Human Urine & Period Blood as Natural, Abundant & Free Nitrogen Fertilizer for Organic Gardening

Since human bodily fluids are most usually discarded as 'waste', it might be initially shocking to embrace the thought of using them in the garden, especially a kitchen garden. Cultural conditioning is responsible for any initial resistance, especially when considering that humans are usually already comfortable using or consuming food that used not just the urine, but feces of other animals (like cows, horses, chickens, sheep and so on), for growing even the softest greens and vegetables. Humans have made thriving gardening commercial ventures of 'blood meal', ie the processed blood of cows and pigs after their slaughter. 

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So I ask; why not use our own body fluids, especially when we already trust what we eat? Why? We can add this rich nitrogen sources without hurting animal life from the more cost effective convenience of our own home. By using urine or period blood, we also save water in the bathroom by not flushing them down the toilet and or washing them down a drain. Heck! It feels good, even spiritually connected to Mother Earth to contribute to the cycle of life!

Urine and menstrual blood are a rich source of readily available nitrogen and therefore great natural nitrogen fertilizers. They are not only chemical free but highly effective. This is because adding nitrogen to your garden boosts foliage growth. I could honestly say that my plants love this personal treatment. There are even positive side effects. For instance, using period blood as a blood meal substitute will not only nourish plants but also deter animals. Here is how you may enjoy this practice.

Urine

• After it rains, pour some pure urine around the roots. Within no more than 3 days, foliage plants have always responded with healthier looking leaves. The response to urine is so quick. As an alternative, dilute the urine to roughly 1 part urine to 10 parts water when watering your plants. It is best to use urine on plants whose foliage you want to promote. For instance, I use lots of urine on plants whose leaves I harvest like spinach but generally stop using urine on flowering fruit plants. 

Period Blood

Keep in mind that using period blood in the garden may attract more ants than usual. In some cases, you may use period blood in the garden not only as a natural nitrogen fertilizer but also to combat aphids (which are preyed on by ants).

• Collect the blood, menstruating women can use a moon cup and or reusable clothe pads. Women may either wait until the end of their period to mix an entire batch (of blood) or add the blood after each time the cup or reusable cloth pad must be changed.
• Moon cup. If you are out and about, you can carry around a small plastic bottle with a secure screw-on cover. 
• Clothe pads. Soak the reusable pads in water only. The blood will settle to the bottom. Use the water and blood for your plants.
• 1 part blood to roughly 8 to 10 parts water and apply to the roots of the plant. Never apply to the foliage.
• You may also add blood meal to a compost pile. Some gardeners have found that blood accelerates the composting process. There is also no need to worry about blood-borne pathogens since the heat that the composting process generates kills any pathogens.
• Use this natural rich nitrogen fertilizer sparingly since excessive uses of nitrogen can burn plans and prevent flowering and fruiting.

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CONTENT RELATED TO USING HUMAN URINE AND PERIOD BLOOD AS A NATURAL NITROGEN FERTILIZER

• Free range chickens may not only provide eggs but provide a free source of natural fertilizer (a Youtube video playlist)
• Upcycling 'waste' into tasteful art ... to beautify your home

Homemade Vermicompost Bin Design

This post shows how to make a vermicompost bin from the bottom up. To follow this simple homemade vermicompost design, you will need the following.

• 4 buckets that are the same shape and size
• 2 lids (one for the base, the other the lid)
• a piece of mosquito net that is roughly twice the diameter of a bucket
• a drill
• drill bits (1/8 inch and 3/8 inch)
• a saw
• a cool location (preferably not one exposed to harsh direct sunlight)

Clean the buckets especially well if the buckets are being recycled after use for something (like oil or citrus matter) that earthworms do not like in compost bins.

For the base, set aside one of the lids. For leachate reservoir, prepare one bucket as follows. Before you start however, note that, another bucket will fit directly into the bucket that will be used as a leachate reservoir.

Mark the point where the bottom of the higher bucket will reach into the leachate reservoir. On either that point or just below it, drill holes that will establish the top level of the leachate. The leachate will need to drain out into your base if too much leachate accumulate before you are able to use it.


















For the worm safety net (that will prevent earthworms from falling in and drowning in the leachate reservoir, set aside the net. It should be fitted between the leachate reservoir and the bucket above. Sorry, I did not take any photos.

For the main vermicompost bin section, drill holes at the bottom as well as sides of the bins. The holes at the sides help with ventilation while those at the bottom will allow liquid to drip through the system to become leachate in the reservoir below. Use 3/8 inch drill bits so worms can fit through the holes. This is key since earthworms need to migrate upwards from one vermicompost bin compartment to another when they have completely composted lower levels. Regarding the holes on the sides, drill below the rings that protrude horizontally from the sides of the buckets (i.e. when the buckets are upright).

For the spacer, cut the base of one bin below the protruding rings. The spacer will go between the 2 compost bins to create more vertical space between the bottom of the top and the lower vermicompost bin compartments. More space simply allows you to put more kitchen or other scraps into the vermicompost bin. You may drill 3/8 inch holes if, unlike the case shown below, you leave a lot of the bottom of the sides of the bucket (i.e. below the rings). In the image below, the spacer is in the middle. It was cut very close to the protruding rings.

For the lid, drill as many small holes as you can with the 1/8 inch drill bit. The small holes will enable ventilation but prevent the earthworms from escaping. Good ventilation in a vermi composting system prevents bad odor. In fact, once you have set the system up well, the vermicomposter should be suitable even for a corner in a well ventilated kitchen.

The image below shows the order in which the various parts will be stacked. Oops, we forgot to include the base in this photo. 

OTHER POSTS RELATED TO COMPOSTING

• Simple Compost Bin Design
• Before your worms produce vermicompost, see how you can produce rich, abundant and free nitrogen fertilizer
• Free range chickens may not only provide eggs but provide a free source of natural fertilizer (a Youtube video playlist)

Homemade potash for a tropical organic garden (molasses)

Many of the ordinarily lush green leaves of my pommecythere plant were turning yellow with burnt-looking tips at an alarming rate. Without much online information on pommecythere and knowing that I had not yet replenished the compost, I decided the discolorations were symptomatic of a potassium deficiency.


Potassium deficiency on my dwarf pommecythere plant

Potassium Deficiency
Potassium deficiency is identifiable by yellowing of the leaves (called chlorosis) and brown scorching and curling of leaf tips. To remedy this organically, I used blackstrap molasses (unsulphered) in water. (Molasses is also a greate ingredient in compost teas).


Ingredients for making organic potash:

• 1 to 3 tbsp  blackstrap molasses (unsulphered) from sugar canes

The molasses must be unsulphered. Outside of being a rich source of potash (a term for fertiliser forms of potassium), molasses encourages beneficial microbial activity in the soil. However, sulphur is added to some forms of molasses as a preservative. As a preservative, sulphur kills microorganisms that are useful in a tropical organic garden.

• 1 gallon water

*** BUY TROPICAL SEEDS ***

Instructions for using organic molasses fertilizer:

1. Mix the ingredients and drench the soil.
2. If molasses is used in a compost tea, the compost tea may be either sprayed directly onto the leaves or into the soil.
3. If you have banana peels, you can combine the molasses with blended banana peels.

Other benefits of molasses as an organic fertilizer:
Apart from being a rich source of potassium for a tropical organic garden, molasses also offers the following benefits.

• iron
• micronutrients that include many trace minerals from the original sugar cane
• increases beneficial microbial activity
• increases resistence to pest attack and disease

Other natural forms of potash for my tropical organic garden:

• Banana peels

OTHER TOPICS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

• Make a DIY Self Watering Plant Container

Homemade potash for a tropical organic garden (banana peels)

Uses & Benefits:
To resolve potassium deficiencies in a tropical organic garden. Potassium stimulates plant growth, increases protein production, increases the efficient use of water and increases resistance to disease and insects.

What you need to make potash with banana peels:

• Banana peels
• a plastic bag
• a freezer (optional)
• a blender

Instructions for making potash with banana peels:

1. If you want to make a large batch, collect banana peels in a plastic bag in a freezer until you are satisfied with the volume.
2. Blend the banana peels with water at a ratio of 1 part banana peels to 2-3 parts water
3. You may combine this recipe with the homemade molasses potash recipe (Molasses is another natural rich source of potassium)
4. Pour the mixture over the soil

Observations:
I have found that the lazy approach of tossing banana peels around the roots can attract rats. However, this method has not created such problems. I also find myself trying to work the potash into the soil very gently. BTW, I am generally a no-till gardener and will work in the mixture only very gently to avoid disruption to the soil's ecosystem.



Potassium deficiency (see what healthy leaves look like below)

*** BUY TROPICAL SEEDS *** 

Healthy green leaves before potassium deficiency