Which mulch for cedar raised beds?
Esther-B, Zone 7a
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last yearlast modified: last yearEsther-B, Zone 7a thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UKRelated Discussions
Securing Black Plastic Mulch in Raised Beds
Comments (12)I never thought of loading the edges with rebar - you're right that wouldn't be too expensive, and would do the job. I use rebar all the time (anchor trellis', stake down my CRW tomato cages etc). As far as the beds, I got them from Craigslist. They are hollow 6 X 6 timbers, anywhere from 4 feet to 8 feet long, stacked double high. I made several 4 X 8 beds out of them, and a couple 4 X 12 beds. The original manufacturer i think is "Pasteak" - they charge $37 per 8' timber, but I got them for about 1/10th that price from someone on craigslist that was getting rid of a bunch of them. They work quite well, are anchored together with rebar and are quite attractive. I'd take a picture for you and post it, but they are all covered with snow at the moment! Here is a link that might be useful: Pasteak Landscaping Timbers...See MoreTar paper mulch between raised beds--yes or no??
Comments (13)Container garden and any excess when it rains. I'm wanting to build a garden space that sits above drainfield. It will need to have its water diverted away from drainfield area. That's where tar paper would have come in. I would have placed it on the 3 foot paths between the septic lines. There is a natural slope in the yard and I will use that to bring water to opposite side of yard and create a catchment area- maybe, or use it, the water, in some other way....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 MoreDouglas Fir or Cedar for a Raised Garden Bed
Comments (2)No problems with using the fir. Done it myself and have two 4x12' beds with it that are going on year 9 with no issues in my climate. Don't know what yours is since you don't include any location info so can't comment on any possible climate effects in your garden. The treatment leaching issue is a minor one, even under the worst conditions. Never treated mine just because I saw no need to do so but if you pull up some of the past discussions on using treated wood you'll find that even at the height of the arsenic use era with CCA wood the leaching tests showed the readable level ended at 5-6" from the wood. Most any treatment for wood that is available since the law changed in 2002 is far less, if any, and the toxicity levels dropped dramatically. You have to do what you will feel comfortable with of course but microbial activity in the soil is far more like to be decimated by climate effects and gardening practices (or lack there of) than by any oil preservative you might use on the wood. Dave...See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last yearken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last yearEsther-B, Zone 7a
last yearfloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last yearlast modified: last yearEsther-B, Zone 7a
last yearlast modified: last yeargardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last yearEsther-B, Zone 7a
last yearken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK