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So we know that cultivating a fertilised garden bed for experts is one rule of green thumb on whether or not a burgeoning Stack Exchange site will likely emerge from the husk of the beta period.

But what's the take on questions like this? (summarised)

Knowing how to pick a tree or plant to pee on that won't die

How does one tell which plants won't die from a diet of urine?

Yes, it is serious. But, yes, it does sound like a joke.

Do we want to be fielding such questions that come from a place of "heard it from a mate who heard it from another mate" type of query?

Or does the premise of such deem these questions off topic for the expert level?

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I wouldn't have said anything about urine, just 'high nitrogen in liquid form'. You'll know what it is for, you can even say it in the comments if someone asks.

If you want to evaluate the truth of a statement at face value, the folks at skeptics.SE are happy to validate insanity.

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I'm concerned that there aren't enough experts here. I see many good questions left unanswered or answered with well-meaning, but not expert answers. ("I don't have any experience with that, but here's what I'd try.") The site statistics so far seem to back me up: plenty of questions but not enough answers. (The number of questions, users and visitors will increase over time, so it's not yet a concern.)

One problem I see with that question (and also a similar question of mine) is that you don't really need to be an expert gardener or landscaper to provide a good answer. The answers to both questions so far are pretty much common-sensical. They aren't bad answers, but because the questions are really challenging, they wouldn't be very interesting to someone who knows their stuff about gardening. And I want to see more of those types of users here.

Good questions are the key to a good Q&A site from what I can tell.

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    It's only the second day... what did you expect? This is essentially a "programmers who garden" site. Most arborists or horticulturists I know do not hang around on internet forums giving free advice. I am not saying it is a good thing to have no experts - clearly that is bad. It would take a professional to answer the wide variety of questions here. (something not lacking in the SO/SF set of Q&A - as we all sit in front of them all day for work anyway.)
    – Tim
    Jun 11, 2011 at 1:12
  • @Tim "This is essentially a "programmers who garden" site." Hmmmm ... really?
    – Shanna
    Jun 23, 2011 at 20:13
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    @Shanna - go look at the user profiles. I think you will see a large majority of people are also on SO or ServerFault. Hopefully it changes to include more professional gardeners/landscapers, but really I think this is going to remain a hobbyist forum. The wild success of SO and SF is from PROFESSIONALS who do the kind of work for money. Imagine if you will professional farmers who have hobbies programming who have a Q&A site for programming - it would not be too good...
    – Tim
    Jun 23, 2011 at 20:28
  • I just clicked on three profiles on the top user page for the main site. Guess what - ALL THREE are software developers. Go try it.
    – Tim
    Jun 23, 2011 at 20:30
  • @Shanna: I think what Tim meant is that all StackExchange sites start off as "programmers who X" sites because of the huge source of users who found the network via StackOverflow. That certainly will change as other people learn about the individual sites and we get more variation in users. (Thanks for you help with my chives and orchid, by the way!)
    – Jon 'links in bio' Ericson
    Jun 23, 2011 at 20:31
  • @Tim: By the way, looking at the stats, we seem to be getting a good percentage of questioned answered, but not enough answers per question. I think that improves as the site ages and I think the questions on the main page should attract experts like bright flowers attract bees. It seems the quality of answers is improving bit by bit too.
    – Jon 'links in bio' Ericson
    Jun 23, 2011 at 20:43
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As I said in a comment to the question, such questions are fine, if phrased seriously. Your summary above doesn't really reflect the contents of the first version. It actually read more like

Knowing how to pick a tree or plant to pee on that won't die
I like taking a nightly piss in my garden, how can I tell which plant will like my piss.

Now it wasn't closed because of prudishness or anything. It was simply because it is not a question for a serious gardening Q&A site (if we want this one to be). Don't take it personally though. Since the site is only 3 days old, we're still trying to agree on guidelines and testing boundaries.

Your recent edits have improved it a lot and I'll definitely vote to reopen if you can improve it a little more.

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I personally think this is off-topic. I don't think it'll lead to knowledgable or useful answers.

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As I mentioned in my answer over there, urine is too concentrated for plants. So you'll need to dilute it.

Whether you're serious or not, I can't tell, and I do know someone (we used to play D&D at the same store and hang out at the same online forum) who had to register as a sex-offender for the 3 years he was on probation because he got busted doing it while drunk in his own backyard. His neighbors didn't like him so they called the cops on him, and now that he doesn't appear online when you search for kiddie rapers, he's moved to another state where he can start all over again.

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  • It was serious, and the angle was to figure out how one goes about deducing which plants don't need for it to be diluted. But the execution leaves a lot to be desired apparently
    – Eight Days of Malaise
    Jun 11, 2011 at 20:58

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