Raised Beds, how if not treated wood
Natilie70
14 years ago
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sharbear50
14 years agolazy_gardens
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Treated wood ( purchased in 2005) for raised beds ?
Comments (8)I looked into this before building my beds and what I found was that most of the treated wood these days is not treated with the toxic chromium and arsenic that was used in the past. Supposedly, they are today treated with mostly non-toxic substance but I can't tell you what that is. I never went that far into it. I have difficulty believing that somehow, the trace amount of chemicals that may leach out of the treated wood are going to be transmitted into the flesh of various vegetables any more than substances contained in dog, cat, or horse feces is transmitted through the root system and into the fruit, leaf or vegetables. I suppose root crops could possibly absorb some amount through direct contact if concentrations were high enough but still, I find it hard to believe that it would absorb more than negligible amounts. Considering all the added unnatural chemicals/preservatives/dyes etc, we consume daily in our food and beverages, not to mention everything we breath, I concluded that, for me and my family at least, any chemicals in treated lumber is a non-issue vs. the benefits of eating fresh vegetables. YMMV...See MoreAre pressure treated raised beds safe for growing veggies?
Comments (4)The old CCA Pressure Treated wood could leach out Arsenic which you could possibly pick up on your hands and if you did not properly wash them might ingest some of that Arsenic. It tool some 50 years for the researchers to discover this about the CCA PT wood before it was removed from the market so it really remains to be seen about the others. The EPA seems to think that the concerns about the Arsenic were overblown now and it is considering allowing CCA PT wood back on the market. If Pressure Treated wood is used to make raised beds the plants that grow nearest that wood need special care in handling if that PT wood leaches some of the chemicals so you know they have been washed off. Plants generally do not pick up these heavy metals since they are not needed for growth....See MoreBuilding Raised Beds Cedar or PT Wood? How Thick?
Comments (18)I thought of using cedar, but when I priced it, it was way too expensive and didn't make sense to do it. And I'm sorry to say, but if you're trying to grow as much food as you can, two 4x4 beds are not very much and I think that is a lot of money for two small beds. I have one long bed 12" high, 11ft long and 4ft wide. I have four beds 12" high, 4ft x 4ft. I made them with Pine because I had some already and didn't have to buy much more. It's actually been about 8 years since we built them and they are ready to be replaced now. Now I want to double the square footage that I can grow in. So I want to build… Two beds 12" high, 16ft long, 4ft wide Six beds 12" high, 6ft long, 4ft wide That doubles my growing space. I don't feel I need deeper beds, because vegetables are annuals and I've read somewhere recently that they don't really need 18" deep beds. 12" is just right for me and I don't mind bending and kneeling. So less wood. I priced what cedar I could find and it was going to cost me over $600. to build those beds. I called 12 lumber yards and only two had cedar and they weren't the dimensions I wanted either. Finally, one lumber yard, said he was steering people to use Eastern Hemlock rough sawn, which is very inexpensive. It is more rot resistant than Pine but less than Cedar. Estimates were 5yrs for Pine, 8-10 years for Hemlock, and 15yrs for Cedar. I priced the Hemlock and it was going to cost me $198. to build the same beds. So, if I built the hemlock and had to replace them in 10 years for another $200. It would still be $200. less than building the cedar beds, and would last me 5yrs longer....See Morestone or treated wood or cedar for raised garden bed
Comments (20)Thank you, Rodney, for clarifying that this site is not just pnw gardeners. I must admit it is a more active blog. The other Houzz site I found that had a LOT of Central Floridians on was 1. Lot of 2011 comments, 2. Tied up with a controversy over earth worms. The blogs were interesting, entertaining, and a little better then watching the grass grow. Just to satisfy my curiosity I found a site that gave analysis findings on NP&K contained in EW castings. My take on it was just like humans you are what you eat. Now your raised bed comment. Yes it is more work. My oldes daughter and I went dumpster diving for the original boards that I used for the raised bed and they showed me what termites and moisture can do in a verrry short time in a sub-tropical climate. Social Security Disability income and age can put a new twist on your list of objectives when approaching a project. Projects in General will have a better chance of being successful if care is taken in the preparation. You would not paint a room without first masking and putting down drop cloths to protect the different surfaces. I went through 70k for surgeries, medical supplies, living expenses, and still lost my house. I took the last 40k and bought a HUD foreclosure, 2007 manufactured home on 1/2 acre so I would not be homeless. I can spend all day in my yard and garden doing what is needed, takes me all day sometimes, but it is my physical and mental "health insurance" and cheaper than a gym. The location of the garden was non-negotiable, although I did manage to give it a north/south orientation, but the previous owner must have had a love affair with rocks because 1 1/2-2 in. below surface is a layer of stones. Hell will freeze over before I can excavate all of that from the garden site, tried, so raised beds some 12 in. high was necessary. Dumpster diving is out, daughter moved to another state, and I can't do it myself so I need to buy the cheapest boards but not have to replace ever. My most recent chuckle/saying is "I am taking my bad knees,no more operations, and my raised bed boards to the grave with me, proverbially speaking. In the past; I did invest in good tools, "toys", if you saw the video demonstrating the ancient japanese method of wood preservation they are using a big torch I have a Dragon torch, handy little critter, makes the job easy, kinda like watching grass grow. I use a battery operated drill to screw the boards together since hammers, nails and I do not get along. Voila, raised bed my "mixing bowl" for all things needed create good organic soil. :) :) Happy Turkey Day BTW to everyone. Nov. 26, 2015...See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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