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Georgia Gardener

Danger for garden from treating fence with wood stain

16 years ago

Hi, I am new here. And I have question. Today my neighbor treated his fence with some kind of wood stain (I am not sure what is it). It smelled so bad and workers came to my side of fence and treated fence there. I have garden . Most of future vegetable and etc. still under soil. But some like spinach (still very small), parsley (I protected it with plastic cover), sorrel, very tiny dill is already growing. I am sure it got good portion of that wood stain. I am going to cut all sorrel lives, which is fine. But what about the rest ? Will soil absorb it and eventually vegetables to? If my neighbor would told me that he is going to do this, I would covered ground. But my garden is not on their mind. It is their fence, but are they allowed to walk on my side so fence can be maintained ? If it so, I have think twice before planting garden next year. I do not want to poison my family and myself. Thanks for reading.

Comments (4)

bullthistle
16 years ago
First most all of the bad chemicals have been banned so I doubt you have anything to fear because with rain most of what they used would dissapate, but I am not certain if they dropped some on your leafy plants but I would cut back just to be safe. Since it is their fence they have every right to access it on your property, but then many people are inconsiderate of others needs. A knock on your door would have been the right approach.

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials
Iris GW
16 years ago
It is their fence, but are they allowed to walk on my side so fence can be maintained ?

That is why many counties/cities require that fences be built inside the property line, not ON the line so that the owner can maintain it.

I think you are right to cut off any edible vegetation which was exposed during the treatment. You're right, the neighbor should've told you that it was going to happen on that day so that you could cover/protect anything. Not everyone is considerate.
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I agree with digdirt. It doesn't look like it but it still MIGHT be pressure treated, but it's doubtful that any poisonous chemicals are in high enough concentration to be of danger. Keep in mind, even an apple has arsenic in them! :) Here's my suggestion: take one of the boards and put a bottomless pot on it (like say an empty milk carton with the bottom cut out, or even a styrofoam cup.) Plant a few seeds in the pot of cucumber and beans. They will be your canary-in-the-coal-mine testers. Cukes and beans are very sensitive to chemicals, so if they croak shortly after sprouting they are probably being poisoned. If they live ...the wood is okay to use.
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Not really. Pressure treated wood changed a great deal in 2002 or 2003 when the news laws caused arsenic to be removed from the process. Most new PT wood is considered safe to use. But if you are still uncomfortable with it then 12" was the recommended spacing from the old PT wood for root crops and leafy greens that have direct soil contact. Other crops are no concern. So just keep your carrots and herbs on the outside of the garden. Dave
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I've seen several references to used motor oil. You don't have to treat the whole post. 3 feet is sufficient. (Posts rot mostly at the few inches just below ground level: Lots of air, lots of moisture.) The soak is a long one: 2 months minimum, followed by month of drying. You will get better penetration if you can heat the oil -- essentially deep frying the logs. This turns some of the water into steam, then let them cool and the condensing steam pulls the oil into the wood. This is NOT a safe thing to do. Hot oil is dangerous. Flash fires are dangerous. If I were doing this I would heat the oil in a double boiler using a strong dissolved salt mix to raise the boiling point. This will take a lot longer, but I'm a lot more confident I could turn my back on it and not worry about catastrophe. If you have access to an old vacuum sewer truck, you have potentially a better way: Load the logs into the tank. Fill with oil. Now pull a hard vacuum on the tank, and hold for an hour. Let the air back in. Repeat several times. Pump the oil back into the storage tank. One of the measures of preservative is pounds per cubic foot. You can do the same. Mark a few logs. Mark the oil level before you put them in the soaking barrel. Mark the max level it gets to. Now after month see how much the level has gone down. Check weekly. Do all this in shelter to you don't end up with an inch or so of rain water under your oil.
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You didn't specify what type of garden. If it's a vegetable garden then the answer is not clear. Back when PT wood was treated with arsenic compounds studies have shown that the arsenic leached into the soil but it still wasn't taken up by all vegetables. Modern PT wood is treated with a copper based compound and it isn't clear from the studies that I've seen how much of the copper leaches into the soil and how it affects the vegetables and ultimately people. These compounds don't typically leach into the soil a long distance from the wood so if your fence is at least a couple of feet away from your crops then you should be OK. Cedar doesn't have these issues of course so a piece of mind may be worth the added expense. If this is a flower garden, then there isn't anything to worry about. Build away.
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satellitehead
16 years ago
If you talk with this neighbor, I would be sure to ask them to notify you in advance next time so you can cover your plants. Of course, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so, whether you're upset or not, I'd tell them you're not terribly upset, but would have liked to covered your veggie garden to prevent chemicals from getting all over your food next time. :)
light_2008
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for replying. I think we will go and talk with our neighbor about next time doing it. Hope next time he will warn us so we can protect our garden. Thank again.

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