Go to google.com and search for "gray water in the garden" but without the quotes.

Also, the process has been legal in CA for some time. Likely your local water distrcit has good info for home gardeners.

You might also try they slightly more common spelling "grey". Also, searching for "grey water tree" (without the quotes of course) will turn up quite a bit.

I have used my washing machine water on my big pecan tree for at least a decade. That was easy to do without any special under-house sewerline re-routes. If I were to replace plumbing, I would definitely send more to trees (especially from showers). Don't use Borax in water being used for irrigation though. It is too easy to get to toxic levels. And NEVER use sewerline root killer (the blue crystals, copper sulfate). Soap, detergent, normal bleach, and even a little of the cheaper drain uncloggers (lye) should be alright, given high dilution with water, especially for the last. The better drain cleaner with sacrificial aluminum in it might promote aluminum toxicity. All the normal stuff (excepr borax if you use it) should be OK. Maybe not perfect, but OK. I put mine in one small area out near the dripline (limbspread diameter). It is there for the tree when it needs it, especially in dry times, but does not affect most of the area of roots.

I would wonder about what was on the clothes being washed. Sometimes I have very greasy/oily clothes from machinery. Also, if your detergent has phosphate in it, that can accumulate in soil. There are phosphate-free clothes washing detergents.

Art Ludwig has done a book on greywater systems now in its fifth edition for less than $20. Well worth the money to avoid missteps in your use of greywater. Al

I appreciate your comments. What is the name of Art Ludwig's book - by the way? I haven't Googled it, so perhaps all it would take is his name - right? Anyway, I feel a bit more confident about proceeding now. I did have doubts.

Bejay

Art Ludwig is the KING of greywater. His website is below.

The library systems have his books. "The NEW Create an Oasis with Grey Water" (2006) is the one you want. The older book that doesn't have the NEW in it is not as complete.

Pay particular attention to the parts of his branched drain systems -- he shows how to make valve systems where you can easily switch from running the water to your orchard to running it right to the septic/sewer if there is a need.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Art Ludwig Oasis Design

Sue:
Your link is to a page on invasive grasses, and has nothing to do with greywater. I tried putting his name into Amazon, though and a bunch of books came up, posted below.

As for the original question, I would worry about the PH, since soaps tend to be very base, and most trees need neutral to acidic. Hopefully the books cover that?
And you should never use greywater on root crops, of course, due to consuming pathogens. (Not that there are a lot of fruit root crops.) :)

Carla in Sac

Here is a link that might be useful: Ludwig on Amazon.com

Personally, I wouldn't use wastewater in a vegetable garden at all unless I had no other source. That said, below-the-mulch delivery of such water into corn, peppers, trellised tomatoes and such would probably be fine anyway.

Soap's high pH comes from hydroxides ("lye") which are highly reactive and thus very rapidly neutralized by the weak acid of dissolved CO2 gas in the soil. Laundry and dishwashing "soap" are usually detergent instead, not true soap.