Adding urine to your compost can add some Nitrogen. Whether that will be enough to stimulate the bacteria that will digest the Carbon depends on how much is added. Keep in mind that too much is like too muich water and that will displace the air those bacteria also need to work.

Along with nitrogen, urine contains significant amounts of salt. There's nothing wrong with adding urine to compost occasionally, but I wouldn't make it a regular thing. If you can't add green plants to your compost, just add a nitrogen fertilizer and be done with it.

If nitrogen really isn't your problem, your pile may be too small to heat up.

Keep in mind that as soon as you add the daily contribution, it starts to decompose. Depending on the rates of addition and decomposition vs. the size of the pile, it may not reach a 'critical mass' of nitrogen that makes the pile heat significantly. BUT that doesn't mean it's not breaking down. If your pile is heavy on browns, it's definitely going to speed things up to add nitrogen.

The salt content of urine is well known, but it's harder to estimate how much you can add to a given amount of organic matter before the resulting compost reaches a potentially detrimental level of salts. Lots of variables there and no simple answer.

Urine does contain 'salts,' but it also contains 'salt' - sodium chloride. Based on the link provided above, sodium chloride is the second most common compound in urine after nitrogen. Given that nitrogen gets used up, but sodium chloride stays around, I would be concerned about build-up over time.

Note: there's something about urine that makes gardens a little loopy. There's a guy on YouTube talking about what a great source of phosphorus human urine is. Phosphorus is actually low on the list in urine, and by the time you get your phosphorus soil level high enough with urine, the nitrogen level would be much too high.

All true. Regarding P (phosphorus, that is, not pee :-) , there are a host of good reasons to put it back on the soil instead of sending it down the sewer, even if it's not a major component. Poo probably has a lot more, but that's a whole different ballgame, logistically.

What jonfrum said about sodium build-up is true to a certain degree because the sodium never stays around forever, or even for any noticeable length of time, as long as there are sufficient rain to wash and leach them below subsoil. So urine is safe. But the N to P thing is true. Just dont rely on urine for P.

Indeed, the only thing we can rely on is that we must P. :-D

A good way to add nitrogen is in the form of used coffee grounds. You can usually get them free from your local coffee shop or starbucks.

Mix in approximately 10-20% coffee grounds by weight in your compost pile and watch those temperatures go to 160F.

I just started a new pile 3 days ago with coffee grounds mixed in... it heated to 155 in just about 24 hours... I checked it today before going to work, and it was at 170... I didn't have time to turn it 170 is a bit too hot. I'll probably get to it tomorrow.. :P

usually the companies here give away their coffee grounds to other people or actually sell them -.-" i mean we don't have many coffee shops to begin with and the very few often run dry on used grounds as im not the only gardener in the state and we live in a small state since it's Hawaii. i often use my own grounds but i am talking about an outside pile i mean 1 cup of coffee does not yield a lot of grounds in general and the pile outside will need over 50 cups that is for sure more likely more due to some of the grounds washing away into the soil.

but i have been using my urine to compost this pile 3 months into it been using it about 2 times a week moving into 3. and it's been doing great. the middle is all composted it's rich black and doesn't smell like piss. should be able to get a good yield within a year. would be less but people keep adding browns to it making it hard to harvest in time. it usually rains a lot and my pile can get rained on. im looking only to use the urine until it's composted a decent amount to the fact i can water it down and retain the moisture i'll use diluted urine

The main question for me is "how much urine are we talking about"? If you are only adding your own urine it's not enough to be a problem and maybe not enough to even cause your compost to heat much. If your entire family of 10 kids are all adding theirs it might make a difference.

Let's not quibble about a quart or two of urine added daily. Most of the liquid will evaporate so it won't make it too wet. It's a valuable addition to compost and IMO there's no concern with minerals unless one is adding gallons daily.

Celbrise, if your pile is rich and black already, it doesn't seem like you'd have to wait a year to get compost. I would think that in a warm climate like yours, you should be able to get several batches a year if all the conditions are right.

I wouldnt worry about the salt content as I haul and till into my garden tons of soaking fresh horse manure and chips.Horses urinate gallons a day and the manure is soaking wet and my garden does great. and yes I till it in right away.

Celbrise...

If you notice, posters are having a hard time helping you because you did not give your zone and location in your profile (Hawaii zone ?) You should add that to your profile page.

I have only been to three of the Hawaiian Islands...however they were all very GREEN (foliage) It seemed that landscapers were constantly mowing and hacking back the flora. Get your hands on some of this...much better than trying to balance your pile(s) with urine. If you are on the Big Island (where coffee is ONE of the Kings) you could collect the byproducts of coffee production and roasting. They would be very green (as are UCG's)

I would think that given your climate and access to materials you will be able to turn out a finished compost every three months.