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Peeing on Trees an Eco-Sin?
The big “they” is back again, ready to ruin yet another golden memory from childhood. Turns out peeing out in the backyard is BAD, BAD, BAD.
The key to summertime potty training, especially for little boys everywhere, is apparently not very good for the environment.
The Garden Rant took issue with a recent Treehugger article giving a thumbs up to letting loose behind the bushes. Says our outdoor orater, the pee needs to be diluted or it will kill the plants.
OK, confession time. I was jazzed to read this one. See, there’s an evil tree in my backyard whose thorny offshoots are the bane of my push-mowing husband’s ankles and crop up EVERYWHERE. And so when my daughter’s little friends are over for a playdate and tell me “gotta go potty,” I send them straight to the tree.
What? It’s time honored tradition to run nekkid as a jaybird in the backyard. And boys have the particular skill of actually aiming at the roots of that sucker. I am, however, and equal opportunity tree killer – my daughter’s been allowed to squat at the base, especially in the early days of potty training when we let her run bare butt around the backyard to get the feeling of being diaper-free.
The good news is DILUTED urine is actually good for plants. So if your child is dropping trow by the back porch once in awhile, you can throw a bucket of water on it, and everything will be OK (better yet, tell them they can only pee outside when a storm’s brewing!).
Of course you can always go with the “composting toilet” like the people below, but if you use the word “humanure,” we’re NOT coming to your house. Sorry:
Does this news mean your kids’ naked days are over?
Image: Sophistchate on Flickr
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4 Comments
Ali commented on Jun 26 09 at 2:44 pmNightsoil. The source of many cases of travelers diarrhea. Using human waste on crops. Done all over the world. I encourage my dog to pee on my compost heap. Speeds things up.
Pat commented on Jul 17 09 at 10:37 pmI just pee on my compost pile.
Dee commented on Aug 08 09 at 12:33 pmI recently learned about the benefits of adding urine to the compost pile, so I pee on mine, too. It’s fun, and can be a good way to practice your Kegels. The next time we’re out camping, the guys will be furious when I set the record for distance.
Final note: Check out this website to find out how a project to fight hunger is using urine-activated compost.
MH commented on Aug 11 09 at 9:28 amYou know, I can’t believe that those people from the magazine have that much time on their hands to go do testing on how kid’s pee kills plants… My kids always run around naked and pee in the back yard and I’ve never seen any of my weeds die off yet! I think if this finding had any validity to it, we wouldn’t have to mow the grass anymore!
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