China Doll September 29, 2009

"China Doll" Radermachera sinica is known as a delicate houseplant. I have had this one in the Toluca lake garden for several years. Jan planted it about three years ago as a smallbush. I was amazed how well it is taking to pruning. Take a look.

Unlikely Applications

Two days before Christmas in 1944, American soldier John DiBattista a member of George Patton’s Third Army, 4^th armored division was manning a 50-caliber machine gun working to make a break through the frozen countryside of Normandy . Never knowing when to engage, the heavy cover was never on the gun. This made the weapon readily available for attack, but unbeknownst to DiBattista, the hard winter nights would render the gun useless. As German soldiers fired on DiBattista the gun was frozen so solidly that the bolt didn’t go back far enough to pick up another round. Against all odds DiBattista urinated on his weapon and fired on the enemy successfully.

He urinated on his machine gun.

When I read this account, I felt better about urinating outside the lavatory. When you spend lots of time in the garden and you have to go…why not. And after all, it probably saved Sergeant DiBattista’s life. I think our social indoctrinations make this taboo for many of us. There is also a point of view that it’s better to urinate outside and save the water involved in the flush. But how about the garden? Can a little pee here and there make for better blooms? I can say that the idea of making a perfect tomato sauce from my Carmel Valley Garden tomatoes, which have been fertilized with my personal brand of liquid fertilzer, bothers me. But then when the circus passes through town I am the first one at the elephant tent, filling a couple of burlap bags. So should I get over it and pee away?

Here are some intetesting urine facts from Emma Cooper,

“Every day, gardeners across the world flush away a valuable and sustainable source of fertilizer for their plants -- urine. Urine is a good source of nitrogen and other minerals and, providing it is used correctly, is completely safe. Using urine as a fertilizer saves money, fossil fuels (used extensively in the production of chemical fertilizers) and water (no need to flush!). It also cuts down on river pollution -- urine is a major source of nitrogen that contributes to river eutrophication if expensive denitrification is not used at the water treatment plant. And it's not a backwards step, it's space age technology -- NASA has used urine in hydroponics systems!

1. Keep it separate. The golden rule with urine use is to keep it separate from other bodily wastes. Urine is clean and needs to be kept that way. Pee in a bottle, or invest in a urine-separating toilet.

2. Use it fresh. We all know that stale urine smells. That's ammonia, and it's made from nitrogen. The smellier your collected urine, the less nutritious it will be for your plants, as well as being unpleasant to apply.

3. Always dilute. Urine is too strong to be used neat on plants. Dilute at least 5:1, and it can be diluted up to 10:1 for use on tender plants and seedlings.urine fertilizer

4. Water at the roots. It's good practice when watering not too splash the leaves, but to water at the roots. This saves on evaporation, and dry leaves are much more resistant to disease.

5. Spread it around. Urine can be salty, and using too much of it in one place can harm plants. Use it throughout your garden so no one area suffers from an overdose, and don't use it every time you water a plant.

6. Feed hungry plants. The plants that will benefit most from urine fertilizer are the ones with the highest nitrogen requirements. Try it on leafy vegetables like cabbages and cauliflowers, corn, or anything that needs a quick pick-me-up.

7. Other uses. Neat urine is too strong to be used directly on plants, but it can be used as a weedkiller; a few applications, especially if used on hot days, should finish off your weeds. It can also be used neat as a winter spray for fruit trees, to discourage fungal diseases.

8. Activate! A final use for urine in the garden is as a compost activator. The nitrogen in urine will speed up the composting process and kick start a slumbering heap.

Emma’s notes are beneficial. A couple of personal notes…

I tried the pee as weed killer on some unwanted growth on my front patio in Toluca Lake. It didn’t work and I think it’s why my neighbor Fernando’s wife blushes when we see each other on the street. I also cringed at the part that says that urine is beneficial as a winter spray for the fruit trees. I don’t know why but I get creeped out at the idea of urine overspray on a blustery fall day in the Valley. Emma’s notes did clear up something that I don’t know why I didn’t think of earlier. I had always just thought that all urine applications in the garden should be applied with my own applicator. This obviously is not the case and not practical (and in many cases not physically possible) so of course the dedicated hudson sprayer is the best solution and easily provides for proper dilution as Emma recommends.

My take on the whole situation? I am happy Sergeant DiBattista saved himself by peeing on his gun, I appreciate Emma’s comprehensive research, but for me, I will continue to pee in the garden but for the moment limit my deposits to the compost pile.