GROWING VEGETABLES OVER A LEACHING BED IS NOT RECOMMENDED

Growing vegetables over a drainfield is not recommended.  There are several reasons why:

• septic systems receive household wastes from toilets, sinks, showers, dishwashers, washing machines and other indoor water uses
• the leaching bed part of the septic system most commonly consits of a series of parallel perforated pipes in the grund about 12 to 18 inces deep.  The pipes are set in gravel trences that allow treated effluent from the septic tank to seep into the ground.
• the leaching bed is the most expensive and the most potentially problematic part of your entire septic system
• vegetables need watering and excess water in the soil would reduce the leaching bed's ability to treat the wastewater
• the water does not go straight down, it diffuses out first
• during heavy rain, run-off, or snow melt water can actually go up, and rise in the soil
• while nutrietns may be beneficial for the plants to a degree, excess Nitrogen also poses problems for plants and all the bacteria in the soil may not be quite so beneficial
• the deep roots of some vegetable may damage the drainfield pipes
• bed preparation, such as roto-tilling or deep digging can also damage the drainfield pipes
• the soil over the leaching bed tends to settle over time and that allows roots access to it causign plugging of the field as weall as contamination of any foods grown there
• the leaching be perforated pipes are only buried 12-18 inches under the ground so digging or roto-tilling in your garden could damage the pipes