On Apr 20, 1:39 pm, trbo20 wrote:
Hi All,

This is more of a lawn and garden question, but I didn't get much
response on that group. I thought I'd try here since this group tends
to attract a wide variety of expertise.

I recently purchased a new home and have noticed a large area in my
back yard that looked like death on roots. The grass was brown, a
dozen or so smaller trees, one mature forsythia, a small rhododendron
were all dead. A large Weeping Willow is on its last legs.

When I investigated the problem, it didn't take me long to realize
what was causing it. The previous owner ran the drain tube for his
water softener into a sump pit in the basement. He then channeled
the
discharge from the pit to the affected spot at the back of my lawn.
Every time the softener cycled, it flushed a potent load of salt
water
onto the root systems killing everything.

I've already shut down the softener and will remediate the drainage
right away directing the discharge to the house sewage system where
it
belongs. In the mean time I'm wondering what to do with my scorched
earth.

- Is there a way I can test the soil salinity to determine the extent
of my problem?
- Will rain water eventually wash the problem away? The roof gutters
discharge to the same location so there's plenty of irrigation.
- Is there something I can plant in the damaged area that loves salt,
and possibly even eats it up?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

-Tom B
Audubon, PA

I found a few hinters.........such as........
1) http://www.epa.state.il.us/citizens/green-tips.html which states
"Keep water softener discharges out of your septic system. Sodium in
water softener water reacts with soil and reduces the absorption
field's efficiency. "

2)http://www.weekendgardener.net/lawn-...ion-040704.htm
which states "Reduce sodium: Add Gypsum. Gypsum also helps compaction
in clay soils and helps with drainage"

3)http://williamson-tx.tamu.edu/AG/Hom...0on%20Watering
%20Lawns.pdf which states "Irrigation water quality problems are
usually a result of salt in the water. One such salt is
sodium. Sodium can build-up in soils and cause loss of soil structure
and cause soils to
hold water, and be poorly drained. In such cases treatment with gypsum
is advised along
with leaching irrigation or rainfall. Warm season grasses are more
salt tolerant than cool season grasses."


So other words..........the sodium in the soil is actually HOLDING
water and drowning your plants, etc and interrupting possibly the
drainage. If you can irrigate or increase drainage in that area, then
watering may indeed help to flush it out. Or you may remove about 6
inches of top soil, replace with new top soil and then reseed.