OK so now I own a septic tank, what can I plant on it?

[NMDemDist2]

I'll be in SE New Mexico (think Texas panhandle) and I really don't want grass, too much maintence. I looked into prarie grasses but they have long taproots and i'm afraid they'll tear up the pipe

maybe I should plan my raised veggie beds there? the drain field runs along the eastern property line on the south side of the house

any suggestions anyone?

[benburch]

1. I would keep edible plants away from the septic tank.

Septic tanks receive ANYTHING that goes down your drain, and some of it does not biodegrade.

[NMDemDist2]

9. right, the tank has to be kept open to pump and inspect too, but I was

talking about the drain or leech field

and good point about the veggies I guess even though they'll have close to 4 feet of dirt between them

[TygrBright]

2. Are you talking about the tank itself or the leach field for the tank?

If you're talking about an enclosed tank, you can plant what you want on it except for trees with invasive roots. Grasses and perennials may taproot but they aren't likely to mess up the tank. If you're talking about the leach field, OTOH, don't plant edibles and don't plant anything big like trees or large shrubs that could potentiall blow over in a high wind. Native xeric scrubby stuff like chamisa or apache plume would probably be okay. Just whack it back every couple years to keep it from getting too big.

helpfully,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

10. yes, the leach field. xeric stuff will go wild over there eh? with all the

water available?

[SnoopDog]

3. Well, technically....

I believe you are talking about the leach field - right? The house feeds into the tank then the tank feeds into the leach field.

They say you should not plant anything on top of the leach field but that is ridiculous. I would plant grasses of some sort.

And no vegetable gardens at all on the leach field - even in raised beds.

[NMDemDist2]

11. yes the leach field is what I'm talking about

you think praerie grasses would be ok? I read that Buffalo Grass has 18" taproots and I really really don't want a lawn type grass

maybe fescue?

[sarge43]

4. Depending how much use it gets (number of people in household)

you'll have to have it cleaned out and inspected at max every three years. Drought resistant grass is really your best bet - easy to remove and replace.

/on edit/ We planted wild flowers in our leach field. Worked out nicely.

[NMDemDist2]

12. it's a 1000gallon unit and they're only two of us and the septic itself

is not what I'm asking about, rather the drain or leach field "downstream" of the tank itself

wildflowers sound nice....

[sarge43]

20. Wild flowers do work nicely

Preparing the soil is a hassle. You have to till and remove most of the sod, but after that they're pretty much maintenance free. Mow once a year to keep down the shrub and tree seedlings that invade. We got our seeds from

www.americanmeadows.com

They have regional mixes, some native plants and others that do well in your area. If you order from them, also recommend The Wildflower Video; it has handy tips and advice.

[NMDemDist2]

21. there is no sod, there is nothing but an acre of high plains desert

:scared:

[sarge43]

25. Oh dear.

You could check with your local Extension Service for tips to augment the soil.

I'm use to dealing with New England soil - several millennia of leaf mulch and rocks, lots of rocks.

[NMDemDist2]

28. thanks, I should have some good compost in a couple years but

the first several batches are going on the veggie plots

:evilgrin:

but I need to be careful of giving ticks any habitat :scared:

[NMDemDist2]

23. thanks! I have started a new bookmark folder for gardening and this

one is THERE!

their mix was nice and really good prices too!

[sarge43]

26. Yes

One bit of advice if you go with them: Make up your own mix with much less lupine. It's a pretty flower and can handle most conditions, but it's quite invasive. At least in my patch, they've taken over. I suggest more daisies and cone flowers (Echinacea). Bees and butterflies especially adore cone flowers.

[sweetheart]

5. Alders and poplars

Aspens are hardy trees for that. "populus tremula", but any
of the "populus" will do, as they are, like alders, water trees,
and can handle wet soil, and crumby soil conditions.

I've just had to empty my septic tank, digging it out, shifting
the lid and using a bucket to empty the shit out on to a grassy field.
Its stinky work, but saves the cost of a pumper truck. I've just
been today re-burying directly over the tank, not the runoff drain,
and there just some grass seed. (but its wet here, so grass will
grow naturlaly no problemo)

Over the runoff drain, i'm experimenting with several species of bamboo,
and broadleaf trees, and willows (wet ground).

[NMDemDist2]

13. aren't you worried the trees will tear up the drain pipes into the leach

field?

that's my concern here

[sweetheart]

14. its a stone drain/leech area

There was a huge pit filled with rocks,
and the leech is in to this pit, nothing to break.

Yes, then hmmm. Gosh, you'll be dead by the time
your aspens break your drains. But point taken... bamboo
is a grass, and it might do pretty well. It spreads too,
but the roots are not so deep as trees.

[NMDemDist2]

17. your world and mine are very different as far as growing climes

with the exception of winds (it's windy on the highlands, yes?)

we get 100F+ degree (38C) days for months of the year and most all the rain falls in the summer. the winter is cold, clear and crisp. the spring winds start in January and blow 30 MPH til June

it's a harsh land with wild beauty like yours, but totally different challenges for growing

an Ash or Poplar would give up within a year without extreme babying. much water and massive soil amendments and the native trees which thrive here send tap roots out and a web of surface roots that will destroy plumbing in 5 years

sounds like i'm stuck with wildflowers there, bummer eh?? :evilgrin:

[sweetheart]

18. Here's a photo of the tank i just shot this now

Its midnight, and the camera is shooting at a slow exposure, and i shook
it at bit. In the foreground is the lid to the septic tank, some giant
concrete slabs, and the drain runs down the hill to the left where
the nettle patch is doing much better than the bamboo, i'm afraid.

There are a bunch of trees planted there, but difficult to see in the
midnight sun. About 2/3rds across the photo to the right is due north.
The pink horizon is where the sun is over towards the US right now.
.. enought to see the muddy mess of a half re-covered septic cleanup.

Down the hill is about 6 acres of grassland, that filters the
water even more as it leeches down towards the ocean... but it sucks
for a windbreak, and when the wind comes 100mph+ from the north,
this same photo is like looking down a wind tunnel. It hits the
headland off the ocean and comes up like a high pressure blast with
blobs of sea foam. All evergreen bushes are brown to the sea side
for this, and why i'm experimenting with aspens and disiduous trees.

[NMDemDist2]

22. wow! I haven't seen that much green since the last time I visited

Washington State

it's a whole different world there

[appal_jack]

6. bamboo is a possibility

As long as your leach lines or infiltrators are more than two feet below the surface, bamboo is a safe bet, and can be useful for poles, fencing, trellising, etc. elsewhere in your garden.

Flowers are another good bet for leachfields. If you are into organic vegetable growing, do a search for "farmscaping" and you will find a wealth of information about growing the types of flowers that nourish beneficial predatory insects like syrphid flies and parasitic wasps. Yarrows, dill, coriander, boneset, and similar plants all do this nicely. In exchange for the pollen and nectar that the flowers growing on your septic field provides them, these predators will then control the aphids, whiteflies, etc. that would otherwise bother your garden. One caveat: your garden has to be within ~100 yards of the farmscaping plot, since the predators do not often travel very far.

Finally, if you really, really want to grow food above a leachfield, choose crops where the edible portion is far from the ground (sweet corn, raspberries, etc.) and choose your detergents and other household products carefully.

-app

[NMDemDist2]

15. Hi app farmer! welcome to DU!

:hi:

and I had a horrible experience with bamboo in california. it took 8 days of digging and digging and digging to get it out of the yard over there. the roots went across and back and across and back again and againg. thank heavens it was only a 50 foot wide urban yard

i'd love to have some that I could use for tomato teepees etc though, maybe I'll research and see if there is a type that will survive the harsh conditions and won't be too invasive

thanks for the idea about the farmscaping, it would be easy to move the raised beds just off from there and get the benefits of those plants

[appal_jack]

27. thanks! & look for clumpers

Thanks for the welcome, and cheers to you and all DU'ers who work to green up their environs...

:toast:

There are such things as "clumping bamboos" which do not send runners out like the (aptly named) running bamboos which caused you trouble in Cali. Where I live in the Appalachian mountains, it gets too cold for any of the clumpers, but you can find info on them (and all things bamboo for that matter) at:

http://www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfoPages/BarnhartIntro.html

-app

[formercia]

19. fruits above ground is the magic word.

I knew someone who grew tomatoes above a leach field and they were great. Plants don't absorb except for what they need for food and water. Don't try root crops for obvious reasons....

[NV Whino]

7. Flowers

Flowers like septic tanks... a lot.

[applegrove]

8. That's what I did. Sprinkled wildflowers ontop of the wild ones already

there. Figure what can grow will. If not..the seeds will blow away and seed the rest of the place.

[NMDemDist2]

16. ROFL

well that's good news, so now I know where my wildflower beds will be

[TygrBright]

24. Wildflowers are good. Try High Country Gardens, you can order by mail...

...from their catalogue online.

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

They have some good grasses, wildflowers, etc. I would not plant trees or large shrubs. Xeric stuff will do okay and will keep the soil from crusting too badly and getting brittle. The winds and sun will tend to dry out the top layer regardless of what's going on below. Xeric plants with a high tolerance for killer winds, heat, sun, and alkaline soils will settle in and form shallow root masses that will keep the field workable, which you may (will) need at some point.

horticulturally,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

29. thanks Bright! I have looked at their website a couple times n/t