Septic tanks and vegtable gardens......

[AhBee01]

I too wanted to try to plant over the leech field, I did some research and found that
planting anything but grass, or putting raised beds can interfere with the way the leech field drains and evaporates. It will cause you septic system to fail. It may take a while, but it will fail.
My neighbor has drove over his field with heavy equipment to build his barn, and his horses live in the leech field, he has no grass just a mud pit for a leech field, and he wondered why his septic system failed. Bad part of all the this, it now drains onto my property.
I would try the front yard, I would use a liner something with small holes so it can still drain well. You can use anything as a border to keep costs down, like finding big rocks to keep the new soil in! You don't have to use timbers. Plant some flowers in it too and it will look pretty. Find out what flowers will keep pest away, like Nasturtiums, help repel the cucumber beetle!
Here is a link to a few flowers that do double duty!
http://www.ehow.com/list_6382774_flowers-keep-insects-away.html
Have fun and good luck!

 

[Siler]

You'll want to call someone in your area that deals with septic tanks. They will probably be able to tell you what you have for your area and when it was installed and how. Here in Indiana it is required to have 5 fingers leading from the main septic system. Our house was built in the 1830's and so plumbing was added later on. The septic tank here only has 1 finger and it goes to the east downhill. We can see where the end of it is because there's a small bog in the trees. Power lines had to go above ground to avoid the septic area. Once you know where the fingers end then you can have an idea of where to plant, but you don't want to ever dig up the soil withing a certain number of feet within the fingers to avoid damaging the ground around them. Otherwise you'll have raw sewage back up into your home. The only time ours ever backed up was when we had a large truck from the power company drive over it to install a new pole and fix the power lines that broke in a storm.

Aside from that I see no problem with planting downhill from that. You'll have a lush garden and mother nature will have taken care of everything else by then. When I was growing up we had city water and city sewage, but in the yard was a very old septic tank that was poorly buried, but right next to it was our garden and it was the most lush I have ever seen.

Add the RidEx to your toilets and flush every month to keep adding the good bacteria needed to break down the waste. It's not as difficult as you might think maintaining a septic system. Don't buy and use extra plush toilet paper....the thinner the better. Chemicals are ok in moderation and sometimes it depends on the chemical. Drain openers are the worst I can think of. Avoid it if you can. I usually only use The Works toilet bowl cleaner because it's a strong acid, but here we have hard water and so it mixes and becomes neutral by the time it's in the tank. The washing machine here drains into the yard towards the septic. The laundry room was added when people started buying washing machines. It used to just make a mess of the yard, but I dug a trench for it to pool then put in a Siberian Iris garden for about 12 feet after that. They soak up all the water and years of phosphates that used to be in laundry detergents. Beyond that further down the hill I had dug out the earth for 2 small water gardens and put in a sun garden there for my flowers. After much digging and study I realized that was where the old outhouse used to be. I was so happy I had found that for my flowers I almost danced a jig.

My flowers are huge and happy. I'm still digging out old bricks as I expand and finding rich black soil.

 

[Rozzie]

I gardened in a raised bed built over part of a leech field for years and lived to tell the story. As far as I know, I don't have any brain damage, parasites, or other evil effects from it. Now, if you can find a way to tie my ragweed allergies to it, then I might listen.

Seriously. Research biomass solids and uses for sludge. Sludge is the "solids" portion of material at the sewer plant. Biomass solids is what they call it when it's trucked away from the sewer plant...to spread on the fields...which grow your veggies and fruit. Yes, it's used all over in the U.S. Yes. It's legal and approved by the EPA.

Human waste matter ends up on fields all over the world.

Your veggies grown over a septic leech field will come into contact with a lot less "stuff."

Now, that said...you do need to use a no till method of gardening if you are over the leech field. It's very expensive to replace one.

 

[AllTheseCreatures]

Quote:
If you want a dead septic system put chemicals in it. A septic tank is a live organism digesting the solids and leeching them out through the drain field (leech field). Put any kind of caustic chemicals down a drain and you'll kill your system.
I would never plant on my drain field for 2 reasons: 1. tilling the surface will cause the drain field to silt up, stopping the flow from the tank into the ground. 2. It IS sewage. Raw untreated sewage could cause a miriad of health problems.
Septic systems are a delicate balance and the less its messed with the better. Now, messing IN it......well, thats the intent.
Another EXPENSIVE lesson learned: Friend had houseguests. They were informed right away that NOTHING except what is naturally excreted from the body is to go in a toilet. NOTHING else. Female guest didn't know what to do with a feminine product (used) and flushed it any way. ONE, just ONE tampon ruined their drain field. Plugged up a drain line. $8000 tampon!!
BTW the RIGHT toilet paper is ok, but no baby wipes, napkins, chemicals...............just poop!

I'm not referring to just caustic chemicals. Whole lot of stuff that is not organic or caustic end ups down the drain. Heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and other inorganic compounds. Some of settles in the tank and is pumped out and some of it ends up in the drain field. The people I have met who paid very close attention to the care of their septic tank have been in the minority and I keep that in mind because two people have owned my house before me. Who knows what they have poured down the drain.

But apparently I'm getting in my fruits and vegis anyway. So I guess it doesn't matter. Don't ruin your drain field.