today I sowed the first lot of phragmites australis (common reed) seeds. These will be the main medium for my water treatment system on my smallholding . The loo will be a composting loo , so isn't in the equation , it is just bath water and washing water that will be going into the reed bed system . The water that exits the reed bed will (hopefully) feed directly into a willow bed . These willows will be used for basket making etc . It may also supply water to a smallish rice paddy, which should provide 56-112lb of rice per year . More than enough for my needs. The reeds will , as well as being a filter , be used for thatching, as common reed is also known as Norfolk reed. I have chatted to a few people with unused scrub land next to a small river, who will allow me to plant the reed . I should therefore be able to provide all my thatching needs for the princely sum of £5.79 inc p+p. The seed packets seem to contain 200 or so seeds , very hard to judge as they are very small. I will be ably to count better when the germinate. I should end up with 400 or so individual plants , these will then spread/multiply at a very high rate, providing all my stock plants for the reed bed and the scrubland . The reed bed itself will need to be set in a waterproof container/pool. This will be made by adding a layer of sodium bentonite to the base and sides of the dugout area. This substance then swells by 15-20 times it's size and becomes waterproof , more or less indefinitely. You can use a plastic liner, but I not try to use anything plastic if I can . Plus plastic liners puncture easily if something like a horse decides to walk on it !!!! I think this is a really good eco friendly way to supply all my roofing needs , my basketry needs , charcoal needs , wood fuel needs, and at the same time clean all my waste water , (it is also very cheap !!!). I think the whole system could be setup for next to nothing really . But it would mean using some form of liner for the pools and secondhand pipe etc. Anybody else doing this , or already has a system setup ?
cheers
Russ
Topic: reed bed water treatment (Read 3104 times)
