Septic Issues and The Final Garden Update

Hello everyone.  Today it was sunny out so Mike and I got some work done before the rain comes back.  We have had a very rainy time since we got back from NY in August.


Now for the septic story.  I know we are so much fun, lol.  We started having problems with flushing our toilet, and no it wasn't clogged.  It would flush and then do a backfire kind of thing.  Mike started to think that maybe our tank sunk a little with all the rain we had.  Since we didn't want a truck in here digging up our lawn there was only one thing we could do.  You got it…Mike and I decided to dig up the cover to see what was going on.  Ugh!!!  First we looked at some old pictures to try and figure out exactly where the septic cover was.

OK…time to dig.  We got the tarp to keep the lawn clean, the shovels and the bucket.  Mike started in one spot and we got down about 2 feet…hmm…no tank.  Started digging another hole….again no tank.  And the third time is the charm.  We hit the lid right on the money.  Just what we were looking for:)



Mike hooks up the pump just in case that is what the issue is:

While he did that I cleaned up around the lid so we could get it off..thankfully there was a good breeze blowing, lol:

Using the end of the shovel to knock the lid lose.  The tank did not sink:)

Eww!!!!  Mike snakes the pipe that goes to the other side of the tank:

And we found the culprit to our problems.  That tank came with a screen.  Mike was skeptical about putting it in as he had never put one in a septic tank before.  He should have stuck with what he knew.  Sometimes the "new and improved" things don't work.  Sure enough the screen was blocked and causing the "burps" when we flushed our toilet.

While the lid was off and the screen was out we tested the system.  We had no problems without the screen.

Time it wrap it up.  Mike put the lid back on:

Then we dumped the dirt back on top.  Mike adds a metal post so we can find it the next time around.  Hopefully we won't need to:

We got cleaned up just in time for the rain.   We were very lucky that we found the lid so fast and it was a very easy fix.  Later on we added a piece of plastic cap that Mike painted green.  That blends with the grass but we can mow over it and still find the septic lid.

So that was the septic excitement and we will never let anyone talk us into using a screen again. 

Next up…Gary wanted to hear about my garden.  In early August we went for a trip to visit family in NY.  I loaded up with cucumbers, lots of squash, zucchini, and the sweet 100 tomatoes which I had an abundance of.  A few different things happened this year.  One I planted all bush beans instead of bush and pole beans.  That means they all came in at once….so I had to can them.  My green peppers in the big garden never produced.  I'm not sure why but I did get some from the above ground garden.  As for my tomatoes….sadly I determined that all of my large tomatoes, over 200, got stink bug and they were no good.

I had watermelon and cantaloupe planted.  That did not work out well at all.  They did well at first and then we got so much rain that the melons all rotted before they matured.  I won't be trying those again.

My corn grew and it was fun but for the three ears or so that I got from each stalk I think I will just buy some local corn each year:)

Overall I was happy with the big garden but I had too many plants.  Next time around I will have less and will most likely have to use some kind of spray/powder to keep any bugs and disease at bay. 

The pattypan, white scallop squash, did amazing.  I must have picked over 60 from the one plant I had.

Here are a few pictures:

I had to use my granny cart to carry some of my harvest back to the house:

Another day:

My corn:

Here you can see my melons looking kind of sad.  They are on the right:

And the tomatoes before they got stink bug:

Gardening is now in my system and I am sure I will try new plants and ideas each year.  The learning process seems to never end.  Oh and the "great" 6 foot tomato stakes I bought were no good.  The plants were too big and too strong and the stakes fell over.  Grr…

At the new house in Florida we have a healthy looking lime tree and a banana tree.  I wonder if there is such a thing as banana pickers?  The banana bunches are very high.

I'm sorry to say that you will have to wait on the sneak peeks of the new house.  I only have realtor photos but if I can transfer them to a disk, get a photo and back onto my computer I will get some to you next week:)

Mike and I are getting itchy.  We have lots of plans for the new place.  Some I think you will agree with and one or two that might make you cringe, lol.  We'll see.  That will be coming up soon and I will tell you our ideas and ask for your input:)

Have a great day.  I will post sometime next week….and maybe this week with a recipe.