Garden over the Leech Field?

[djradz]

Can you reply to your own post??? well I guess you can! Minor clarification - each moldboard flips 10"-12", so you essentially get about 20" with each pass with a two-bottom.

 

[gerard]

My drain tiles are only about 6-8 inches below the surface. (Dont' ask me how I know /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) so I DEFINITELY wouldn't use a tiller or anything to disturb the ground.

 

[djradz]

I won't ask. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Hopefully it wasn't too painful, or should I say messy, of a lesson. Anyway, that close to the surface, I'd say no way. I wonder, is that the more typical installation? Not that mine, with the pipes so deep is right, but your case seems it's just a situation waiting for an accident to happen. I wonder what is really ideal or if it really matters how deep.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The depth of your leech bed all depends on how it was built, if the builder did a perk test, and if he/she knew what they were doing. In Central Ny, where I am, most "newer" homes have a raised leech bed. Mine is about 10'' - 12'' under the surface. If your leech bed is 2' - 3' down, I would think a garden would be fine as long as you don't plant any deep rooting vegetation. As far as driving a tractor over it... How do you think a builder covers and then grades over them? With a wheelbarrow and shovel, I don't think so.
-D

 

[Redman59]

I wouldn't worry about getting sick. I lived in China for four years and everything is fertilized with "Night Soil" We did eat fresh vegetables after they were washed in a bleach solution and rinsed. I never got sick eating of the pushcarts on the street, only in five star western restaurants. The locals know how to keep from getting sick. You can do a search for "Humanure" for more info. The other issues, I guess depends on how deep your system is and how heavy your tractor is.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Isn't that where that new thing called SARS came from?,china? RICHARD GAUTHIER

 

[Hakim]

"Night soil" (alias human feces) when used as fertilizer, must be "aged" a minimum of 12 months in order to detoxify any virulent microbes. I would use extreme care, since human excrement should never be consumed. What? You can't buy some steer manure?

 

[djradz]

Remember, we're not talking about apply the septic material to the plants. What we have is the liquid, and by the time it "leaches" out to the field, it better be just liquid, down 2-3 ft under the surface, possibly being hit by the plowing (not at 2-3 ft down) or roots from some deep-rooted vegatables, absorbing something from the liquid that is way down there. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Well,you might be able to sell the stuff you grow as ORGANIC. RICHARD GAUTHIER