Humanure from an 'organic' septic tank

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself Here' started by John Gabriel Otvos, Aug 22, 2018.

  1. John Gabriel Otvos

    John Gabriel Otvos New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2018
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    Climate:
    6a North Mtn side forest micro clime, Annapolis Valley, NS
    Hello, My name is John. Yes, I'm new here, but, not new to a whole foods plant-based diet. In NS, we can have a grey water system and composting toilets, but, they must be secondary to a regular septic tank and tile system. My guess is that Kings Cty wants resale with no problems. The concept of permaculture is interesting to me, as I've been eating almost entirely organic for 15 years and solely whole plants for the past 7.

    Q: If I was to dip a bucket into my septic tank how would I use the mix? I use rotating compost piles covered with earth for heat generation. I have 26 raised beds as there was no soil here on the side of the mountain once a level building site was created. The beds are 2' high and mostly 4' x 8' from local Tamarack. Plants love deep soil. The beds are never walked in and winter rye is turned under each year. The soil is rich and fertile but with few worms. No animal manure is used.

    An image of this garden can be found at the top of the page here: https://johnotvos.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/garlic-adventures/
     
    songbird likes this.
  2. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 10, 2006
    Messages:
    3,046
    Likes Received:
    200
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    E Washington, USA
    Climate:
    Semi-Arid Shrub Steppe (BsK)
    Welcome John,
    Have you read the Humanure Handbook? It's available online for free here: https://humanurehandbook.com/contents.html (click on the .pdf portion of each chapter in the table of contents)
    This chapter is especially relevant to your question: https://humanurehandbook.com/downloads/Chapter_5.pdf
    While you may prevent all the chemical inputs to your septic system due to your plant-based lifestyle, pathogens will always be present. Further, dipping into the septic tank will likely result in a bucket full of the scum that floats to the top of the tank, not the portion of humanure you want. I suppose that composting the sludge that sinks to the bottom of the tank, ensuring high temperatures are reached for the appropriate time might work, but it seems far simpler to construct one of the basic humanure toilets described in the book and composting the original "product" would be your best bet. https://humanurehandbook.com/humanure_toilet.html
     
    songbird likes this.
  3. John Gabriel Otvos

    John Gabriel Otvos New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2018
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    Climate:
    6a North Mtn side forest micro clime, Annapolis Valley, NS
     
    songbird likes this.
  4. John Gabriel Otvos

    John Gabriel Otvos New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2018
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    Climate:
    6a North Mtn side forest micro clime, Annapolis Valley, NS
    Thank you Bill. I agree that what I want is the good stuff that has sunk to the bottom. I recall 60 years ago, that the family had a septic tank before the city installed pipelines throughout the limits. 'Pipelines' in another forum might be a toxic topic. :) In 12 years, we never had it emptied, nor were any paper diapers invented to fill it.
     
    songbird likes this.
  5. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2013
    Messages:
    1,791
    Likes Received:
    148
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Occupation:
    gardening, reading, etc
    Location:
    near St. Charles, MI, USoA
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    -15C-35C, 10cm rain/mo, clay, full sun, K-G Dfa=x=Dfb
    is it currently being used at all? like is there new water going into it?

    you could gradually empty it into your long term compost piles, if they get hot enough it
    should be ok in time as the Handbook specifiies. in NS the cooler temperatures during
    the off season may be a challenge so perhaps you can only have it going for half a
    season?

    to me i do consider our "modern" mixing of human waste with clean water as a major
    stupidity, especially when you consider how little clean water there is these days and
    how much energy and expense there is in moving it and then moving it back and
    treating it again and all that pipework and maintenance. the dry composting toilet
    methods are much less expensive, but you do need the space and area set up right
    for it. alas, here the water table is just not suited for it at all. i've got two almost
    permanently flowing water courses through the site and so can't risk any runoff
    going into those from any composting piles at all. so for me to change to a dry
    composting system i'd also need waterproof containers large enough to hold what
    i was composting for several years. that then changes the "less expensive" part
    into a more expensive part... :(

    good luck, i hope it goes well for you no matter what you do there. :)
     

Share This Page

-->