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For some, peeing on the lawn is a natural way of relieving themselves – especially if a bathroom isn’t available.
Although urine can be considered an ‘organic’ fertiliser, there’s a catch. A recent article published in Popular Mechanics looks at how taking a tinkle outside can affect your garden.
As it turns out, urine contains nutrients that are beneficial to plants, some of which are the main ingredients in common mineral fertilisers.
“It has a fair amount of nitrogen, a little bit of phosphorus and potassium, which are all needed for a healthy lawn,” says Owen Duckworth, associate professor of biogeochemistry at North Carolina State University told the publication.
But don’t get carried away – yet. Urine also contains salt, which can remove moisture from plants.
“Urine is simply too concentrated for most plants to withstand when either applied to the leaves or even to the soil around especially younger plants,” says Ray Weil, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland.
The solution? If you really can’t make it to the bathroom, peeing in a watering can is an alternative.
“Let’s say for the sake of argument you peed in a watering can and used it to disperse it. I don’t think you would do any damage to your lawn,” Professor Duckworth added.
Additionally, adding water to the can before evenly sprinkling it on the lawn would be even better.
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