hops on a septic field

[k1v1116]

Im wondering about other places I can plants hops ive started from cuttings, I have a large front yard with good soil and lighting conditions but its ontop of our septic field. So my question is can I safely grow hops on a septic field with regard to edibility and plugging up the system with roots. I dont know if anyone here has an answer to this but Id like to here everyones thoughts.

 

[eddie]

Your plants should be fine. The only thing that might be a concern are any chemicals that you've used in your septic system but if they were of any harmful level then your septic system would have suffered long before the plants could absorb them. I'd go ahead and plant 'em.

 

[enderwig]

I have an aerobic septic system, with the bubbler and the sprinklers, instead of the leach field. (New requirement in my county) The installer said not to plant anything we planned on eating in the discharge area. But take that with a grain of salt being that we have different types of septic systems!

 

[david_42]

If you know where the lines are and they are more than 5-6 feet apart, you can probably plant in between them without a root problem.

 

[eddie]

That makes sense since there is a potential for a small portion of "unprocessed material" to be deposited on the surface but for a normal septic and leach field I don't see how it would be a problem.

 

[Hagen]

Early in my career, I replaced a lot of sewer lines due to root damage. Now, I just do the diagnosing and estimates...

When a root finds it's way into a sewer/septic line, it discovers an endless bounty of nitrogenous waste. That's food to the plant. The plant/tree, regardless of species, will put a tremendous amount of energy into building up that root to get more of the "goodness". It will eventually clog or split open the pipe it lives in.

Basically, the plumber's advice is, don't risk it.