Cinema theaters
    Bars / liquor shops
    Tourist places
    Etc.

    People use some other places like

    Transformers / electric poles
    Construction sites
    Where there is no street light during the nights

    Most common habit of the people is to “Polluting the Polluted Area” - Say ‘X’ person has started using a place for the first time then all others follow and think that they are not the first one and use the same place for the same purpose. There is need for creating greater awareness among the citizens in this aspect and also take necessary steps to provide more public conveniences as per the actual requirement. There are few toilets meant for women, the person at the toilet place for maintenance should be a woman for the convenience of women users.

    For more map and info: https://e-opentoilets.blogspot.com/
    info: https://picasaweb.google.com/saibhaskar.geo2/OPENTOILETSHYDERABAD#
    For solution: https://e-biocharurinals.blogspot.com/

    Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy
     
  13. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Well thanks for that MA. Here I was on a Friday night, wondering what I could do with my free time tomorrow, and now - well - I have to find some yellow shorts and a forest somewhere......
     
  14. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

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    Wow, you guys crack me up!! hahahahaha, love the cartoons. All these responses are impressive!

    I guess the fact that people don't realize how much bacteria is required to grow food is their first misunderstanding, it's already in the soil and plants require it as well. And these types of amendments, after throughly breaking down, are in specific chemicals, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, so plants are not getting "the stuff".

    I feel horrible when I "waste" pee by not storing it. Collecting pee in a large milk jug with a screw-on cap is easy to store. I set it in the bathtub while collecting. Women can first use a large yogurt or cottage cheese container, and then decant it. I love that Go Girl gizmo!!

    I never pour it outside in the same dirt over and over, that just makes it too saturated, so of course the soil can't handle all of it at once. But it does need to be diluted with water before being put on plants. I am very careful to never use it a half hour before company comes over, it takes that long to stop smelling, especially if there's a breeze.


    The language of animals is based on pee and poop, "Hey, that guy has a LOT of pee, he must be huge and I better stay away," which is why urine in the compost pile keeps the mice away, but it also speeds up the process :)

    And what if third world countries who have horrible sewage problems, just throw it out on the street, would compost it? Think of all the disease issues that would be cleared up and all the food that could be grown. I just don't understand why they aren't being educated to use it appropriately.

    Okay, that woman in the picture with the gray pants, what possible good does it do to pull up one leg of her pants????
     
  15. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    Brilliant!

    Concerning outdoor urination:

    With good planning, design and development, even the smallest suburban/urban outdoor space can accommodate a urine excrete/collection facility ('pisshouse'):

    Outback Australian Dunnies

    Just tell your nosey neighbors that it is a 'trendy new garden installation'...
     
  16. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

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    those dunnies are so cute!
     
  17. sweetpea

    sweetpea Junior Member

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    saibhaskar, all that has to happen is each person throw dead leaves or dirt over it, it would change everything.
     
  18. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

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    I"m not freaked out by the idea of it. I just don't want to do it. I don't like the idea of collecting it and carting it around. Too much work. I will happily pea outside. Someone mentioned the stench when people pee in the same spot. I noticed this with my father who had a habit of peeing near to the house at night. Since i mentioned the smell, he doesn't do that anymore and there's no more smell.
     
  19. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    well for some of the responses, the youtube was interesting, but we are constructed different us men & women, and i just dunno about the why can't we do it the way men do it need? anyhow that might remain a vexing question of the human species.

    but anyway for the ladies and you don't need to be old as young as 30's it can happen probably mre so with child bearing women i dunno, but keep this in mind sanding up and peeing for a women could cause issues like a prolapse, not nice and has to be repaired under surgery. have jsut been to an information session which the ladies who presented it said that the correct position for a lady is the haunch position something to do with supporting the pelvic floor, so a standard toilet seat is the minimum need. the reason i use a bucket and my wife uses the toilet, unless i wanted to procure a commode chair set up.

    len
     
  20. kaviare

    kaviare Junior Member

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    I don't think chucking dirt over it will solve the problem in a city, sweet pea. If there's nothing growing to harvest and use it, then it just sits there and is certainly not a good addition to the health of the city. Especially if it is concentrated (by lots of people using the same spots over and over) and gets into water supply, etc. It's actually a big problem in cities with patchy infrastructure - and often public toilets are pay toilets, which discourages people from using them. Urine might be great for the garden, but it's not great for other things, and like anything it has to be handled properly and put in the right place. If the other parts of the system isn't there, it's not useful!

    This was interesting, though https://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20100827/981/tsc-urine-powered-fuel-cells-to-offer-pe_1.html

    When I was in china, none of the children wore nappies. They just had pants with a slit in the crotch, and when they needed to go their parent would hold them up over the ground - HOPEFULLY over a tree, if there was one, although I saw someone doing it in a corner inside Wallmart ones - and they'd do their business.
     

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