You'll get differing opinions on using grey water for veggies. I live
on a septic system on the outskirts of Brisbane and I have always been
a bit iffy on using the water for veggies - i tend to let the water go
on the plants that don't get the usual attention from the hose

In saying that - my grey water goes into a holding tank and gets
pumped out when the tank is full - if the restrictions start to get
bad up here I would consider using the rinse cycle water off the
washing machine for the veggies and leave it at that.... but that's
just me

I LOVE your drip system idea!! I have a rather large veggie garden,
and I am not using all the beds, but they get watered anyway....if I
could rig up a system like yours that would be great! could you send
me some photos???

Denise

"Christopher" wrote in message ...
yes would be most interested in photos
but rather than posting here maybe you should stick em on a free webspace
with a url ?
or just email them to interestred parties ?

cheers

christopher

"Tom Elliott" wrote in message
news:3dc0c12c.24985437@news...
Well, looks like water restrictions are hitting melbourne soon. While
I realise this doesn't make a huge difference to me as I don't have a
lawn, and don't wash my car that often (I figure the dust layer acts
as an extra crash buffer). However, it seems that things will get
worse before they get better, so I'm making sure I have plenty of
water saving going on.

How safe is grey water to use on vegetables? My main source of this
will be the drain from the washing machine. Do the chemicals in the
detergents break down quickly? Should I alternate between garden beds
to spread it around?

I've also devised a gravity fed drip feed system for my vegies.
Nothing revolutionary, but it's probably worth sharing.

I use a plastic garden stake, to which I attach a 2 litre juice bottle
, upside down, about 1/2 a metre above the ground, From this I run
three plastic tubes, each with an adjustable dripper on the end, which
is positioned at the base of the plant. The drippers are about 60c
each.

I don't cut the whole base of the bottle off, leaving just a tiny bit
so that it remains as a lid, preventing debris getting into the lines
and causing a blockage.

Then, all that I have to do is top up the juice bottle with water, and
let it go. It takes about an hour to empty, and delivers the water
right to the base of the plant. So far, it seems to work well, and
it's a good candidate for grey water.

If anyone's interested enough to want more details, post a reply here
and I'll get some photos online.


Tom Elliott
remove `mapsitna' from email address to reply by email.