Converting 1 acre old septic leach field. Should I leave it in place or remove it?

[newbury]

Definitely get the soil tested. Also - is there some way to take advantage of the leach field for irrigation?

 

[yanmars]

I would leave it and no till. I would not disturb it, no need to create a problem that is not there now.

 

[Sonny580]

I don't buy any veggies from anywhere or anyone!!! I grow my own and know how they were grown plus what went on/in them.
Wife and I live all year round from our gardens. We preserve enough for winter into the following growing season when we use fresh goodies! lol!!!
If wallymart,-- I mean MEX. was the only veggies., I would not eat them.

If the septic pipes are good, water could probably somewhat flush some of the nasties on down river.--Might even provide underground irrigation if you wanted to go that route. thanks sonny580

 

[Gary Fowler]

My only concern is that over time, the rocks will eventually make their way to the surface (freezing and thawing). Then I'll have a huge mess as the rocks will start getting mixed in with everything.

If it has been there 20+ years and no rocks have come up then they are likely below the frost line and wont ever be an issue. I would just go about my business as usual. They are too deep to be of any consequence for anything other than super deep chisel plow or subsoiler. You don't need to be breaking the ground to below 18" anyway.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't think garden plants root systems normally go 18" into the soil. They are generally shallow root systems that depend on surface moisture for sustenance. They aren't like trees so I would worry about contamination from sewage waste water.

Just curious that a leachfield would need 1 acre to be effective. My 3 BR/4 bath septic system only needed 3 leachfield lines about 100 feet in length. Your soil must not absorb much water at all for it to require 1 acre. According to the greening/drying of the grass, only the first line ever gets any drain water with just the wife and I using it.

 

[jfh28]

NOT a good garden area!!!---What was flushed down the drain?--hazardous micro chems. could be in there.---Summer drought will make your garden die, UNLESS you have a lot of water to keep it moist.--If you do go with this area, keep it wet so plant roots don't go down looking for trouble!
Manure is one thing BUT septic drain field is a whole different thing. --good luck on your venture!! thanks; sonny580

that was my first thought too.......given the drain field covers an acre tells me that the soil perc is very limited or the water table is very high......which means the effluent was being spread out over a large area instead of going down......contaminants could be much closer to the surface then one would normally expect.......prior to growing anything I would dig down at several areas and test the soil at differing depths........just for your own peace of mind.......also there has been no mention of the septic tank........if there is an abandoned one connected to this field then that does need to be dug out especially if it was steel as they will collapse.....normally the local authorities will require that prior to approving abandonment.........Jack

 

[cat fever]

I would not be concerned with it. If anything, bring in topsoil and build the level up.

 

[PILOON]

Over 30 years ago we laid out a septic field and covered it with nice top soil.
Ever since it has been used as a vegi garden as well as for flowers.
Every thing grows beautifully with the added bonus that we never have to water. LOL.
The caution was to not to allow any deep rooting growth and especially no tree roots as they would clog the drain pipes.

A field is for absorbing the liquids and shallow plantings do help the absorption and evaporation process.

A good tank system design is supposed to actually only let flow out relatively clean liquid .

 

[thehobbyfarmer]

My leach field starts with the stone base, then the perforated pvc pipe and more stone, then tarpaper over that, and then soil. The stone is the least of your concerns. The pvc pipe and tarpaper is what I would worry about.

If you have the guy over who installed it - ask him what he lay down. Unless you need this for planting - I'd move on to something else.

Unfortunately, its the only area to farm on my 3 acre lot. Yes, they said it was stone, pipe, then more stone.

 

[thehobbyfarmer]

Definitely get the soil tested. Also - is there some way to take advantage of the leach field for irrigation?

I am going to let it reclaim for a year after we shut it off. Using it for irrigation sounds very interesting, I never thought of that, but that would be amazing wouldn't it?