My veg patch flooded with "effluent"! Will it be safe to eat? Plus photo..

[IAmcuriousyellow]

We had a septic tank replaced today and I got home to see mucky water all over my veg.. there was much hilarity (not from me) about prizewinning veg but I am not amused one bit and would like to ask, would you eat veg from this garden? I didn't have any lettuce or spinach in but what has been liberally poo'd is sweetcorn, broad beans, cauliflower, parsnips, carrots, shallots and maincrop potatoes, radishes, beetroots and seedling turnips. I took the pic after a lot of it drained away.

It's what they use for fertiliser... But no, probably not. Sorry.

Oh no! I'd not eat it, no. Sorry. And I play hard and fast with best before dates etc.

I'd have to check the lot I think, then frantically Google to see how /how long for the decontamination.

NB if everyone in house was vegan, I may reconsider.

They do too, but not pretty much straight out of a septic tank... I'm sure it's left to rot down a good long while. I'm gutted, because my instinct is not to eat anything from it either, but theres such a lot there! (I actualiy wept tears and everything)

I'd cry if that happened to me. Poor you, that's awful.

But we use cow, horse etc manure and not cat and dog, and human, for a reason, because of the pathogens in their/our waste.

I actually know the answer to this because a similar thing happened to my office mate, poonami over the garden every time there was heavy rain thanks to shite drains on her street, she called up the council to complain and she wanted to know when it would be a) safe to let the kids out to play and b) eat the veggies. So your answer is two weeks.

And considering you've mainly got root vegetables that will not be harvested for a while and then will be well boiled you'll be fine. Some gardeners deliberately recycle their own waste and don't come to any harm.

www.food.gov.uk/science/microbiology/flood

They seem to think it would be ok....

I would cry too :(

reading your OP again, I would eat it, everything you are growing is going to be cooked and most of it is still some time from being harvested anyway, yep, i would eat it.

I think you would be shocked at what is spread over fields.
Human waste is often spread as muck though it shouldn't be.

It will be fine. At least it is your own waste.

I assume none of the things are cropping right now, so it really should be OK by the time you come to harvest. Definitely no issue with the things which get cooked, I wouldn't worry about that.

The process of breaking down will happen naturally in your soil over the next few weeks, so by the end of it it will be no different from what they use as fertiliser.

Thank you ladies! I've dried my tears. hopefully by the time the plants are ready to harvest yesterday will be a distant memory! and at least it wasnt the other end where the salady things are.

Oh, you poor poor thing. I would be devastated! It's great news that most of the veggies can be saved, though! Given the advice by people in the know upthread, I think I'd just cook everything really thoroughly, and not eat raw.