# Drawbacks to urinating on one's garden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493 "2006-08-05T21:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/1 "2006-08-05T21:39:22Z")
people generally put manure on their garden to add nitrogen to the soil… in many parts of the world, adding human waste has been done for thousands of years – but has the unfortunate potential to spread disease & bacteria. anyway, it seems that frequent urination on one’s plot would add nitrogen just as well (would there even be any nitrogen in purely solid waste?), and in a form that is free from bacteria and disease. after all, doesnt all the nitrogen waste from the human body come in a liquid form? the solid waste – disease aside – doesnt really seem that useful. wouldnt it just be hard to digest cellulose/roughage sort of stuff that would be of negligible value (nutrient-wise) to a garden? so why have i never heard of pissing on ones garden? it seems to have all the benefits of “night soil” with none of the drawbacks. Please advise before i submit my recommendations to home and garden. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/2 "2006-08-05T21:59:25Z")
I think you don’t want to pee on your garden for the same reason you don’t want dogs peeing in the yard, namely, that the high nitrogen content of the urine can burn your plants. Maybe if you pee in your compost pile, however… ---
**Author:** ![Tabula\_Rasa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@Tabula\_Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabula_Rasa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/3 "2006-08-05T22:07:58Z")
From the episode of The Young Ones entitled “Interesting”: Mr. Balowski: There’s no chance of using your toilet, is there? Mike: No. Mr. Balowski: I thought not, that’s why I pissed in your garden. Tabby ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/4 "2006-08-05T22:13:48Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] I think you don’t want to pee on your garden for the same reason you don’t want dogs peeing in the yard, namely, that the high nitrogen content of the urine can burn your plants. Maybe if you pee in your compost pile, however… [/QUOTE] But you can safely pee onto your compost heap. It will do it the world of good. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/5 "2006-08-05T22:30:57Z")
You never put manure on a plant you don’t want killed. It needs to be decomposed first. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/6 "2006-08-05T22:45:56Z")
Now, I could be wrong, but from what I remember from my Master Gardener classes, peeing on your compost pile **would** do the pile a world of good, because the nitrogen will help the pile heat up and break down into compost faster. But peeing in your compost will not make the compost higher in nitrogen. It all has to do with the nitrogen cycle and the process of nitrogen fixation, which I’ve read about until my eyes glaze over, and I still don’t really get it. But I think that’s why most soil tests don’t test for nitrogen, but rather for cation exchange capacity, which has something to do with nitrogen fixation in the soil. A virtual libation to any Doper who can explain this in layperson’s terms so that we can all understand the role of nitrogen in “burning” plants, and therefore, where we should or should not pee in the garden. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/7 "2006-08-05T22:46:04Z")
I suppose it depends on the size of your garden; if you’re talking about a pocket-handkerchief lawn and a small row of petunias, there isn’t a lot of scope for non-detrimental sustainable dispersal of your urine. If, on the other hand, you’re talking about a couple of acres of mature woodland, then no harm is going to come of you picking a different tree to pee behind every day. Although a garden like that doesn’t particularly _need_ your nitrates either. Better, as many have said, to pee on your compost heap; the nitrates in your urine are fantastic for getting really hot bacterial action(microbial porn movie title) going, especially if the material you’re adding is ‘hungry’ - such as chipped prunings, sawdust, autumn leaves or even shredded paper. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/8 "2006-08-05T22:48:53Z")
A little jem. My uncle spread a load of manure in the spring on a neighbor’s garden every year. The garden didn’t get used for another month so it didn’t kill everything. The year I was with him and he’s spreading, I hear “Oh well, he gets a bonus.” He’d forgotten about the still born calf that he’d thrown in the spreader. The guy had to love that when it came time to plow and till. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/9 "2006-08-05T23:47:01Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] A little jem. My uncle spread a load of manure in the spring on a neighbor’s garden every year. The garden didn’t get used for another month so it didn’t kill everything. The year I was with him and he’s spreading, I hear “Oh well, he gets a bonus.” He’d forgotten about the still born calf that he’d thrown in the spreader. The guy had to love that when it came time to plow and till. [/QUOTE] Does one regularly throw dead animals in a spreader? ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/10 "2006-08-06T00:16:28Z")
[QUOTE=boytyperanma] Does one regularly throw dead animals in a spreader? [/QUOTE] I’m not sure about **Harmonious** ’s uncle, but composting is a way to deal with dead animals on a farm, so a dead calf could have ended up in the spreader, if not actually placed there. Google “composting animal mortality” and you’ll find lots of info. What a weird phrase, though! I learned it because I work for an ag school. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/11 "2006-08-06T00:20:09Z")
One disadvantage to peeing in your garden might show itself if your neighbor across the street is easily shocked… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/12 "2006-08-06T00:28:08Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] One disadvantage to peeing in your garden might show itself if your neighbor across the street is easily shocked… [/QUOTE] Well, for me, the main drawback is simply that my tackle is so gigantic that in order to pee in the garden, I have to stand across the street, so his outrage would probably be justified. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/13 "2006-08-06T00:43:59Z")
There’s a website for everything, isn’t there: [Liquid Gold](http://www.liquidgold.com/). You’re supposed to dilute it 10 or 20 to 1 with water so it doesn’t burn the plants. I’ve been using it on the cactus on the windowsill and the tomatoes in the front yard–I planted poppies in honor of Dorothy Gale and the DEA, and they came up tomatoes 😕 --and neither are dead yet. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/14 "2006-08-06T00:47:31Z")
Damn, wrong website. [Liquid Gold](http://www.liquidgoldbook.com/). Oh, and coffeekitten says I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/15 "2006-08-06T00:47:47Z")
[QUOTE=boytyperanma] Does one regularly throw dead animals in a spreader? [/QUOTE] No. The calve died and he threw it in there to get it out of the barn. He turned on the automatic cleaner and it got covered. It was 30 years ago, and he normaly put them into a long trench. The animal gets put in and a front end loader is used to drop earth over it. You just continue the line until filled. It’s not like you burry them in a coffin or have them cremated. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/16 "2006-08-06T00:55:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Well, for me, the main drawback is simply that my tackle is so gigantic that in order to pee in the garden, I have to stand across the street, so his outrage would probably be justified. [/QUOTE] One advantage of that is you can plant potatoes without using a potato spud. For the none gardener this should answer your questions. A potato spud is a pointed stick used to make a hole to drop a seed potato into. A seed potato is not a seed, but a potato chunk with an eye on it. A potato eye is a sprout on a potato. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/17 "2006-08-06T01:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=coffeecat] Damn, wrong website. [Liquid Gold](http://www.liquidgoldbook.com/). Oh, and coffeekitten says I’m weird. [/QUOTE] I loved the “Pee on Earth Day” link! coffeekitten may be reacting to the same thing I am. All this peeing on the garden is well and good, but only if you’re male. If you’re female, shocking the neighbors AND scalding the plants is highly likely. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/18 "2006-08-06T01:16:16Z")
What a coincidence! I was just at Home Depot, discussing peeing on one’s garden in order to repel deer (it helps if you’re a fox). The lady I was talking with looked like she didn’t believe a word I was saying. I think she suspected she was on Candid Camera ---
**Author:** ![misterW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@misterW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misterW)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/19 "2006-08-06T01:49:38Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] I think you don’t want to pee on your garden for the same reason you don’t want dogs peeing in the yard, namely, that the high nitrogen content of the urine can burn your plants. Maybe if you pee in your compost pile, however… [/QUOTE] right. i’m with you. it was a bit of a sloppy post. i guess i was going for dramatic effect. i was thinking more along the lines of fertilizing the soil during the non-growing months rather than sprinkling the tomatos just prior to preparing a salad. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493/20 "2006-08-06T01:53:47Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] All this peeing on the garden is well and good, but only if you’re male. If you’re female, shocking the neighbors AND scalding the plants is highly likely. [/QUOTE] I pee into a measuring cup in the privacy of my own bathroom and mix it with the proper amount of water in the watering can. I’m not _that_ weird. 🙂 **Mangetout** should probably put the measuring cup in his bathroom and stand and aim from the far end of the parlor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drawbacks-to-urinating-on-ones-garden/367493.md?page=2)