Garden above old septic leech field? - Page 2

o---o · #11 04-16-2015, 11:14 AM

Thanks guys, I'll be getting the plow set up soon and start turnin dirt

Shotgun Wedding · #12 04-16-2015, 11:18 AM

I will give my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Residential septic systems "usually" are pretty benign with respect to real chemical contaminants. Unless a family is running a business on the property, dumping a bit of stuff down the drain in sinks that they are not supposed to, there really isn't any concern. People don't normally send solvents, heavy metals, highly contaminating organics such as pesticides, PCB's, used motor oils etc down their septic drains. Not too many people are running a cyanide leach experiment in their basements. So chemically, all should be well.

Biologically? You guys do realize that the ground is inundated with numerous bacterial and fungal species, most of them are completely benign, some (very few) can be considered pathogenic. There are also parasites naturally occurring in the soils. This is natural and people have dealt with them for millennia. Septic systems in its active/raw form will also have as an addition to these normal flora many active "human gut bacteria" present in the solids in the tank and the water going to the weeping bed. These include good 'ol E. Coli among a few dozen others that are considered pathogenic plus a bunch of others that are non pathogenic that are just present chowing down on the food that is your waste products.

Chemically again, the leaching bed does just that...it leaches. There will be some precipitates formed at the gravel surface such as calcium carbonates, magnesium hydroxides, sulfates, phosphates, silcates etc...but these look worse than what they are. They are completely benign. Everything else leaches through the soil and makes it down deep as it follows the water. Old beds are considered hazardous though because most of the time they are still pretty fresh when needing to be replaced...so they need to be treated the same as raw sewage. That's it.

In a normal active weeping bed, if the roots of carrots etc were able to penetrate down to the tile level ( the shallowest is 12 inches) then first you'd have no problem with the carrot picking up and absorbing contaminates. Aint going to happen cause their really aren't any. As far as bacterial contamination, if it did do down to the tile level, below 12 inches...then just make sure you wash those carrots off before eating raw. Treat them like a raw chicken.

For an old bed that is dry and decommissioned, those pathogenic gut bacteria like E. coli will not stick around for that long. Conditions are just not right. Yes, many other naturally occurring ones are still present, some even pathogenic as mentioned before....so....big deal...wash them as you would normally.

So, would I put a garden in an old septic bed? Yup. If your tiles are deeper than the minimum of 12 inches then this is a no brainer. Carrots don't generally grow that deep. Would I be worried with deep rooting tomatoes etc tapping down and absorbing contaminates? No, there probably aren't any that cause any concern. Would I worry about roots talking bacteria? Doesn't work that way as bacteria do not cross the cellular membranes of plant roots and enter the intracellular mix.

anyway, that's more like 5 cents.

ol'George · #13 04-16-2015, 11:35 AM

As I sit here munching on mushrooms remembering that they grow in the dark on beds of Horse S--t.
Thinking what don't make ya sick makes you stronger!

Shotgun Wedding · #14 04-16-2015, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ol'George

As I sit here munching on mushrooms remembering that they grow in the dark on beds of Horse S--t.
Thinking what don't make ya sick makes you stronger!

Well said! Who thought horse sh$t could taste so good.

ol'George · #15 04-16-2015, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgun Wedding

Well said! Who thought horse sh$t could taste so good.

Or mushrooms on a good steak from the steer that fertilized the mushrooms.
Circle of life I guess.

o---o · #16 04-16-2015, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgun Wedding

I will give my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Residential septic systems "usually" are pretty benign with respect to real chemical contaminants. Unless a family is running a business on the property, dumping a bit of stuff down the drain in sinks that they are not supposed to, there really isn't any concern. People don't normally send solvents, heavy metals, highly contaminating organics such as pesticides, PCB's, used motor oils etc down their septic drains. Not too many people are running a cyanide leach experiment in their basements. So chemically, all should be well.

Biologically? You guys do realize that the ground is inundated with numerous bacterial and fungal species, most of them are completely benign, some (very few) can be considered pathogenic. There are also parasites naturally occurring in the soils. This is natural and people have dealt with them for millennia. Septic systems in its active/raw form will also have as an addition to these normal flora many active "human gut bacteria" present in the solids in the tank and the water going to the weeping bed. These include good 'ol E. Coli among a few dozen others that are considered pathogenic plus a bunch of others that are non pathogenic that are just present chowing down on the food that is your waste products.

Chemically again, the leaching bed does just that...it leaches. There will be some precipitates formed at the gravel surface such as calcium carbonates, magnesium hydroxides, sulfates, phosphates, silcates etc...but these look worse than what they are. They are completely benign. Everything else leaches through the soil and makes it down deep as it follows the water. Old beds are considered hazardous though because most of the time they are still pretty fresh when needing to be replaced...so they need to be treated the same as raw sewage. That's it.

In a normal active weeping bed, if the roots of carrots etc were able to penetrate down to the tile level ( the shallowest is 12 inches) then first you'd have no problem with the carrot picking up and absorbing contaminates. Aint going to happen cause their really aren't any. As far as bacterial contamination, if it did do down to the tile level, below 12 inches...then just make sure you wash those carrots off before eating raw. Treat them like a raw chicken.

For an old bed that is dry and decommissioned, those pathogenic gut bacteria like E. coli will not stick around for that long. Conditions are just not right. Yes, many other naturally occurring ones are still present, some even pathogenic as mentioned before....so....big deal...wash them as you would normally.

So, would I put a garden in an old septic bed? Yup. If your tiles are deeper than the minimum of 12 inches then this is a no brainer. Carrots don't generally grow that deep. Would I be worried with deep rooting tomatoes etc tapping down and absorbing contaminates? No, there probably aren't any that cause any concern. Would I worry about roots talking bacteria? Doesn't work that way as bacteria do not cross the cellular membranes of plant roots and enter the intracellular mix.

anyway, that's more like 5 cents.

5 cents, but worth much more. Thanks for the reply! I stuck a probe down about a foot or just a bit more in a few spots and hit nothing but dirt. Tomatoes, corn, and melons will be all we try to grow this year.