Sewers

Are the apples on my tree safe to eat? My sewer line broke at the roots of the tree and drained into the soil

Public Comments

1. e uuu. i wont want to eat but if you still wish to go get a pet that eat fruits and see if it eat its and stay alive :P.
2. Unless your sewer was carrying literal toxic waste then no, you have nothing to worry about.
3. They should be, if they aren't on the ground.
4. eww....
5. We use cow, sheep, horse, pig and chicken fecal matter to fertalize our corps and you still eat those.
6. Dear Apple friend, Depending on when your septic line broke, and if no systemic chemicals were poured into your septic system, if venture to say that your apples are safe to eat, as long as you wash them thouroughly. The product in your septic system in slow amounts actually act a helpfull organic fertilizer to your tree( keep in mind i said "SMALL" amounts) The real concern is whether the tree is going to be sitting in swampy conditions or not. Apples, Plums and Roses are in the same family, all of them preffer a light weight well drained soil.. if drainage is a problem, and you can not fix the leak right away try jabbing the ground around the perimeter of the shade area of the tree with a spade fork or rebar(careful for sprinklers and utility lines) doing this a number of times around the tree, get air to the roots so that the tree wont drown. also adding a fungicide to the soil and a little granular iron wouldnt hurt. check out your local hardware or nursery for these products. Thank you for this opportunity to be of service. I wish you success and happy eating. im shemdove if you have any comments questions or suggestions, or if you have any ideas that might help myself or many others please email me at shemdove@yahoo.com Thank you so much have a great day i wish you Peace.
7. The apples are fine. Your tree will simply utilize whatever nutrients it can from the effluent. It's no different than applying cow, horse or hen manure than hasn't been well aged. However, fruit that has been touched or splashed by manure/effluent could be contaminated with E. coli and should be washed well before eating. Cider mills just hose them down to remove bird poop, but I think I'd wash them with dish soap and water.