Tomatos and, ummm, wee

[Nik]

Undettered by a disasterous start to my tomato growing season I am now thinking ahead to feeding the hungry blighters.

I don't like spending money on tomato food - or anything gardening related really - and I do have a few clumps of comfrey that I could utilise, but as well as being tight I am also lazy.

Someone told me that urine has basically the same active chemical ingredients as tomato food so why can't I use that? I have a regular and reliable source after all...

[lottie dolly]

there is a thread on here about liquid gold,how much to dilute and what you can and cannot use it on,maybe someone else can put a link up,as i have no idea, you sound like me,after all,mother nature hasn't the need for any outside interfearanc,i put alsorts in a barrel and let it ferment into a smelly brew,
rhubarb leaves,chilli,garlic.....a good pest deterant
comfrey now i have some,nettles.....feed
horse tail,weed roots.all help,
everything get put into 1 barrell with water,and it keeps over winter,pong included,by then it's very mature/ripe,

[Thelma Sanders]

I think that pee is a good source of Nitrogen, and that's not what your toms want. Much better to just cut the comfrey leaves and lay them on the surface to rot down.

Most sites that talk about using pee do stress the need for using wood ash with it, and it's the potash that the toms want more than anything IMO

[Capsid]

Yes you can use it. See this study.

Stored human urine supplemented with wood ... [J Agric Food Chem. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI

I can't access the full article, so I don't know if the urine is prepared in a special way. Perhaps it should be diluted a bit.

As pointed out by Thelma above, wood ash is also needed.

[smc999]

If you are going to apply it erm.... directly, try and avoid splashing the leaves. ;-)

[Two_Sheds]

I use it, it's fab and free, but also saves money on flush water. I use it fresh, never mixed it with ash or anything. All my indoor overwintered pelargoniums are flowering already

This site reckons it's 11g nitrogen, 1g phosphorus and 2.5g potassium

Fruiting plants like toms need more potassium (K) than nitrogen (feed when they start to fruit)

Nitrogen is for leafy green growth

[Capsid]

If you are going to apply it erm.... directly, try and avoid splashing the leaves. ;-)

Urine is sterile, so there is no concern regarding pathogens.

[Nik]

Great, I'll give it a go. I'm wondering whether this is a step too far though - The Humanure Handbook - Basic instructions for using a humanure toilet

[Maccabee]

Why a step too far? I would if i could.

[Kaiya]

Urine is sterile, so there is no concern regarding pathogens.

No it isn't. Urine is only sterile if you take it directly from the bladder via cystocentesis. Otherwise it is contaminated by bacteria in the urethra and external genitalia as it passes through. I'm not saying it's therefore a risk - unless you have a UTI the bacteria are commensals and as such unlikely to result in disease in otherwise healthy individuals, but it isn't sterile.

[taff]

Great, I'll give it a go. I'm wondering whether this is a step too far though - The Humanure Handbook - Basic instructions for using a humanure toilet

you obviously haven't been reading any of Two Sheds posts !!!!

[Pa Snips]

So to summarise...

During the vegetative phase, pee on them. When they flower, feed them bananas.

[Two_Sheds]

this is a step too far though - The Humanure Handbook - Basic instructions for using a humanure toilet

It's a superb read, even if you're not into the human poo compost, it teaches you so much about composting. Brilliant book (free online)

[marchogaeth]

It's a superb read, even if you're not into the human poo compost, it teaches you so much about composting. Brilliant book (free online)

OOoo!! (or however you spell it!). Could you post the link for this, please. I've only ever found book versions which are a bit expensive for casual use.

[veggiechicken]

Its in the post above yours M ^^^^^^