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Newbie, The program that certifies organic farms allows the use of composite lumber like Trex in growing operations that are certified organic, so it seems likely that there is nothing in it that would leach anything toxic into the soil. Like George, I don't know of much wood that won't rot. I've never used redwood because it is cost prohibitive, and even cedar rots. Osage orange or black locust fence posts here in my part of the state can last up to 50 years, although once you remove them you may find quite a lot of the post did rot while underground---just not enough for the fence post to fall over or collapse. Like George, I doubt rusting steel or iron would leach into the soil enough to damage the soil or plants grown in it. The Noble Foundation wouldn't advocate the use of corrugated metal beds if they felt there was any risk involved in using them. They're all about science and research and doing things properly. The Medina Orange Oil you linked is exactly the same one I buy and use. It is very strong and must be diluted a great deal. It makes a great soil drench for fire ant mounds, among other things. If not diluted enough, it makes a great paint stripper--so be careful how you us There are many soil dwelling critters that will eat wood, including carpenter ants. If you haven't seen any termites, I wouldn't worry about them. If they should pop up at some point in time, there are ways to deal with them. As George pointed out the wood likely just rotted due to constant contact with the soil. I've grown in raised beds lined with wood since the early 1980s and never have seen a termite in or near any of them. I'm not saying it never would happen, just that it isn't very common here. You could hammer a few inexpensive grade stakes into the ground now near the area where you intend to build your raised beds and see what happens to them over the course of the next few months. Think or them as termite traps. As much as I like raised bed, I agree with George that in some situations, grade-level beds may be better----because they don't warm up as quickly and because they don't dry out as quickly as soil in raised beds will dry out. Much depends on a complex combination of factors including how well your soil drains (or doesn't drain), how windy and exposed your garden plot is, how much rain you do or don't get during the growing season, etc. All of my garden is not raised beds. I have raised beds in the sloping uphill portions of my main veggie garden, which has mostly well-amended red clay soil, and couldn't garden without them. That soil in that area, even when well-amended, tends to drain very slowly. In the wettest part of the wettest years, even plants in the raised beds can stay too wet and can rot. I don't have raised beds at the western end of the garden where there is a very fast-draining sandy/silty blend. The soil there drains too quickly, a problem that would be even worse with raised beds above grade level. For the first 5-6 years here, even with constant watering, it was hard to keep anything alive in that sandy soil because it just wouldn't hold water long enough. Eventually I amended it enough that it now holds moisture well, but still not well enough that I'd put raised beds there. So, you have to consider your soil and how well is drains when you decide what kind of beds to use In my new garden plot out west of the barn, the soil drains incredibly fast in much of that garden, while there's a few really clayey slow-draining clay. In the fast-draining sandy soil back there, I almost could have waffle beds (sunken below grade level) except for the fact that every now and then we have a big, slow-moving storm system dump 6-9-12+" of rain in one day, and I think that waffle beds on a day like that might turn into ponds with dead plants in them. This is only its second year and I haven't amended the soil much yet and I doubt I'll ever be able to get it to hold moisture well enough in typical weather that I'd want to build raised beds back there. In fact, I'm fairly sure I'd never put a raised bed out there unless it was a hugelkultur bed, and my fear or snakes has kept me away from hugelkultur beds here so far. Dawn

We've got several large beds whose walls are those pavestones that they sell at Walmart and at Home Depot. They are less than two bucks apiece, easy to use, look good, stay in place---I'm very happy with them and intend to make one or two more beds...they are made with a lip that keeps them from shifting once in place. They are called Windsor stones, and they come in at least three colors.

Hubby is doing a couple boxes similar to yours. Our soil is the opposite of clay. Decomposed Granite that gophers LOVE! He is using redwood boards for the sides and some kind of plastic clamps to put the corners together. He laid down hardware cloth so the gophers can't come up underneath, but if the roots go into the soil below, gophers may have a feast. He's also putting posts around the edges to string chicken wire around to keep out rats, rabbits, etc. THEN we'll put bird netting over that. I'm telling you, it's WAR on our property! 1.5 acres right next to the wilderness. Critters abound.