While many homeowners would say that their septic system's most important part is its tank, the leach field is actually the most vital part of the system. Without a properly functioning leach field, your septic tank will not drain and stinky wastewater will backup into your home. To avoid this nasty fate, you need to be very careful when you landscape on top of your home's leach field. To this end, use these time-tested tips to safely landscape your leach field area:
Tip: Never Install Heavy, Non-Breathable Materials on Top of a Leach Field
While you may know that your septic system's leach field is used to absorb your household wastewater, you may not realize that its topsoil needs continual access to fresh air. The oxygen in the air is necessary to allow soil microbes to process harmful bacteria. For this reason, you should never put any of these things on top of your leach field because they will cut off its oxygen supply:
plastic sheeting
rocks or gravel
extra soil
cement slabs
asphalt driveways
garages
sheds
swing sets
Tip: Carefully Hand Till Only the Top Few Inches of Soil
Before planting appropriate plants on top of your septic system's various parts, first, you will need to till the soil. When tilling, never use a rototiller. Instead, you must till the area by hand and make an effort to only till near the surface. You should not dig down more than a few inches on top of your leach lines and leach field to prevent damaging their flow. Use a rake or hand shovel and only till the areas that you need in order to plant your septic-safe plants and no more.
Tip: Plant Septic-Safe Plants on the Leach Field
Your septic system's leach field introduces a lot of water into the soil that surrounds it and this will attract weed growth to your yard if you do not properly landscape. When you are choosing things to plant, you need to avoid planting trees or large bushes because their roots can damage your leach field. Instead, you need to plant shallow-rooting plant varieties like grasses and herbaceous plants.
Finally, it is important to note that you should not plant a vegetable garden near your home's septic system. The soil can be contaminated by bacteria from the leach lines and can make you ill if it comes into contact with your vegetables. If you have any issues with your leach field, get in touch with a contractor like those represented at http://www.sosseptic.net/.
Share7 May 2017
Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Heather, and a few years ago, my partner and I got a very cheap property up in the mountains practically in the middle of nowhere. I knew we had to build, but there were many elements that I overlooked. I never even considered the idea that we wouldn't be connected to a town sewer system for example. However, I learned quickly as we built our septic tank. Through the process, I also researched a lot of alternatives to ensure we got the perfect septic system for our needs. If you are building on a new property and you don't have the option of sewer, this blog has everything you need to know about septic systems. I truly love to help others, and I hope these posts help you.
