Science of Septic and Soap: Life lessons in septic systems, Part 4

As we prepared to move in, I read the well/septic packet thoroughly and repeatedly, considering my options for dishwashing, laundry, shampoo, hand soap, and all kinds of cleaning.

Some odd and useful science I learned on the way: 

Septic systems are alive with bacteria which digest the solids and liquids in the tank.  When these substances break apart correctly, they decompose into water, carbon dioxide, and other harmless things which exit the system.  The water filters down through the ground, returning to the water table and refilling one's well.

If the solids and liquids don't decompose safely, they form toxins, killing off the good guy bacteria, potentially killing the system.  A septic system which is not biodegrading to water and air will require more frequent and costly maintenance and might poison the people, animals, and the water table.  No pressure.

Keep the system healthy by using biodegradable cleaners and avoiding toxins and things which won't biodegrade.  It's a lot cheaper to prevent problems than fix them.

Some thing to avoid putting down :

• Anti-bacterial soap- kills the good guy bacteria
• Latex paint- not only does it not biodegrade, it will gum up the tank and clog the drainage holes where water comes out at the end of the system under the mound 
• Whey from cheesemaking-  whether from its' high oxygen demands and/or from its' competition with other bacteria, enough whey can kill a septic system.  Thanks to Wynn for pointing that one out to me.
• Anything I don't want to wind up in my land or in my water since everything says on my property.  Nothing goes Away.

This leads to some real challenges in terms of cleaning.  Our water is still hard, which makes cleaning tougher.

Why you ask?  Well soaps have a tougher time working in water with lots of minerals like ours.

Here's a cool video on how soap works.

And here's a written explanation.
How does soap work?

We've gotten our arms around a little science to understand better why our water is 'slipperier'  with minerals so soap is less effective and why we need to eliminate harsh chemicals to protect our septic system.  

Now what?

Creativity and elbow grease, my friends.  That's Septic Part 5.

Grace: Life lessons in septic systems, Part 3

In the midst of our doubts, we continued to look and learn. 

We visited this far-flung, wooded property in Franconia, skipped under the sugar maples, and fell in love.  We paid for five different inspectors to come- permaculture farming, dome doctor, plumbing, housing, and of course, well/septic.  Like new parents, we were delighted to find out that despite the frozen pipes, the place had good bones, a healthy well, a large modern septic system, and beautiful dirt.  

Giddy, we offered.  Shelley and Larry accepted, the banks signed off, and our dream began.

The wonderful attention to detail Larry and Shelley lavished on this place, which has a blog all its own, blessed us again.  Without having even enough foresight to know to ask, we learned at closing that they sold us a house with a fabulous, state-of-the-art, Eco-Smart Water Purification System which purifies the water for the whole house without using salt or any nasty chemicals.  Water is still minerally but tastes great.  

It is exactly what I would have chosen for myself if I had known then what I know now.  

Isn't that sheer grace?

There is no Away: Life lessons in septic systems, Part 2

When we took the University of Minnesota Extension's Living on the Land class two years ago this spring, the topic that I found most deeply disorienting was the one on wells and septic systems.  

Twenty plus years ago, I attended a motivational speech I'll never forget when my college first introduced recycling bins on campus.  Aside from returning glass bottles for change and smashing a few tin cans for my Grampa, I had never recycled.  I remember the professor talking about how we shouldn't mindlessly throw things away because there is no magical place named Away to throw them.  We should not simply pile them out of sight and hope they go Away.  

Nice speech.  I learned to recycle and reuse.  Heck, I lived in Minneapolis where we sorted into eight different groups of recycling at the alley.  There were always at least two containers in every public building- one for recycling and one for garbage.  Our neighborhood sorted and collected food for compost, too, so my kids and I knew to look for three cans and instructions before throwing anything Away.  There could be up to 5 different cans in some 'green' restaurants and more at the Wedge or Whole Foods for plastic bags, corks, plastic yogurt containers, etc.  

However, I still turned on the tap every day and the water magically appeared and then went Away.  Except now I dreamed of living in the country where, I was informed in class, I would be in charge of my own well and my own septic system. I received a septic system packet.  No one had given me a "Welcome to Minneapolis- here's how you operate city sewer and water" packet.  Now I got a packet plus I got an hour long lecture with slides and science.  

Suddenly and unwittingly, I as a home-owner was going to be a lot more involved in my own water cycle.  Cleaning and flushing safely required training.  I invite you to take a look on the U of M site dedicated to septic system education and get a glimpse for yourself.  Or take a look at a five minute video about it. 

We left that night's class wide-eyed and subdued.  This whole "learning to take responsibility and doing for ourselves" thing was a lot less shiny in practice than I'd first imagined.  A well and septic system cost $20,000+ to install and if we should break, contaminate, or kill it (yes, the septic bacteria are alive) we would be responsible to pay to fix it as well as live with the consequences of poisoning ourselves and our land. Routine maintenance would also be our responsibility to schedule and pay for or calamity might ensue.  We definitely were leaving the world we knew and the new one looked frightening and daunting.  

Then there was the well water- hard water, water softening, salt, lime and calcium build-up- all of which I knew nothing about except for the one hour class.  To top it all off, I am fussy about my water.  I have had a water filter for most of my adult life because city water tastes chloriney and well water tastes worse.  



 


We, the previously intrepid homesteaders, drove home after water night at class asking each other,"Do we still want to go through with it?  What else might we not know that we don't know?  What other costs and responsibilities might be lurking?  If our relationship to water can change so profoundly, what else might change without warning?" 



I felt like gravity had shifted under me, that my nice neat world of resources coming and going without a thought was gone forever. 

Listening: Life lessons in septic systems, Part 1

Of all the possible topics I pondered writing about after our first year of homesteading, the one which kept popping up at odd moments was a humble topic- septic systems.

Odd.  
Even for me.
But I've learned to pay attention to those odd unrelenting ideas because they usually lead me somewhere unexpected and significant.

I've written and waited and pondered and then reorganized and written some more for over a month.

This is going somewhere whether you have a septic system or not, so hang in there with me.

Salute to Shelley and Larry

Larry and Shelley built this Natural Spaces Domes home with their own hands over the course of ten years.  This was their dream home and the last home they planned to live in until the economy crashed and they both lost their jobs.
  
Despite their heartbreak, they were gracious to us in the selling process, offering advice and giving us their contact info so we could ask questions after we moved in.  


The wonderful attention to detail Larry and Shelley lavished on this place and their goodness to us blesses us over and over again.  

Thanks, Larry and Shelley for all your goodness!

How many basic skills do you have?

In response to a previous blog,

Angela sent this list.

How many basic skills do you have?

Thanks, Ang!

Nice one.

Best friends

Mark and Brownie bring out the best in each other

More goat photos

Meet the boys:

 Dandy, a buck

Max, a wether (neutered male)

inside their PVC pipe and tarp shelter

They've been together since birth and are stalwart companions.

Welcome to R Farm, boys!

Goats

On Friday, April 11, 

R Farm welcomed our four new Nigerian goats: 

Beauty, Sunshine, Max, and Dandy.

Beauty and Sunshine sharing snacks at the milking stand

It's been a bit of a zoo around here

so I chose to put up the photos I have handy now

with more to follow as we get settled. 

Sunshine and Beauty browsing after milking

Are we losing practical life skills?

Tim read this blog aloud to me Are we losing practical life skills?

Our own lack of real life skills upon leaving college is one of the reasons we homeschool and acquiring human capital for ourselves and our family is one of the things we appreciate about learning to farm.

I wanted to share an excerpt here. 

Only the wealthy can afford to have someone else fix their bicycle, walk and wash their dog, change the oil in their car, repair their house, etc. Practical skills enable an individual or household to lower the cost of living to the point that savings (capital accumulation) is possible. 

Practical skills are human capital, which is the means of production in a knowledge economy.
The Knowledge Economy's Two Classes of Workers (March 29, 2013)
 
In a very real sense, those with few practical skills are doomed to a zero-capital life unless they earn enough to pay somebody else to do everything for them, i.e. a minimum of $150,000+ a year, i.e. a top 10% household income. Even at that income level, people who can't do anything for themselves may not be able to save any money.
 
Poverty and lack of life skills are causally connected.
 
Science fiction author Robert Heinlein famously listed the skills of the generally competent in his book Time Enough for Love:
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
 
I propose amending Heinlein's list for the modern era: The marginally competent person should know how to: 

1. Look up how to fix something on the Web
2. Use WD-40
3. Get a bicycle chain back on the gears
4. Apply superglue without gluing their fingers together
5. Change the oil in a car
6. Replace a lockset
7. Troubleshoot network connections on a PC/laptop
8. Make a stir-fry meal using multiple fresh ingredients
9. Compose coherent instructions that explain how to do something useful
10. Keep a variety of plants alive and producing fruit, vegetables or flowers

This is obviously a very short list, but we have to start somewhere. 

Out of the 31 skills listed, I can do a little less than half with varying degrees of competence.

How about you?  

Farmacology

Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing by Daphne Miller MD is an excellent, thought-provoking book.  Since my own journey to farming has a lot to do with my desire to healing, I found this particularly inspiring. 

If I start with quotes, I'll go on and on.  
Put it on reserve at the library- well worth a look.

Melt in peace

Before the Super Storm buried it again, 

I took a photo of our clear driveway.  

Asphalt!  Who knew?

Tim had been out breaking the three-inch thick sheet of ice into chunks small enough to shovel every day for a month,

culminating with 8+ hours last weekend.

Tuesday the propane delivery driver successfully 

navigated the narrow curve and filled our tank with enough propane to last through summer, 

ending our fears of empty tank and frozen pipes.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief and put his shovels away.

Super Storm, do your worst.  

We can wait for it all to melt in peace.

Like James Bond's martini

I used to think that the big machines out grading dirt roads were intentionally making the washboard pattern for increased traction. 

Why else would there be perfectly even waves in the road?

In fact, the machines scrape and loosen the dirt breaking up the wave pattern which gives us a nice smooth ride for a day or two.

Here's an explanation

Here's another

Tim's approach is confirmed by Myth Busters (Episode 58)-

 driving faster is smoother.

However, as I drive slower to accommodate my old tires, 

I've wondered if it could shake cream into butter. 

Nothing so helpful has occurred to date.

Tim and Abbi

 Cute, color-coordinated,
and no longer allergic

 

Tim's become a cat person

or at least an Abbi person.

I'm not dead yet

Tim says this tree reminds him of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

 

"I'm feeling much better.

I think I'll go for a walk."
 

"I feel happy!"