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Vegetable Gardening

what grade of redwood for raised beds?

11 years ago

I'm putting in a new raised bed vegetable garden and i just got a bid for the lumber for it. I'm going to build the raised beds myself. I got a bid for "construction heart" grade redwood. They said I could save some money if I went with white "construction common" grade but it doesn't have the same resistance to insects and decay that heart grade has. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd really like to save some money.
THANKS!

Featured Answer

digdirt2

11 years ago

Why do they have to be redwood. Raised beds can be constructed out of all sorts of materials and have decades of service.

Redwood may be cheaper in CA but around here the cost of redwood is 4x the cost of any other lumber, even the composites.

Are you required to use redwood for some reason? If so I'd sure opt for the least expensive variety I could get.

Dave

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Comments (8)

jonhughes
11 years ago
Yeah...I agree.....go for cheap, most of my raised beds are Concrete Cinder Blocks, but where they didn't fit ,I used Douglas Fir (Cheap)... its been 3 years and they look the same as they did the first day....and no...I didn't oil them nor did I use any preservative.

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modern_miss
Original Author
11 years ago
Great - thanks - i don't HAVE to use redwood but it has to be some kind of non-composite wood. What about the choice between white construction common redwood and cedar? Is one better than the other? THANK YOU!
digdirt2
11 years ago
Once again why and what you mean by "composite"? Reason I ask is that there is a great deal of mis-understanding out there on why some woods can be used and others cannot. Not to mention what "composite" actually means..

For example - It used to be (10-12 years ago) you shouldn't use pressure treated woods. That is no longer true as the process has changed.

Modern composites - a blend of recycled wood and plastic - are used to build just about anything outdoors. and pre-fab raised beds made of these composites are highly rated.

But if the choice is between redwood and cedar only then which ever is cheaper. Both work equally well although cedar is much more common.

Dave
Kevin Reilly
11 years ago
Redwood is more common here in CA. OP is Z10 so I'm assuming in CA.

You may want to check craiglist first. I've made all my raised beds out of reclaimed redwood. You can get it free when people rip up a deck. Also, check the materials section some sell it there at discounted price...
Creativeguy_z6_CT
11 years ago
I built my raised beds from knotty roughsawn red cedar back in 2001. Cheapest naturally rot resistant wood I could find, and reasonably attractive as aesthetics matter to me. 12 years of Neew England weather and they're still going strong. You have to make sure the knots are tight in the boards you select. That being said... If money was no object, I would've loved a garden made of redwood!
jean001a
11 years ago
With redwood, the most resistant for raised beds is heart.

Jean
who previously gardened for 30-some years in Long Beach, CA
modern_miss
Original Author
11 years ago
I'm going to keep an eye out for reclaimed lumber (cedar and redwood) on craigslist. Thanks for the info!

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