Dog run over drainfield ideas

We have an area that is over a drainfield and we are going to fence it in for a dog run. At our last home our dog run was green and lush, protected by a bunch of native shrubs, but this space is mostly hawkweed, with a few struggling thistles and clumps of grass. It is wet clay soil that never recovered from the disturbance, and bordered by a bunch of huge conifers, which makes us nervous for the drainfield, but it is what it is for now.

I'd like to recreate the lovely dog run we had, with shrubs that encouraged the dog to run on paths. I'm going to start by scraping the hawkweed and seeding red clover. Then I'm going to transplant snowberry, bracken, and a shrubby wild rose. Then I might try to train a kiwi along the fence. I'll be adding chipped branches to the area as I can, probably not this year. Would you help me think of some other things to plant in there? Hard zone 4, clay soil, short dry season, nothing with deep water-seeking taproots, nothing that will be poisoned by the dog's waste (I'm not growing my own dog food yet.)

Thank you

Kris Winter wrote:We have an area that is over a drainfield and we are going to fence it in for a dog run. At our last home our dog run was green and lush, protected by a bunch of native shrubs, but this space is mostly hawkweed, with a few struggling thistles and clumps of grass. It is wet clay soil that never recovered from the disturbance, and bordered by a bunch of huge conifers, which makes us nervous for the drainfield, but it is what it is for now.

I'd like to recreate the lovely dog run we had, with shrubs that encouraged the dog to run on paths. I'm going to start by scraping the hawkweed and seeding red clover. Then I'm going to transplant snowberry, bracken, and a shrubby wild rose. Then I might try to train a kiwi along the fence. I'll be adding chipped branches to the area as I can, probably not this year. Would you help me think of some other things to plant in there? Hard zone 4, clay soil, short dry season, nothing with deep water-seeking taproots, nothing that will be poisoned by the dog's waste (I'm not growing my own dog food yet.)

Thank you

Septic drain fields are easy to wreck and very expensive to fix. Personally I would be very cautious about adding plants or shrubs.

Red clover, for example, has a tap root 24-36" deep. That will reach into your drain pipes and may cause trouble. Dutch/white clover is much safer.

Septic fields and tanks are costly surprises when they get damaged. When I have to manage one, I like to put a border around it (to keep people from parking vehicles or filling inflatable pools on it!) and fill the area with short rooting flowering annuals for the bees in it. White clover, wild violets,  impatiens, that kind of thing.

How healthy do you want to maintain your dog?

Putting a dog run in a wet area sounds like a vet bill waiting to happen.

Plant some wildflowers and enjoy the pollinators ...

Thank you for the advice about red clover, I don't know if the area will have enough sun for white clover but I will give it a try.

As far as wildflowers, I don't think there are any shade wildflower mixes that do well here. Growing season is about 95-100 days. Hawkweed does well, of course, but I can't think of anything else that would stand up to the traffic. Oregon Grape is the major ground cover in the forest, but it has very deep roots, and a smattering of lilies, but they are fragile. Maybe I just need to do a shade grass clover mix.

And as far as the dog goes, it isn't standing water! If he couldn't handle a little mud he'd be in trouble, and every other dog on the street.