I notice your post is a week old, so you may have already made a decision...nevertheless, if it were me, I'd lose the boards you put the sealant on. Use them for something else (to defray cost)...fencing or trellising of ornamentals, whatever, as long as you keep them away from your source of food. Don't you have timber yards or sawmills there where you can buy oak boards? I bought rough-cut 2"X12", l6 ft. long oak boards in my area (Maryland-Virginia), for about $6 or $7 apiece, 10 years ago, that are nearly as solid as they were when purchased. Of course I wouldn't dream of going to Home Depot (or some such similar retailer) for oak boards, but we have lumber yards and sawmills in rural areas that will cut oak boards to your specifications at a reasonable price...and 2" means 2" at a sawmill, not 1 1/2". I happen to have capped the 2" oak boards with cheap 2X4's (pine) as added insurance against decay (and also to have a place to plant my rear end while working in the raised beds), and I have no problem with such beds lasting 15-20 years, or so. To each his/her own, but oak is abundant in my area, and probably outlasts pine 5 to 1, so I wouldn't think of using pine for raised beds. Also, I can't work in a raised bed that's more than 39-40" wide without climbing into it, so I limit all my beds to that width (and I'm 6'5"). I realize (and read in this forum) that people make much wider beds, which they walk around in, but one of the chief benefits of raised beds (in my mind) is to avoid tramping and compacting the soil. Again, to each his/her own, but I have raised beds that never have had a foot in them since they were built. So, my suggestion is to remove what you have and use it elsewhere (not around something you'll eat). Find reasonably priced rough-cut oak boards (they'll last so long you won't have to worry about "sealing" them), and make your beds an appropriate width (so you won't have to climb into them).

Did you only use sealer on the outside? If so, I would think that the beds are fine -- the surface sealer applied by a homeowner wouldn't penetrate through to the soil. If you did the inside as well, I would suggest pulling the soil back from the edges and lining the inner sides with heavy landscape plastic to form a barrier. IMHO this sounds like way to much work for a relatively low risk of toxic contamination. Checking with the manufacturer is a good suggestion. Good Luck!

Hi Wildflowerchris, welcome to the group. "Pressure treated wood is out of the question. However i want to use "rot resistant wood." A few things to consider, pressure treated wood is not made with arsenic anymore (at least the wood you buy at home improvement centers) instead it has chemicals that are much less harmful to humans. On simple rectangular beds it is quite easy to add a liner to help keep the chemicals in the PT wood from leaching into the garden soil. The liner will also help make the wood last longer by keeping the moist soil from contacting the wood. Two of the best liners I have found are Tri Flex roofing underlayment (comes in a big 40 inch wide roll that is about 400 feet long) very tough but expensive (about $45 per roll). If you where making a lot of raised beds it would be cost effective. Another liner that may work well is plastic roof valley liner. I think it comes in 24 or maybe 18 inch rolls that are about 50 feet long. Another option might be landscape stones. Would look very nice and never rot but would require making a base (a lot of work) and would cost more then wood. Good luck on your project and I look forward to seeing pictures of it. DC

There should be a # on the back of the can to call to ask them. I've read that it ins't safe to seal with anything, unless it's natural, like boiled linsead oil. By the way, what type of wood did you use?