To pee or not to pee on your lemon tree. That is the question. While many experts say urine is great for your citrus, others are irked by the idea.
Is it okay to pee on a lemon tree?
In a past episode of the Better Garden podcast (the podcast isn’t in production anymore, but worth a listen), horticulturalist Adam Woodhams and BHG garden editor Jenny Dillon get to the bottom of this common question once and for all.
Diving straight in, Jenny says: “Peeing in your garden is good, but don’t do it on your grass.”
How urine effects your lemon tree
Urine is very high in nutrients, but it’s too concentrated for your plants.
“It [urine] contains the sort of nutrients that plants like,” explains Adam.
“The NPK – Nitrogen (n), Phosphorus (p), Potassium (k) you see on your typical fertiliser is what you’ll find in the urine – human or dog but it’s very concentrated.”
How to use urine on your lemon tree
“Peeing on a lemon tree is not a very good idea, but peeing in the soil around the lemon tree is good, and then watering it in,” says Jenny.
So, while it’s okay to pee in your garden and you may want to do it on your lemon tree, it’s important to water the area afterwards to help support your plants.
Another reason you want to water the urine in your plants’ soil is to stop it from smelling.
“When the bacteria goes to work on those nutrients it gets smelly,” says Adam.
“So I think the key is yes, it does work because it’s effectively a very good liquid fertiliser.”
“But if you are going to go out and pee on a lemon tree, I would suggest not doing it on a potted plant.”
You might also like:
How to fix yellow leaves on a lemon tree
Pruning lemon trees: When and how to prune your lemon tree
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