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What to plant on the leach field
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Posted by sunnymorninggardens z4-5 CO (My Page) on Tue, Dec 13, 05 at 11:02
| The leach field for our septic system is covered in weeds each year. I'd like to plant something that can withstand zone 4-5, lots of wind, and is pretty, maybe flowering throughout the summer. What can be planted on a leach field without having the roots creep into the pipes and through the holes? This was goat pen 5 years ago, so the soil is pretty good. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| I should think you can plant just about anything except a tree or shrubs that get very large. We had a rose bed on ours for a while, as well as a perennial flowers. Peonies do very well, their roots go down to the moisture. But do not plant horse radish. Trust me on that one. |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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- Posted by Rosa 4a ish CO Rockies (My Page) on
Mon, Dec 19, 05 at 21:08
| I agree. The pipes to my leach field are pretty deep-more than a couple of feet. I have poppies, penstemons, iris, and daylilies in mine. |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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Sunny,
While it was developed by folks in VA - which is NOT the Rocky Mountains - there is an online publication on this topic, linked below. With regard to trees, they're actually not that big a concern, as you can flush copper sulfate down the toilet once or twice a year to kill any roots which may have invaded the leach field lines. I have a friend in IL whose leach lines run through a heavily wooded area, and in the 30 years they've lived there, they've not had any problems - but they do treat their septic system regularly to ward off root invasion. There are online publications addressing this, as well. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Planting on your septic drain field
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| Lucky_P - Thanks so much for the link. It was very helpful for understanding leach fields. I hadn't known about salt-tolerance being a consideration in selecting plants. Now I will plant with some confidence that my efforts will not be wasted and, even more importantly, that I will do no harm to the leach field. |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| >> What to plant on the leach field Not potatoes. :) |
RE: What to plant on a shallow! leach field
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| I believe that my leach field's perforated drainage pipes are only about 1 foot below the surface because the installer had to go through solid rock to install it. can i plant any type of tall ornamental grasses without having the roots invade the shallow pipes? thanks very much! sherry |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| I have a similar situation except I'm trying to plant a visual blockade to my neighbor's weedy commercial property that he rents out for RV storage. I need tall screening and was planning to plant the fence line with 10-15' shrubs & trees. However, I had the septic located and pumped last week only to have the guy tell me he thinks (but doesn't know) my drain field is probably along the same area. I was told that the health dept should have a map of the layout when the drain field was replaced before I moved in. Then, try to select shallow root varieties and avoid water seekers like willow. Also try to plant shrubs in between the sections of your drain field rather than directly over it. Or, if you don't need tall plants, you could opt for perennials, daylilies, etc that have shallow roots anyway. I'm still trying to find someone who can tell me if the smoke bush and lilac I planted are shallow or deep rooted. Anyone know? |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| Leach pipes are supposed to be buried pretty deeply, like 6' or so down, and it would be hard for any plant roots to get into these pipes. It is more of a problem where the roots get into the pipes leading to, and from, the septic tank, and into the tank itself. srosso, I'd be very surprised if your leach pipes were only a foot or so down, but if they are, and its on rock, then your soil would be constantly muddy. If thats the case, then your system is in violation of just about every code out there. Here, we have layers of clay and sandstone, and they use back hoes to get down 6 or 7 feet for the leach lines. Water still leaches up and sideways, not down, and towards the end of the summer, when the whole hillside is getting saturated from all the irrigation for a mile up the hill, then I will suddenly see the grass thats on the leach field grow an inch overnight, and know that the water table is right up there. |
RE: What to plant on the leach field
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| Actually, in this area the drain/leach field lines must be a minimum of 12 inches down, but not to exceed 3 feet down. (see section 5.3 of the regulations posted below) srosso, I would think ornamental grasses should be OK over a drain field since the roots are more fibrous and spreading rather than deep so are not likely to invade/block the leach pipes. Shallow root plants actually help the waters evaporate faster and evaporation is the whole purpose of a drain field. You can always flush one of those copper treatments periodically to kill off any roots that do find their way into the drain pipes. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Larimer County CO septic system regulations
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