Re: [compost_tea] What does urine do to soil?

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 04:11:29 -0500

Hi sstidham -

Ah, any chance you could give a name to go with the e-mail address? I just don't like answering to a nameless "you". So, if you would be so kind as to let me know who I'm talking to?

Urine isn't per se bad, as long as it is not in high concentration. Of course something peeing on the lawn, it is in high concentration.

But the problem is that certain bacterial species convert the nitrogen in urine to nitrate rather rapidly, or to ammonia, if the soil is anaerobic. Either form of N can cause the burning or browing effect that you see. Excess nitrite, nitrate or ammonia kills plant cells. There's a salt effect with urine too.

To prevent browning, you need to have microorganisms which will "pull apart" or dis-associate the salt, consume and retain the nitrogen in their biomass instead of releasing nitrate, or ammonia. So, you need to get the organisms in the soil, get them established and growing on the plant surfaces and the roots, and then urine is just another food resource, stimulating the biology, not killing your plants.

Of course, you have to have adequate water or the salt effect of the urine can do a job on the plants and organisms as well.

Talk to the people reporting on the benefits of compost tea in turf, or golf courses or sports field about this. Tom Jaszewski was among the first to confirm what we had observed at SFI on our front lawn. The places that dogs peed, or other critters as well, no longer turned brown.

Frank Rossi from Cornell University has also reported, just in the last few days, of 65% reduction in turf disease using compost tea this summer at BethPage. If I understand correctly, this was better reduction than any other treatment that was used, including the toxic chemicals. Given that this is dollar spot, a HUGE problem out east, compost tea is going to TAKE OFF in the golf industry.

I love it when I can grin and say, "I told you it works".
 
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
www.soilfoodweb.com

 

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Received on Thu Jan 08 2004 - 09:20:08 EST

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