What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

Now that's clever. I didn't know there's a wayback feature on Google Earth. How awesome is that!?

Can I do a time lapse on my garden with that feature? That would be neat.

Ya it is fun. I suppose you could. It only shows google loaded photos and old sat photos. So it's only as often as new photos are loaded. For the 8 years we've been here, we have 3 photos, but the property photos go back to the 90s, but get further and further apart the further back you go.

 

[Elyrian1]

My line bends, but I'm sure that most don't.

That's common on old installations. I hear water dowsing works on septic fields but I've not had occasion to try it.

Last tank I had to deal with was laid in the 40s. Nothing was standard. Nothing. And there was no clean out at all. Good hunting, but honestly wouldn't worry about it so long as you don't clean with harsh chemicals. Those kill the happy poop eating bacteria and cause problems.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Sounds like there's a main drain cleanly in her basement. That main drainline should run straight to the approx tank though. There could be a cleanout in the drain line. There's has to be a cleanout at the tank itself. Seeing that the tank is so far from the house (based on the pic from when a service was previously out) the tank cleanout its actually quite a ways from the house as it must be at the site of the tank.

My DH works for our state health department and is certified to inspect septic. He's calling out advice from the other room....

He basically said her house may or may not have had a cleanout put in when the house was built. He has seen some houses that old with a cleanout that was added later. Some are close, within a few feet of the house. Others are farther away, maybe closer to the tank. But basically back then almost all tanks were concrete and buried 4-6 inches underground and gravity fed.... Although he's also seen houses with just a barrel in the ground.

 

[WthrLady]

neighbor here, another county, has a buried shipping container. sigh.

 

[chickengr]

I repotted some of my houseplants today!
Bought these cute chinaware at the thrift store and spent a good chunk of the day repotting my succs. There’s no drainage in them obviously but I hope they do ok
View attachment 2771638View attachment 2771639View attachment 2771637

just spray some water over the leaves and they will be fine. succulents don't need regular watering.

 

[TJAnonymous]

We have cleanouts in the house, in fact we have one for each of the lines in the house and one in the shop for each line that goes down to the main line to the tank. There are also cleanouts every so many feet 250 yards down the hill to the tank and field itself. These outdoor cleanouts stuck up only 3 inches when we moved here, and I extended them to 12 inches above ground and hit them with glow paint, and then glow duct tape as they are tripping hazards in the pitch dark on the way to the henhouse or barn.

You may have cleanouts for your sinks and other water lines. Your septic cleanouts should not be inside your house though....

 

[Elyrian1]

Yup, at that age it may not meet code anymore. Best to let sleeping septic systems lie, so they don't lose their grandfathered status. Don't ask...

 

[BReeder!]

neighbor here, another county, has a buried shipping container. sigh.

My in-laws in TN have a neighbor who DIY'd their own septic with an IBC tote (big plastic cube for shipping liquids). I doubt it has multiple chambers for settling or proper volume to ensure solid settle and breakdown before flowing out into the leach field. Probably doesn't even have proper setup for the leach field so water and sewage gases (methane) is likely just dumping out an overflow pipe into the ground.

It its amazing what people do...

 

[TJAnonymous]

@BullChick

DH said your tank is likely close to your house. He asked if you had any concrete slabs close to the house (other than porches)? He said it is likely a concrete tank close to the house that feeds into a D-box (Distribution box) that is far from your house. The D-box feeds your field lines. He thinks it is likely that Rotorooter found the D-box far from the house.

But of course he is speculating since he doesn't know your exact situation.

 

[BReeder!]

Back to gardening...

One of our sunflowers is blooming finally!!! I cannot see the flower though. It is facing straight up to the sky on top of a 9-10ft stalk. I'm hoping it bends a bit to face south in the direction the sun shines from. The house is south of the garden so we would be able to see the flower from the back window and patio then.