permaculture

[David Buitenveld <sarcasticboy@thechicken.coop>]

I just love when a question pops up on the list that I have some 
experience with  ;-)

There is a fellow here in the Pac Northwest that has done / is doing 
amazing things with mushrooms - including remediation of a failing 
septic drainfield on his property.. the name is Paul Stamets (I'm sure I 
have seen his name on the list previously) and he is at www.fungi.com.  
I couldn't find what I wanted at the website with a quick perusal, but 
then googled stamets septic and got some good hits including a review of 
his latest book at HopeDance.. my guess is that if you contacted 
fungi.com they could set you up with some interesting solutions..

on another note - this is a topic that I am interested in pursuing in 
the next year or two.. is the monitoring something that a layperson can 
accomplish? Or would you recommend working with a local lab? I would 
love to hear how this works out for you - good luck!

david

roxann wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> We are installing our septic system for our new house. Where I live there is 
> not public sewer system, so that is not an option. We want to put in small 
> ponds downstream from the effluent and I'd like to use plants to clean the 
> water more before it finally will enter the environment. What plants are good 
> to grow in the ponds that will take up nitrates/nitrites/phosphates? I work 
> in a water quality laboratory, so I will be monitoring regularly. Do you know 
> the aquatic plant that takes over bayous in s. louisiana? they've got air 
> pockets in the stems and make a purple flower? i can't remember the name of 
> them. but they make an excellent compost when you pull them from the water 
> (and i don't know why they aren't doing this with them, rather than spraying 
> herbicides and killing in place). i wonder if they also will take up 
> nutrients from the water and then when i compost them they can be utilized 
> for the garden.
>
> are cattails good nutrient uptakers? 
>
> i have the space to put in successive ponds with cascading features to each 
> lower pond, which should help with aeration, too. it will not all be 
> installed at once, since i do not have so much time or money to do it with, 
> but i'd like to put a plan in place so that the eventual goal will be reached 
> by the time the water reaches the end of the line.
>
> thanks for input,
>
> roxann, nw ar
> http://blog.ancientearthwisdom.com
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