This could as out of subject but I think this could be an innovative way in fig fertilization…

Facts : Urine is high in nitrogen, while wood ash is rich in nutrients not found in urine, such as calcium and magnesium.

see article

I have always said that fig color/taste, leaf shape, etc. was dependent on many things (soil, weather fertilizer) including the breed of you neighbor's dog - but didn't realize that someone was running experiments to prove it.

Well, I have both ingredients. Now I just have to screw up my courage to try it, I guess.

I just about killed one of my favorite trees (hachiya persimmon) once by putting ashes from my fireplace under it--too big a change to soil PH, I expect. It's still recovering after five years of slow progress, and no real harvests since. Don't know whether adding that second "magic ingredient" would have helped, but for you adventurous sorts, I'd experiment first with your least important varieties! There's probably a reason dogs tend to cause a lot of dead spots on the lawn!

I heard  wood ashes are good under evergreens to lower the PH , fig plants like a neutral or slightly sweet soil.

The second magic ingredient is acidic, so would have help baance the ashes. Leaching wood ashes if the process of making lye, and when combined with animal fat, makes soap.

ha-ha-ha. Thanks for the sunday laughs. I have been to some awful restrooms smelling of urine. It is awful & I rather skip the magic ingredients.

Something is smelly about all this !

i save my coffee grounds for my blueberry patch. always looking to acidify the soil, though i can't tell any obvious difference yet from looking at plant growth.

regardless of whether it's effective or not, it's just too cheap to buy 10-10-10 to mess with pee and wood ash :). maybe if things get tougher and i lose my job :).

To spice up this post has anyone considered sewage sludge as a fertilizer?

Facts: sewage sludge is used in agriculture to the point that some of the food you by at your local supermarket is fertilized by it.

Some sewage treatment plants will offer and deliver free of charge truck loads of treated sewage sludge to use in the fertilization of your fields!

(I think that in this downturn economy if I was desperate I would rather go with the pee option instead of the sewage sludge…)

For more detail on the wonders of sewage sludge and gardening see http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/sewagesludge.htm

From watching too much TV ...

Imagine (God forbid) that one is lost in a desert (no water in sight) or on the
open-seas (water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink!)...
Mammals (including us people) tend to die sooner from thirst, rather than hunger.
The ultimate recycling  (survival) thing to do is to drink one's "own" p!
TV said that while "fresh", it should be 90+(something) pure water and
sterile (still clean). A few surviving days should be gained...

Another scenario... image, because of some major global mishap...
One can use his own p to fertilize(N), enough crop e.g., corn (one staple food)
to grow and feed a family of 4; again a survival thing...

On the other hand, I stopped buying any of those cheap so
called  "top-soil" 40lb bags that are nothing else but
a somewhat mixed-up sewage-sludge
(and not knowing of what other biological/metals/toxins are left-over within).

Sewer sludge is used for growing 2000# pumpkins - you can't afford to the a fig that big on a small tree.