Growing our Grey Water System

The Experiment Continues

We have often considered this homestead an experiment. On this little inexpensive plot of land in this tiny ruggedly built straw bale home, we get to try out different off-grid techniques to see what works. The compost toilet, for example, the most ecologically sustainable solution to humanure, was an experiment which included a lot of trial and error. I've written about that more extensively in an earlier post. It is still questionable whether or not we would choose a compost toilet again in our next house.

Dealing With Our Own Crap

Mistakes are an important part of experimenting and that is what I kept telling myself this autumn as we dug up our backyard all over again. It turns out we did our gray water system all wrong. I won't deny that even as we were building the very minimal system comprised of PVC pipes and plastic buckets with holes in them, I had serious doubts it would work. I assumed that it would get clogged with hair and food and other detritus because we didn't have much of a filtration system o…