Pee on your basil

Reuse of urine demonstration - fertilised and not fertilised basil experiment part II, originally uploaded by ecosan.

If you have the problem of your pasta getting cold while you are waiting for your basil garnish to grow, try peeing on it. Actually, perhaps it is better to pee into some kind of container to prevent accidents on the windowsill. This photo comes from the GTZ headquarters in Eschborn, Germany where they are working on promoting ecological sanitation.

Urine is a great fertilizer, the only real problem with it is that it is liquid so hard to transport. But if you have a garden, it works really well on plants when diluted around 5:1. 

The other problem with urine is this rational or irrational yuk factor. Urine in its pissed-up-the-side-of-a-building form is really no good. Urea breaks down slowly in air releasing amonia which has a characteristically pungent smell which makes no friends. Kept in a container and applied to soil directly this does not happen as soil bacteria can begin to process it immediately in to more stable forms.

One day this century we'll have to do this as a critical and irreplaceable element in fertilizer becomes more scarce. 

Click on the photo to learn more.

Waste, or extretia, or fertilizer?

Maggie Black seems to be one of the most eloquent writers on the issue of Eco-sanitation. That is, containing and managing human 'waste' at source and not contaminating a huge amount of fresh water with it, at great cost. If you are new to this subject, or have never thought about the principle of what you are doing when you flush, then read the links below. http://www.newint.org/features/2008/08/01/keynote-toilets/ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JQP/is_2003_March/ai_99232390/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1