Maybe I can give a little insight about root crops, any corps and the septic system. I have been a environmental specialist, with the county Health Dept going on 13yrs. I specialize in OSTDS( on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems - septic systems)and enjoy year round gardening in Clay county, FL. Most parts of Florida have very high water tables, not the best for septic systems. To try to lay it in laymen terms, your soil treats the effluent, the liquid coming out of your septic tank. If it is not properly treated, the virus, pathogens, bacteria, and other infective stuff are not destroyed. I think that the veggie plants would not be able to absorb the pathogens and stuff and concentrate diseases into the edible portions of the plant, but you have to think about the everyday chemicals that the plants would absorb - heavy metals, chlorine, phosphates, etc. For example, you get gasoline, paints, oils on your hands and you wash it right down the sink to your septic tank and drain field(leach field)and the plants absorb it. You can cook it all you want but the temps do not get high enough to render the chemicals safe. Hepatitis C can live in the soil for 31 days and probable longer in moist conditions. The setback to a potable(drinking well),in Florida, to any portion of the septic system is 75ft, 50ft prior to 1972.If you have a septic system on your property, a vegetable garden can be grown. I have a septic system and a 3500sqft veggie garden on my property, about 50ft away. I have seen small gardens on top of drain field but would highly discourage it. I do not have proven facts, but I would try to get 25ft away from the septic system to the garden. Prior to 1972, the setback to surface water was 25ft and I am sure they had a reason for that. Anyways, it is risky and could be costly. Grass is the only recommended vegetation on top of the drain field, and you do not need roots clogging the pipes.

we had our septic tank pumped for the first time in 30 years. the previous owner said back then that we would never have to have this pumped if we used ridex once a month, since he had to blast and fill the lateral with extra rock. we didnt follow that religeously, but did add ridex occasionally. a few months ago, we noticed some blackwater starting to come out of the lateral about 60 feet from the tank. we decided to have it pumped and the man who pumped it said that we needed it pumped about every 3 years. he also said that ridex was a waste of money, and that we just needed to buy a pound of "bakers yeast" and put it in the same was as we would ridex. we would only have to do this once a year. does anyone know if this is a good remedy instead of ridex? also.. my thought of unclogging the area with some blackwater is to put ridex in the same way as i used to, but right after i flush it down the commode... run the shower for about 20 minutes...thus forcing the ridex toward the area where the blackwater is. my thought is that this would help disolve any blockage if i could just get the bacteria to that point. any help??? is this a dumb idea? its been about 3 weeks since we pumped the septic tank. the man left about 3-5 inches of sludge in the bottom of the tank so that all the bacteria wouldnt be taken away. thanks for any help you can offer. mike

Yes. There are instructions on the container. Just be certain if you flush it down the toilet (as per the instructions) that you do so quickly to avoid a foam monster taking over your bathroom. If you have a clean-out it can be poured into, I would use that. There are a variety of brands you can find - as far as I know they all use the same chemicals, but strength could vary. Just google it - you will find what you are looking for.

Generally when a city extends their municipal sewer lines into an area that is currently served by septic tanks they DO NOT force anyone to connect to the sewer at that time. If your septic system is functioning correctly you may continue to use it, but you may not make any repairs to a septic system once the municipal sewer becomes available. If you were building a new house where they have a municipal sewer you have to pay upwards of $2k for the final connection from your house sewer line to the municipal line however, here is a part that most homeowners are not aware of. Generally when they install a municipal sewer system each homeowner is levied a tax for the municipal sewer. In most areas that tax assessment also includes the "hookup fee" so when it becomes necessary to make the connection to the municipal sewer the final connection fee is already paid. You only have the expense of installing the "house sewer line" from the structure to the point of final connection on the municipal sewer and the cost of properly abandoning the existing septic tank. In most jurisdictions to properly abandone an existing septic tank you have to have the tank pumped, and in some jurisdictions it must be pressure washed, rinsed and pumped again. Then you have to punch a large hole (generally 1ft in dia.) through the bottom of the septic tank and fill the tank with sand, then backfill over the tank. Changing from a septic tank to a municipal sewer may also require changing the "Main drain" in your house because septic tanks are generally installed behind the house and the main drain is pitched toward the rear of the structure, but generally the municipal sewer is in front of the house and they have to reverse the pitch of the main drain.