i know that menstrual blood attracts ants like nothing i've even seen so you might wanna keep that in mind if spreading it on stuff inside or near your people places.

a woman i know wears those cotton moon pads...then when it is full, she lets it soak in a bucket of water and then pours the menstrual-water on the plants

I don't know the nutritive difference between human menstrual and slaughterhouse (cow, pig, chicken, etc) blood but blood meal is used by some as a high nitrogen fertilizer.

I would guess that menstrual blood would have the same / very similar properties as blood meal.

The main benefit I have found in my research is nitrogen, and potential boosting of compost piles. (see www.ext.vt.edu/department...n89pr6.html by the Virginia Tech Coop Extension for more detail)

A BIG CONCERN I would have in using any blood-based products is the possibility of contamination of plants (particularly any that you would expect to use as food and/or decoration) with any potential blood-borne agents.

As noted on www.organicconsumers.org/madco...04.cfm there are (and likely will continue to be) concerns with BSE and other blood/tissue contaminants.

Do keep in mind that blood contaminants are not simply diseases like BSE, etc. -- there are other components of one's blood that can make you or others ill if handled improperly and/or ingested -- largely due to what may grow/culture in the blood. Not to mention any unwelcome pests that may be drawn to "raw" blood in your garden.

Note: blood meal is dried largely for better/easier packaging and transport but also because a lot of risks are eliminated with the water. Most "bad things" need moisture to grow.

So, I would suggest closely considering what you would be fertilizing with your menses, as I'm guessing you're not going to be drying them out in your oven before applying them to your plants. Perhaps a separate compost pile that you use for non-food / not-in-the-house plants would be a good choice, as I'm guessing that composting the blood (much as you would with manure) may decrease or eliminate the blood-specific risks.

For example, I recall reading in Sage Woman [ www.sagewoman.com ] some time ago about a woman's ritual garden: she composted her menses and used them to fertilize the herbs etc she later used in ritual. I thought that was a =very= powerful application!

To sum up: if you're going to apply a blood product to any plants you expect to eat/handle often, dry out or compost the blood first to reduce/eliminate the health risks.

Please keep us posted on what you choose to do! -LA

I've been doing it for a long time. I don't know what nutrients it provides but it seems to me too good of a thing to waste. I appreciate the spiritual aspect of gifting my blood back to the earth. I feel that's where it belongs. I've been watering a passionflower with the soak water from my cotton pads and it's doing beautifully. Came back from near dead. For those who think it's horrible. Is it horrible when you have to soak dirty clothes to get out stains? I doubt anyone is letting a bucket of blood (who bleeds that much anyway?!!) sit around. If you use cloth pads then you pretty much have to soak them to get them clean. If you don't use cloth then what do you use? Keep that dioxin bleached rayon fiber stuff away from tender special places! That is more likely a greater health hazard than feeding plants your body fluids! (I love the image of some man masturbating onto his soil to improve fertility - makes me laugh just thinking of it!)

Have to admit I really enjoyed shitting in a bucket at an alternative building conference recently to add to their humanure system (there's a great book on the subject that documents health hazards and environmental benefits of that - The Humanure Handbook). Also have a friend who uses the bucket system for he and his wife - they are very particular about who uses it - if you've been traveling you have to use the commode!
I've been to many a non-industrial country and seem the results of poor sanitation. There's a big difference between shitting in your food and water sources and using human waste (menstrual blood and other) as nutrient sources. When properly handled I've not seen anything bad come of it yet. The key is giving it enough time to compost before you do anything with it.

I think it's interesting that there were many more stong opnions voiced on this subject than urinating in/on your compost. Funny how this is so much more tabu for some people.
just a random observation.
JG

Don't use your human waste (blood, urine, excrement) in your compost.

Hormones in Human Waste may be leading factor in reproductive eggs found in the sex organs of male bass:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6253193/

tribes.tribe.net/moongodsmedicine

I would be concerned about E Coli,

"Infection with E. coli often leads to bloody diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure. People can become infected with E.coli O157:H7 in a variety of ways. Though most illness has been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef, people have also become ill from eating contaminated bean sprouts or fresh leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach. Person-to-person contact in families and child care centers is also a known mode of transmission. In addition, infection can occur after drinking raw milk and after swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water."

I've been using menses water on my houseplants and in my compost pile for some time now.
Currently, I'm growing tomato seedlings and want to use this as part of their fertilizer. I would imagine seedlings are much more sensitive to concentration than houseplants are, though, and I'm not sure how much to use.

Looks like no one else is, either, just that the concentrations that come out of soaking a single pad in a bucketful of water seem to be OK for established plants.

Hm. Well, the liquid seaweed I'm using recommends diluting at 1 Tbs per 1 gallon water. So maybe I'll use that as a guideline and estimate about 1/2 Tbs per gallon (I use a menstrual cup and so have a little bit of undiluted stuff).

Hello Jandari,
I recommend reading Susun Weed's book Healing Wise. She writes of the old ways and the blood mysteries. All of this talk about blood and it being unhygenic is ingrained in many of our psyches because of thousands of years of oppression of women.
In the old days, mentrual blood was used to fertilize the crops, and used in sacred ritual.
I am now post menopausal.
When I did bleed, I would soak my pads in a glass gallon jar and then water my plants with this water.
They were all very happy.
Moontime blessing, Julie

"can you use menstrual blood as fertilizer? how is it applied (directly or diluted?) and how often should it be given to plants? i've read that plants love it, but is there any sort of evidence backing this up? ' -Jandari

I suggest you do an experiment to find out what the limits are for menstral nurishment of plants ....

Take a fully loaded pad, and then sprinkle grass seds on it. Keep it damp and see if it starts growing grass "hair" ... you know, like the Chia pet ... z.about.com/d/inventors/...9/ramchia.jpg

If that works, then you could test a new idea of embedding grasss seeds in a fresh, new pad, and then wearing it. If you eventually feel new grass sprouts tickling you, then you know it is a success! ... and you can patent that invention as the Chia Pad. Certain to be a big seller!

Be sure to take pics to document your experiment. and feel free to post them here.

hehe

Here's a personal story and some scientific data on the use of urine as a plant fertilizer. Several pictures are also there to document the results.

www.solviva.com/seeking_the_path.htm

It is a free chapter of the book "Solviva." Several other free chapters are also accessible from that website.

I just joined this tribe and must say this a wonderful conversation.
For the last 5 years I have been using sea sponge for my blood. And it is fantastic. I use my own blood in ritual ( letting go, cleansing) but honestly never got around using it in the garden.
I have a friend who urinates on his roses and they are the best roses around :-)
This spring I will start to use the blood in the herb garden. Thanks for the reminder.

Well, here we are another 2 years later, and as one poster said, it IS like a living book!

I have used urine on my garden, and my plants are the BIGGEST I have ever had! I did a lot of research before doing this, to discover that urine is sterile when it comes out - just be sure to use it fairly soon, as it will go back quickly (the ammonia smell will get you usually by the end of the day!)

As for Menstrual blood, I have used it on house plants for some years (I own a Diva cup, very similar to the keeper mentioned, and love it...I also soak cloth pads in water. I tuck them into a kool-aid pitcher that I set aside specifically for this purpose (I painted it with some moon and stars and keep it in the closet in the bathroom) with some water and let them soak. I use the blood the next day. If you let it wait too long, it also goes bad and I wouldn't even recommend it on house plants at that point. I am not sure about using this blood in my vegie garden, as I have not done enough research to discover how sterile it is or what chances of blood-borne illness could be caused from it.

I agree that there is a combination of science fears coupled with fears of women's power out there. It's nice to see the people who have responded to this thread have not just come to say "Eww, that's repulsive, so go get a life you wierdo", but instead are being very thoughtful about their responses. This has been a great thread to read! I personally feel that women's creative energy is contained within their menstrual blood, and therefore I like the idea of giving it back to the earth.

I have also read about the issues of sewage problems, drinking water issues, etc. I believe that in areas where this is the biggest problem, it is due to the feces and not the urine. I know of some folks who compost their feces to make humanure, and I suspect it is a great fertilizer for the earth. It seems to me that as a race, we humans have somewhat lost our connection to the earth. We have been mistreating her for so long, and I know many of us are well-intentioned and want to start to reverse that damage and treat her better.

We can make small changes at a time, which I believe will ultimately add up. So, fertilize the items you feel safe to work with, and as you do so, pour your intentions into the act. Make it a deliberate offering to Mother Earth, and send your love with it into the earth. Let her know we're all doing our best, one change at a time :)

Blessings from Maine :)

It has been some time since this conversation started and I am wondering how people's experiments have turned out. I have been using my menstrual pad soaking water as fertilizer for a palm tree and an ornamental fig tree, both houseplants, and they have been doing really well. I am interested in using it as a fertilizer for hydroponic growing of lettuce, kale and beans. Any suggestions?

I have used menstrual blood to water my house plants, and what is left over of the soulution goes out onto the lawn. It has not attracted any ants, freaky bugs or wild animals. I do have some really healthy plants and a great lawn though :-) My flower garden is flourising. BTW not even my cat seems to notice the smell. I haven't done a side by side comparaison though. Good idea LoL

I don't want to sound like I'm accusing anybody of anything. My 2 main concerns would be (a) pathogens and (b) any type of disease. If I were gettilng blood from a person well enough to know they are disease free, fine. If I met the person a few days ago neither that person and I know each other that well. In other words that person doesn't know me well enough to be assured that I'm disease free.

This is a great thread. I was actually looking up if Menstrual Blood was ever used for tests and if not why...and I tripped across this topic. What got me searching in the first place is my introduction to the wonderful invention of the "Diva Cup" www.divacup.com/ . I found it a wonderful alternative to tampons (though pads are still required) and you can not only see how much blood that passes through ones system but it actually tells you on the side of the cup. So after a few months (very easy to use and cuts costs too) my curiousity was peaked about the menses on many levels. I like the positive idea of giving it back to the earth instead of disposing it in the toilet. This way it transforms from "waste" into "fertilzation" of one form or another. I am only promoting the diva cup because I am happy with it. I had alot of issues with cramping etc...and this alternative is a much better choice for myself. The other benifit of the divia cup is if you were to mix it with a water soultion etc...there is no trying to retrieve it from pads or tampons...its all contained. Glad I tripped across this thread...going to give back to mother earth. :) Thanks for the inspiration.

Using menstrual blood as fertilizer is a very ancient practice we have forgotten... Although some of us are intuitive enough to ask the question :) it provides nitrogen and corrects iron deficiency in plants. The blood is decomposed by microorganisms before being taken in by the plant so i would not worry about what some people have replied about blood viruses etc. Using it in this way makes us known to the plants. There is an other very ancient practice which uses body fluids such as saliva in the sprouting of the seeds. This gives the seed knowledge about the condition of our bodies and the plant will produce fruit that will balance any inbalances in our body. This process is described in a book called Anastasia RInging Cedars. I assume using our blood on more mature plants will do the same. Blood may be too strong on seedlings and their tiny roots because of the ammonia produced in the composting process of blood. As for people worrying so much about body fluids going into the water table and ending up in their well because we use it on our plants, i'd say: they shoud worry more about the dogs peeing tons all over the place and not a few drops of blood that barely get to where we need them to go.

in my opinion, the most important factor in using it as fertilizer is providing the plants, especially food plants with our energetic signature. It is also a nice practice to give back to Mother Earth and honouring the Divine feminine.