Hi everyone

[mattyrigpig]

I'm new to the whole "permaculture gardening" thingy, but love the idea of making my own sustainable garden that i can produce my own fruit and veg all year round in... I'm actually looking at buying a biolytics system and need help with some do's and dont's about what i can irrigate with it.. please reply to this thread if you own a system yourself or can give me any advice on using this to irrgate my vegie patch.. thanks Matty..;)

[mischief]

Hi and welcome.
What is biolytics?

[Grahame]

There is a thread about Biolytix systems Matty in the Designing, building and powering your life sub-forum.

http://forums.permaculture.org.au/showthread.php?4440-Opinion-on-BIOLYTIX-home-waste-water-treatment

[mattyrigpig]

biolytix waste water treatment... latest and greatest "apparently" i need advice as to wether i can sub irrigate my vegies and not just lawn or fruit tree's... but no-one has replied to my thread..

[ecodharmamark]

biolytix waste water treatment... latest and greatest "apparently" i need advice as to wether i can sub irrigate my vegies and not just lawn or fruit tree's... but no-one has replied to my thread..

G'day Matty

Your question has been asked in the 'Introduce yourself here' thread. Perhaps you might have better luck in getting an answer if you post it again in the 'Designing, building, making and powering your life' thread?

You have probably already read this, however the Biolytix website devotes a page to the topic of Irrigation (http://www.biolytix.com.au/residential/technical/irrigation_guidelines/).

Not much there about veges, hey ;).

Here in Australia, the body responsible for the regulation of 'treated effluent dispersal' will be your local council. They are bound by the environment protection (EPA) laws of the various states. They (whoever 'they' are) usually provide 'guidelines' via their website. An example of a local government guideline concerning treated effluent dispersal can be found here: Blue Mountains On Site Sewage Management (http://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/sustainableliving/onsitesewagemanagement).

I don't know of a single environmental health officer (and I know a few) who would advocate for the use of treated (by Biolytix, or otherwise) effluent on vegetables. Rather, most would only talk of irrigating plants that are not intended for human consumption. However, I do know a few people who do run 'blackwater reed-bed systems' and do irrigate all their food crops, and while they may not comply with 'the law', they have not yet died from the practice.

I am fairly certain that we have had many discussions on here as to the merits of the practice you are suggesting, and by searching for them you should find them. Failing that, if it is 'scientific evidence' that you are searching for in order to answer your question, then you should be able to find plenty of papers relating to studies on the subject. A Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?q=irrigating+food+crops+with+treated+efflu ent&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=2001) search on the term 'irrigating food crops with treated effluent' returns approximately 13,700 hits.

Good luck with your search, Markos.

PS: Here is a link to an interesting QLD trial involving blackwater reuse (http://www.dip.qld.gov.au/plumbing/blackwater-reuse-trials.html)

[purplepear]

You are a national treasure Marko - I like the links - very helpful