Gardener dh- I am in Illinois -near wisconsin border. Could be dry, seems to take a lot of water to get through all the mulch. You dont live on the east coast do you? With all that late blight going around it would effect potatoes also. Can you post a pic? Would help. I have heard of potatoes being grown in straight clippings and were fine if not better than hay/straw. If you start them in the cooler months this would be a benefit. I mulch everything with green clippings and everything grows so much better it seems, heat never seemed to be a problem even when I had a lot of N on my yard and the clippings would get instantly hot. This is my first year growing spuds this way so I was being cautious. Next year I dont think I will bother but will need more clippings than I can get so it will be a mix of straw and clippings. The one thing you have to watch for when growing using the straw/hay method is rodents. joe

Annual growth rate for both is 4-8". And as shrubs, there is a limit to how large they will get. But they are spreading cultivars (nearly twice as wide as tall) and too close planting will create shaded or competing conditions that can cause die out of foliage and may even create conditions desirable to the spread of diseases. Better to space them at their estimated mature spread (~6-8') and deal with the blanks with mulch until they begin to fill in. Here, one sees established plantings of Juniperus chinensis such as you describe in many older neighborhoods (a much more popular planting of several decades ago compared to now). Often these plantings have been butchered by severe pruning simply because the plants have outgrown their position and are interferring with walkways or driveways, etc. Much better to space out properly to begin with than to deal with an overgrown jungle a few years down the road.

I agree--I wouldn't eat any of the current foliage. I'm thinking it would be fine though, if you trim everything back, to eat what regrows, since I do believe that the dirt will filter any yuckies. Your chocolate mint can be completely cut to the ground. Tomatoes, it depends on whether you actually have fruit setting on. Oregano is the tougher one--I think I would skip eating it this year, and the lavender buds too.

Just for reference, we have three quarter acre lot with am 8 year old, three bedroom, three bathroom, etc. house. Our septic system consist of a 1000gal digestion tank, and a 1000 gal, water holding tank. There is a line of about 80' to the distribution box which supplies 3 - 130' leach lines. The three leach line cover an area of about 4500 sqft. The length of the distribution line, plus the area of the two tank must also be consider when planting. The system snakes over 200 feet across our back yard. Also there is an area that is designate a rebuild area equal to the area of the leach bed. If you plant in this area, any thing there will be taken out when the digging is done to install the new replacement leach lines. Our system is a what is called a pressurized system. In our previous houses, as I remember, the non pressurize system's leach lines covered only a slightly less area, There are many different configuration for septic systems. When they are installed the topography of the lot, the type of soil, technology, and City, Local, State, and Federal regulation must be considered. Some systems take up more space that others. To my knowledge there is no ONE modern system. Before starting to planting you need to know what kind of septic system you have. With my house (8 years old in NC) the system is described in the County Health Department inspections which is part of the building permit. In NC this was provided to us as part of the closing paperwork when we bought the house. The septic system is one of the inspection that has to be performed during the closing. As for planting trees, If you don't plant a tree in the middle of the leach field or on top of the tanks you should be OK. We have a wooded lot. When the septic system was put in the problem areas were clear during the installation of the system. Since we moved in I have respected those area when considering what I plant.