Raspberry Bushes - Irrigate with Laundry Water?

Subject: Greywater (laundry) irrigation of raspberry bushes
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001
From: Art Ludwig
To: "Pete D." <deckinpa©ccms.net>

Pete from Austin, Texas writes regarding laundry greywater
application to raspberry bushes. The environment is semi-
arid suburban, 32 inches rainfall per year, elev. 700 ft.
> I am planning to install a gravity drum greywater
> irrigation system from my laundry wash machine to water
> a few nearby fruit trees as well as a 5' X 20' garden
> plot where several raspberry bushes are planted. I read
> in a Q&A on your site that it is not recommended to use
> grey/blackwater on strawberry plants. What about using
> greywater filtered through a mulch basin around the
> raspberry plants?

Pete,
The issue with strawberries is fruit which are typically
laying right on the ground and are generally eaten raw,
often unwashed. In this situation berry eaters could find
themselves directly ingesting greywater residue.
In the case of fruit trees or berry bushes with higher
growth habit, this would not be a problem.
Yours,
Art


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