Well actually if you do a bit more research on the subject of urine as a fertilizer you would find these...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is a scientific study published in
The Journal Of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, that was conducted using urine to fertilize the tomato plant. It's great, you all should really read this one.
Stored Human Urine Supplemented with Wood Ash as Fertilizer in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Cultivation and Its Impacts on Fruit Yield and Qualityhttp://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/jf9018917?cookieSet=1Excerpt:
"The new study found that plants fertilized with urine produced four times more tomatoes than non-fertilized plants and as much as plants given synthetic fertilizer. Urine plus wood ash produced almost as great a yield, with the added benefit of reducing the acidity of acid soils. "The results suggest that urine with or 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," the report says."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.iees.ch/EcoEng011/downloads/EcoEng011_F2.pdfQuote:
Urine typically contains 70% of the nitrogen and more than half the phosphorus and potassium found in urban waste water flows, while making up less than 1% of the overall volume. Thus source separation and on-site treatment has been studied in Sweden as a way to partially close the cycle of agricultural nutrient flows, to reduce the cost and energy intensity of sewage treatment, and the ecological consequences such as eutrophication, resulting from an influx of nutrient rich effluent into aquatic or marine ecosystems. The fertilization effect of urine has been found to be comparable to that of commercial fertilizers with an equivalent NPK rating.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/view/482Excerpt:
" Urine as a fertilizer- Urine is a locally produced resource that is free. As a fertilizer it is effective, is a high quality fertilizer, urine is sterile and requires no processing other than dilution, is readily available, can be used immediately or stored, rapid acting, and is easily applied. Urine provides a constant supply of fertilizer, instead of the annual or semi-annual composting systems that require physical labor to aerate and require management.
As a fertilizer, urine is rich in nitrogen and also contains substantial amounts of phosphorus and potassium. A family of four produces enough urine to fertilize 1/3 of an acre at a rate compared to the application of 100kg per hectare in developed countries -note that Africa currently has the lowest fertilizer use in the world at 8.5kg per hectare. The use of urine as fertilizer has been studied by Arba Minch University in Ethiopia and the Sodo Agricultural Department investigated the use of human urine as fertilizer for different crops. Their research indicates equal or higher yields of maize and wheat when fertilized with urine when compared with the applications of chemical fertilizer."
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Quick guide for using, storing, and dosing of urine for plant growth.http://www.amu.edu.et/ROSAfiles/UrEng.pdf---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.liquidgoldbook.com/Quote:
"Urine contains large quantities of nitrogen (mostly as urea), as well as significant quantities of dissolved phosphates and potassium, the main macronutrients required by plants. Diluted at least 8:1 with water it can be applied directly to soil as a fertilizer. Undiluted, it can chemically burn the roots of some plants, but it can be safely used as a source of complementary nitrogen in carbon rich compost."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/701616Excerpt:
"Tushabe added that human urine is a good fertilizer because it contains nutrients that support plant growth.
He noted that in countries like Ivory Coast, Eco-san toilets have increased agricultural production by three-fold."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Last but not least here are a ton more links about the use of urine as a fertilizer. you too can find out by typing in "urine fertilizer" into Google!! In case ya'll aren't familiar with this procedure I have enclosed a link here that does just that for you!!
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+urine+fertilizer&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g4---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------These types of situations arise often throughout history. Certain people that think they know, excuse me "know" what can and can't be, burn someone else to the stake because this other has a radical different idea than what others have previously thought.
Galileo ring a bell... Burned to the stake for claiming the the earth was not the center of the universe.. Who was wrong there?? Many more of these figures exist, some more famous than others(Darwin, Cuvier, Lamarck and Patrick Matthew, etc) with many different fates. One thing they all did was to change the world drastically. One of the best ways to come up with knew ideas and knowledge is to experiment. Yea, you mess up and have to start over, but this is where the cutting edge is. People not afraid to test out new idea, even if these go against the main stream. Their all sheep anyway. Following what others have already Donne, can't blame them, for the most part it works.
I think it's great what you did experimenting with urine in hydro. Perhaps you can give it a try again, with more refined techniques, and a control, on regular nutrients, GH perhaps. Also maybe trying to find other complementary things to use along side of urine, especially during flowering. Good job, don't ever listen to anyone who tells you you can't do something or that something can't be Donne. Anything is possible.
I'm sorry I don't mean to sound condescending, but I study botany, and very close to getting my degree. This is one of my greatest passions, and urine as fertilizer is one of the greatest realizations of our time. It is a way of promoting sustainable agriculture that doesn't rely on buying expensive chemical fertilizers from conglomerate sized corporations like Monsanto
, who has no care or thought to the poor farmers that it hurts inside and outside of our borders.. multinational conglomerate machines engineered for the sole purpose of acquiring $$$$, and patenting Genetically Modified life at any cost (to everyone else). We need to improve our knowledge banks and find other green ways of living, to stop evil corporations like Monsanto, and reclaim what was never theirs to take or patent... LIFE!
This is a MUST WATCH slightly off subject but nonetheless incredibly interesting!! It's good quality on Hulu. YOU ARE WHAT YOU CONSUME!!!
The Future of Our Food
http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-foodMonsanto
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/inspiredprotagonist/monsanto-evil-companyMonsanto Harvest of fear!
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805Monsanto = Bad
http://library.thinkquest.org/25365/monsanto.htmlHope this helped a bit, hopefully we'll get to see more research done with urine in Hydroponics. It can be done, it just needs to be refined. Also I hope many of you will watch the movie/documentary "Future of Food" Did you know Monsanto's GM Corn is registered a s a pesticide!! No Shit. Yummy. Watch it and find out why this is so.
Peace
Ish