If the cut end is facing up- like the top of a post- you should protect it somehow. If it's a 4x4 post, the easiest non-chemical protection is a post cap. Otherwise, if you're talking about raised beds set in soil, or something like that... why bother sealing? Placing pt lumber in direct contact with soil voids the warranty because you're encouraging rot conditions. I find it's easier just to accept that any wood making contact with the soil is going to have a limited lifespan, and will need replaced at some point. Just buy the best quality lumber you can find. I'm appalled at the garbage Lowe's sells- it's green, it's sopping wet, and most of it's already cracked and twisting. The #1 select sold at my local lumberyard is the same price, but it's actually nice quality and good looking stuff. Lighter, too, since it's had time to dry. Since I just built my fence by myself, lighter weight was a huge benefit.

As of January 2004 it is illegal to use CCA. The product has been replaced with ACQ (Alkaline Copper Quat) and CBA-A (Copper Azole). Neither of these have arsenic in them. They cost more though and the content in the lumber you buy is based on the likelihood of them coming in contact with the soil, i.e. 5/4 boards for decking have much less than the 4x4 posts that go in the ground. These metals can become toxic if levels become too high though, if you are putting down a deck, let it dry first and then coat it with an oil based stain. Make sure you use corrosion resistant nails or screws when you put these together. As a professional I use only pressure treated compatible screws (sometimes nails are used to temporarily fasten in place but the screws are what hold things together). Alternatively there are Borate treated lumber products disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) but these can leach out more rapidly and require re-treatment. Hope this helps a bit Al

Well Merryberry, I went the easy way out here and bought a galvanized steel trash can with lid for $22.00 at Home Depot. I am thinking that I can drill it full of holes on the bottom, top, and sides and then bury a foot or two into the ground. Nice tight fitting lid should keep those buggers out while the holes will let in air and moisturure (and earthworms at ground level). I am considering pushing the lid down in a concave manner so that what little rain we get in S TX will filter into the compost. One last thing- why not set it immediately adjacent to my tomato cage so that the compost will boost my tomato production? (I have seen sketches of a wire compost bin surrounded by tomato cages so that the nutrients could leach into the ground and feed the tomatoes) That may be a good idea for those of you who are fortunate enough to have the room to do it. I have already made the choice to cover most of my yard with fruit trees.

I have used Serenade/Rapsody/and another name for years. It was first Serenade, then Bayer bought it. They then put out a natural line of pesticides that they eventually sold the license, I believe it still found in the same shape bottle, but I do not remember the name. Bayer still control the license for the product for agricultural/professional use under the names Serenade and Rapsody, but the name of the product for homeowner eludes me, since I can buy Rapsody. I have found it to be a good fungicide spray, when rotated with another spray. One week spray with Serenade and in two weeks another chemical or natural product. I find that is true for all fungicides. They need to be rotated. It has been proven it now helps as a soil drench product for root rot, but no where as good as it is as a spray for leaf fungus. I honestly have never used it for rust. I have used it for BS and powdery mildew and root rot, but never for rust. I honestly would alternate, but first test a small spot on your plant. Unfortunately they have not been tested on succulents, so the bottle will not tell you if it is safe for your particular plant. I don't know if sulphur or copper are safe on succulents, but they are both very effective treatments of rust. You do know that no spray will alleviate the damage that has been done. It will only prevent it from spreading.