Blueberries - how far from leach field?
Dave Clark
where I want to plant them is near my leach field. Does anyone have any info
on how far away from the field it is safe to plant them? I would prefer real
evidence, not anecdotal. If there is a danger then I will find someplace else
for the bushes. My 3 year old will be the primary consumer of the berries so
safety is a major concern. The following ASCI art diagram shows where I would
like to plant the bushes if that helps.
+--------------------------+
| +-----------------------+
| | leach field
| +-----------------------+
| +-----------------------+
| | |
| +--------+ | +-----------------------+ bb
House | | | | +-----------------------+ bushes
+-----+ septic +----------+ | ^
+-----+ tank +-------------+ /|\
| +--------+ |
slope
The bushes will be about 8-10 feet away from the end of the leach field.
Thanks
--------------------
Dave Clark - Data General Corp. Westboro, MA
dcl...@wellspring.us.dg.com
Opinions expressed are my own. Any resemblance to other opinions
living or dead are purely coincidental.
--------------------
kl...@cobra.uni.edu
> I want to plant a couple of blueberry bushes next year, but the side of my lot
> where I want to plant them is near my leach field. Does anyone have any info
> on how far away from the field it is safe to plant them? I would prefer real
> evidence, not anecdotal. If there is a danger then I will find someplace else
> for the bushes. My 3 year old will be the primary consumer of the berries so
> safety is a major concern. The following ASCI art diagram shows where I would
If you're worried about bacteriological safety, bacteria aren't translocated
up roots into fruits. On the other hand, if the hose gets away from
the honeywagon guy, you might want to consider that this year's crop
(if it's on the bushes at the time) might be best written off.
Many moons ago, for a pathogenic bacteriology project, I cultured
enteric (gut) bacteria from peoples' hands. If I can generalize
from that test, I'd say that 3 yr olds probably have more enterics
on their hands than you'll ever see on your blueberries.
Kay Klier kl...@cobra.uni.edu
tom c.
=
=In article <dclark.52...@wellspring.us.dg.com>, dcl...@wellspring.us.dg.com (Dave Clark) writes:
=> I want to plant a couple of blueberry bushes next year, but the side of my lot
=> where I want to plant them is near my leach field. Does anyone have any info
=> on how far away from the field it is safe to plant them? I would prefer real
=> evidence, not anecdotal. If there is a danger then I will find someplace else
=> for the bushes. My 3 year old will be the primary consumer of the berries so
=> safety is a major concern. The following ASCI art diagram shows where I would
=
=If you're worried about bacteriological safety, bacteria aren't translocated
=up roots into fruits. On the other hand, if the hose gets away from
=the honeywagon guy, you might want to consider that this year's crop
=(if it's on the bushes at the time) might be best written off.
=
=Many moons ago, for a pathogenic bacteriology project, I cultured
=enteric (gut) bacteria from peoples' hands. If I can generalize
=from that test, I'd say that 3 yr olds probably have more enterics
=on their hands than you'll ever see on your blueberries.
=
=Kay Klier kl...@cobra.uni.edu
some time ago there were studies that showed viri could be taken up by
certain plants, but forget the plants(types). However if you have a good
working system, then the "odds" of getting anything would be low.
regards - tom c.
Dave Saunders
plant ON the leach field? I'm interested both from the point of view of
taking good care of the leach field and from the point of view of getting
some good from what's planted there.
Dwight Sipler
were a problem it would have shown up long long ago. In general, avoid the fresh
stuff on the crops that are almost ready to harvest and don't use it as a foliar
spray. Otherwise, go for it. The leach field will also provide the plants with some
water. After all, my lawn is usually quite lush in the area where (i think) my
leach field is.
larry kollar
a question: just what is it that I'm putting on my garden?
--
Larry Kollar, Dawsonville GA | *** Hatred is murder *** (1 Jn 3:15)
leko...@nyx10.cs.du.edu | Crawling down the infobahn at 1200 baud...
Brooks Van Pelt
: Interesting discussion. I too have a leech field. What can I reasonably
: plant ON the leach field? I'm interested both from the point of view of
: taking good care of the leach field and from the point of view of getting
: some good from what's planted there.
I wouldn't plant anything but grass over a leach field. Don't forget that
the root system from any sizable plant will move right into the leach
pipes seeking water and nutrients, and boy! are they available here. I
would expect the roots to plug the leach pipe holes...
Brooks
Dwight Sipler
get out of the pipe easily. The fluid collects at the bottom of the gravel layer
from where it leaches into the subsoil. Roots growing from the top probably won't
be interested in the leach pipe, which has water only rarely if the system is
working properly. The roots will head deeper, to the interface between the gravel
and the subsoil.
The leaching field has to be placed well below the frost line, so it's usually
pretty deep. In Massachusetts it's about 4 feet below the surface. While roots have
no problem traveling this deep (even the grass in your lawn), bacteria present in
the fluids are not transferred up the roots.
If you worry about planting food crops over a leach field, just avoid the root
crops.
Tracie DeMack
>
> saun...@algol.cis.udel.edu (Dave Saunders) wrote:
> >
> > Interesting discussion. I too have a leech field. What can I reasonably
> > plant ON the leach field? I'm interested both from the point of view of
> > taking good care of the leach field and from the point of view of getting
> > some good from what's planted there.
> >
> Is it on a slope of any sort? What type underlayment does it have?
> How old is it and is it still reasonably functional if old?
> Are you planting surface root type plants or do the tap down?
> Do your plants get enough water or do the roots have to search for it?
> My soil is tested four time a year which we consider a minimum for
> organic considerations. We test fruit when we can afford it. Farmer on a
> small farm in America don't have lot of extra scatch to through out.
>
> Ain't nuthin easy when it comes to answers about whats good or bad
> when it comes to farmin I always says.
Reading this thread triggers a dilemma we have had at our place for
awhile with our septic and leach field which is set up very much like
Dave Clark's. Our leach field is always wet. It never seems to dry
up. Any suggestions? Anyone out there with similar experience? How
do you resolve the soggy situation?? It is an older system, probably
about 35-40 years old. We have recently moved there so I don't know
when the last time the tank was pumped. If the tank gets pumped,
what would be the next step if the leach field still doesn't dry up?
Thanks in advance for any ideas on this one.
Frank Richichi
the typical failure mode for a leach field is to release not-so-clean
water from the ends of the pipes that often percolates up. This ends
up too close to the surface. The reccommendation from the Board of Health
in our town is to plant only lawn and flowers over the field. Nothing
you may eat, no shrubs and NO trees (remember back to the lengthy
notes strings on Silver Maples and their water seeking roots).
If the patch were downstream I would consult the local Board of Health
for advice.
clf
smiller
Tracie DeMack <tde...@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu> writes:
> If the tank gets pumped,
> what would be the next step if the leach field still doesn't dry up?
Thirty-five to forty years old is a VERY old system! I would imagine
you'll have to to what my parents did to their 25 year old system: Put
the leach field somewhere further away, where the drainage is better.
Leach fields DO clog up over time, and soggy soil is a bad sign. My
parent's soil wasn't even soggy yet, but they had a mandatory
inspection done by the county and were told they HAD to dig a new leach
field!
sha...@olympus.net
>Path: olympus.net!nwfocus.wa.com!islander.whidbey.net!nwfocus1.wa.com!news.sprintlink.net!gatech!udel!faatcrl.faa.gov!faatcrl.faa.gov!bvanpelt
>From: bvan...@faatcrl.faa.gov (Brooks Van Pelt)
>Newsgroups: rec.gardens,misc.rural
>Subject: Re: Blueberries - how far from leach field?
>Date: 3 Aug 1995 16:13:23 GMT
>Organization: FAA Technical Center, Pomona, NJ
>Lines: 12
>Message-ID: <3vqsj3...@faatcrl.faa.gov>
>References: <3vo62h$k...@louie.udel.edu>
>NNTP-Posting-Host: faatcrl.faa.gov
>X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
>Xref: olympus.net rec.gardens:51526 misc.rural:10493
>saun...@algol.cis.udel.edu (Dave Saunders) writes:
>: Interesting discussion. I too have a leech field. What can I reasonably
>: plant ON the leach field? I'm interested both from the point of view of
>: taking good care of the leach field and from the point of view of getting
>: some good from what's planted there.
>I wouldn't plant anything but grass over a leach field. Don't forget that
>the root system from any sizable plant will move right into the leach
>pipes seeking water and nutrients, and boy! are they available here. I
>would expect the roots to plug the leach pipe holes...
>Brooks
oboy...the grass is always greener over a leach field...Brooks is right,
nothing but grass over a drainfield. For the latest information though, check
with your extention agent.
Sharon O'Hara
Chuck
you my 10 acres including an acre blueberry patch that is a nice supplimental income
and it's well over a two hundred feet from a leach field. It sure is a a fine farm with
a nice house and well. My property taxes last time were a woopin $72 dollars
You put a lowly $60,000 in my grubby pocket and I will be gone in a week!
(We will educate, (that mean impart information), to real people
with minimal farmin' time!)