Septic tank and fruit

Last post 14-09-2012 4:17 PM by Diggerjohn. 5 replies.

• 10/09/2012 09:20 PM

  Pinguis Location: Kent/Sussex border Joined on: 10 Sep 2012 Posts: 2

  Reply | Contact Hi all First time poster, so I thought I'd dive in at the deep end.  I've just bought a house on the Sussex/Kent border and I've got a query about the garden.  The house is quite rural (it's an old farm worker's cottage) and it (and it's neighbour) share a septic tank.  This is located in some communal ground to the side of our garden.  We need to establish a border between our garden and this area and I was hoping to do it with a couple of espaliered apple trees, as it can be a very soft border. The septic tank reaches to the border with our garden and I'm worried about the effect of planting fruit trees in such close proximity to it (and the drains running into it).  My concern is roots penetrating the drain/chamber, and the effect that will have both on it's structural integrity and on the health of people consuming the fruit!  Could anyone give me some advice on this? Thanks!

• 10/09/2012 10:33 PM	In reply to
  Fatcat1955 Location: Herts Joined on: 16 Apr 2012 Posts: 24	Reply | Contact I would keep the tree's as far away as possible for the integrity of the tank. I don't think it will affect the tree/fruit if planted nearby other than people being reluctant to eat the fruit.

• 11/09/2012 03:50 PM	In reply to
  Pinguis Location: Kent/Sussex border Joined on: 10 Sep 2012 Posts: 2	Reply | Contact Thanks for that. How far away is as far away as possible? I'm heading down to t tomorrow so I'll get some more exact measurements.

• 12/09/2012 06:54 AM	In reply to
  Fatcat1955 Location: Herts Joined on: 16 Apr 2012 Posts: 24	Reply | Contact Depends on how high you let the tree's grow. General rule of thumb is Height of tree= spread of root's

• 12/09/2012 03:26 PM	In reply to
  kaydee Location: Perthshire Joined on: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 269	Reply | Contact Suggest you should also try & locate where your out-flow & soak-away is too before you plan any major planting project. Details should be on your deeds. If not a divining rod works a treat. Best K.

• 14/09/2012 04:17 PM	In reply to
  Diggerjohn Location: Yorkshire Joined on: 14 Sep 2012 Posts: 1	Reply | Contact This is a very good webpage that deals with septic tanks and gardening. http://www.wte-ltd.co.uk/soakaway_plants.html In my experience digging soakaways, plant roots are one of the major things that destroy them. It is the soakaway area that is the most expensive part of a septic system, so be very careful what and where you plant.