The humanure thread

[FarmerChick]

there truly isn't anything to get over Bee.

sure I know what you said is true, I am not saving buckets of human pee to apply to anything in my yard

I am not going to 'work' with human pee or poop at my home. Is it what it is for me. I am sure no stranger to disgusting, I am a farmer

but storing, composting human waste is not on my hit list


edited to say everyone has something they don't fancy and will never do, try or touch with a 10 ft. pole...my hubbys poop is one of them :bun

 

[Beekissed]

I did it! It was the best fertilizer I'd ever used for my corn....the corn that had the pee was sooooo tall and greener than the other that didn't get the "mountain dew" applied.

I'm a believer.

 

[dtinnan]

Pee is pee....horse pee, cow pee, deer pee, sheep pee, or goat pee...it eventually gets put on a garden somewhere in the load of manure that gets mixed in and sometime or other we have all consumed food grown in pee.

One of the main ingredients in commercial fertilizers is urea.

It's a nutrient, like any other nutrient in the soil...time to get over it.

all the animals you mentioned are plant eaters, so they pretty much poop degraided grass.

they also only drink water from the time they are thru nursing, so their pee contains only the impurities that a plant-eating-water-drinking animal would have in them.

SO, my questions are:

Is there a difference in the poop of carnivores, since the consuming of meat, also means the pooping of degraded meat products?
and

is there a difference in the urea of a meat-eating-anything-drinking person, and that of an animal that only eats plants, and only drinks water?

i would really like to see a study of the differences of the pee and the poop of the two different creatures, cause I'm not really sure that all pee is pee.

i would appreciate any knowlege on the subject

 

[Britesea]

better stay away from chicken poop and pig poop then.... they are both omnivores, like us.

pee is sterile. You don't even have to age it to put it on plants; just dilute it a bit or the nitrogen in it will burn the plant. Poop is a little bit more problematic, but only because of the possibility of pathogens; again, once it has been aged for a few years (anywhere from 1 to 5 years depending on weather) it is compost, there are no virulent little beasties in there anymore. I have held it in my hand and it was no more 'disgusting' than any other compost. I'm not interested in using the composted sludge from our local sewage system, but that's because of the chemicals people dump into the sewer- not because of the poop.

Seriously, I think that those of us that think pee and poop is disgusting must have had some kind of trauma during toilet training, even if you don't remember it. Anyone that's ever watched their toddler stick his hand into his diaper and 'finger paint' would have to admit that as babies we don't think it's disgusting at all....

 

[FarmerChick]

meat eater poop is nasty to smell way more than manure from livestock grazers

I need my hubby to go vegetarian

 

[FarmerChick]

better stay away from chicken poop and pig poop then.... they are both omnivores, like us.

pee is sterile. You don't even have to age it to put it on plants; just dilute it a bit or the nitrogen in it will burn the plant. Poop is a little bit more problematic, but only because of the possibility of pathogens; again, once it has been aged for a few years (anywhere from 1 to 5 years depending on weather) it is compost, there are no virulent little beasties in there anymore. I have held it in my hand and it was no more 'disgusting' than any other compost. I'm not interested in using the composted sludge from our local sewage system, but that's because of the chemicals people dump into the sewer- not because of the poop.

Seriously, I think that those of us that think pee and poop is disgusting must have had some kind of trauma during toilet training, even if you don't remember it. Anyone that's ever watched their toddler stick his hand into his diaper and 'finger paint' would have to admit that as babies we don't think it's disgusting at all....

well let me tell ya I don't have toilet trauma. I believe everyone goes thru life picking and choosing what they want to compost in their backyard. Human pee/poop isn't on my list. Just to 'get it from the toilet' is gross enough HA HA

heck I have a 6 year old...poop is not an issue. I jump right in and deal with poop, but to make it a center of my composting is not going to happen. geez, so much easier to flush it down...lol

remember everything doesn't have to have a reason behind it other than some people do not want to take the time and effort to compost human pee and poop....especially when I have tons of livestock anyway lol

some will find it just disgusting as I do...others will play with their pee and poop all they want....no biggie which way you lean HAHA

 

[FarmerChick]

What NOT to Compost
Whether because of toxins, plant or human diseases, or weed troubles, there are some things that shouldn't be put into compost piles. Avoid composting the following materials:


CHEMICALLY-TREATED WOOD PRODUCTS
Sawdust is often available from constructions sites, friends, or your own building projects. If you are considering composting sawdust, be sure of the origin of the sawdust. Sawdust from chemically-treated wood products can be bad stuff to compost. For example, take pressure-treated wood (sometimes called CCA), which usually has a greenish tint to it (I have also seen it in other colors). It contains arsenic, a highly toxic element, as well as chromium and copper. There is evidence to suggest that arsenic is leached into the soil from these products when they are used to make compost bins or raised beds, so composting the sawdust would certainly be a mistake. You may wish to read the 'Letters' section of Organic Gardening, April 1994 and July/August 1992, for more information. Avoid other chemically-treated wood products and sawdust as well, such as wood treated with creosote or 'penta' preservative.

DISEASED PLANTS
Many plant disease organisms are killed by consistent hot composting, but it's difficult to make sure that every speck of the diseased material gets fully composted. It's best not to compost diseased plant material at all, to avoid reinfecting next year's garden.

HUMAN WASTES
Human feces can contain disease organisms that will make people very sick. Composting human feces safely requires that the compost pile reach high (thermophilic) temperatures over a period of time. It isn't necessarily that difficult to reach these temperatures in a home compost pile, but the potential health costs of improper composting are high. Composting of human feces should not be attempted, except by experienced 'hot pile' composters who are well informed of the temperatures and times required to kill pathogens, and who are willing to take 100% responsibility for the process and product. If you would like to learn more about composting humanure, I recommend The Humanure Handbook, listed in the resources section of the Rot Web.

MEAT, BONES, AND FATTY FOOD WASTES
These materials are very attractive to pests (in an urban setting, this could mean rats...). In addition, fatty food wastes can be very slow to break down, because the fat can exclude the air that composting microbes need to do their work.

PERNICIOUS WEEDS
Morning glory/bindweed, sheep sorrel, ivy, several kinds of grasses, and some other plants can resprout from their roots and/or stems in the compost pile. Just when you thought you had them all chopped up, you'd actually helped them to multiply! Don't compost these weeds unless they are completely dead and dry (you may want to leave them in a sunny place for a couple of weeks before composting). Remember also that composting weeds that have gone to seed will create weeds in next year's garden, unless a very hot pile temperature can be maintained to kill the seeds.

PET WASTES
Dog and cat feces may carry diseases that can infect humans. It is best NEVER to use them in compost piles. Some people do bury them 8" deep in the soil, but ONLY in areas where food crops are never grown.



----------------NOW OF COURSE human waste can be done, ya just gotta do it correctly and I am one not wanting to do it correctly or incorrectly

 

[Beekissed]

PET WASTES
Dog and cat feces may carry diseases that can infect humans. It is best NEVER to use them in compost piles. Some people do bury them 8" deep in the soil, but ONLY in areas where food crops are never grown.

I'm sorry, but this one always makes me laugh. Nearly everyone I know has both cats and dogs living in their homes on a constant basis. Their fecal matter is literally ALL OVER these people's homes and this is never an issue, but put it on a compost pile to be absorbed and processed in the soils and the plants grown there may cause these same people disease?

When is the last time you saw a dog or cat wipe their butts after they poop? Cat's eventually get around to it but dogs rarely ever do. These pets walk straight out of your yard and sit their buttho!es right down on your carpet, couch, counter top or table without anyone giving it a second thought. The fecal matter may not be visible or of a large amount, but it is most definitely still present on the animal's anus, paws, fur, etc.

 

[Neko-chan]

...

 

[FarmerChick]

lol it is a wild thread in general

everyone tries to 'explain' why another finds it distasteful and has to put a label on why it doesn't agree with someone, yet I am wondering just who in the world truly would enjoy composting their own waste. There are SO many other options truly. But in the end, even human waste is usable to this world.