it's been said that you can drink your own urine, but yet if I pee on a potted plant for a week it dies. I'm calling bullshit on this theory.
Funny one.
Several things pop into my mind. First, urine is sterile so if you drink it, it isn't a health hazard. Second, many decades ago we didn't have all the medical tests for disease as we have today. Back in the day Drs use to taste urine as a way of testing for diabetes as one of the symptoms of diabetes in that glucose gets shunted off to the kidneys and then the bladder. So, the doctor would taste the urine to see how sweet it taste. If it is sweet then you might have diabetes.
Urine also contains sodium and urea. Urea is a nitrogen fertilizer or so it was commonly used before the Murray bombing. Urea is about 45% nitrogen. So, if you put 200 pounds of nitrogen on an acre of corn it helps it grow lots of corn. If you put 2000 pounds of nitrogen on an acre of corn you better have a lot of water or you will burn the corn up, especially the young corn plants.
So, if you put an ounce of urine on a potted plant, it will do fine and the urea in the urine will provide a much needed nutrient in nitrogen. However, if you pour a gallon on a small potted plant you might over dose it with nitrogen. Also, urine will contain sodium and to much sodium on soil will kill vegetation as well.
So, the theory of being able to drink urine without any harmful effects is valid. Just remember you can overdose on water as well. So, if you are out in the boonies and get thirsty then drinking your urine is a good thing. However, if you are sitting in the comfort of your home with the thermostat at 69 degree Fahrenheit and drink a few gallons of urine that might not be such a good thing.
We have a schnauzer with diabetes. We diagnosed his diabetes quickly as he started peeing on the floor. When we cleaned it up we noticed the urine was very sticky and I immediately suggested diabetes. The Vet concurred. He also told us that back in the old days before blood and urine glucose tests Vets used to drink dog urine as a test for diabetes.
Now, I am sure this is more than you wanted to know, but trust me as I know some about urea, sodium, nitrogen, plants and animals.