Pine is a softer wood and wont last nearly as long as cedar or redwood. It might be rare. ", "I'm still working on the design, but I was thinking of a top and bottom angle iron like a bed frame rail horizontally top and bottom and the pallet wood, which is in standard lengths already, inserted vertically, like barrel staves. Also, concrete blocks and bricks sound good but they have one big problem - slugs love living in and around them! I raise chickens and free range them and they would eat the whole garden if we didn't protect all our boxes. Plus, I'm trying to do this the easiest possible way. It would allow the wood to breathe and dry, and allow water to drain. Cedar or redwood is ideal except for expense and possibly the downside of using those precious woods. This is the part you stick in the holes you make in the ground so the bed is stable. I found this ", "Thank you Dan Carr. Amen Ellie! I don't bother with wood preservatives as I don't feel happy not knowing precisely what chemicals are in them and it's my grandchildren amongst others who benefit from 'grandpa's' veg. I am looking forward to starting an organic veggie patch this March and the more I read the more I become concerned about nasty toxins in my garden soil. However, before I got far with this idea, I saw a person's raised bed gardens with softwood walls. See http://buildingtree.ca/products-page/concrete-finishes/ferrous-sulphate-powder/ Note that Lifetime/Eco/Driftwood all sell for about $10-20 per ounce whereas Ferrous Sulphate costs less than 50 cents for the same quantity. Therefore, I would not recommend this product for food applications, however for non-edible plants, this seems to be a good solution. ECO WOOD TREATMENT is a non toxic wood preservative." You would imagine that there would be a number of products for the job but there are surprisingly few. Would the resen wood be good to use for a raised garden? They don't rot. I'm expecting 10+ years out of them. i might add dupont tyvek building wrap as an additional first layer for the next time. For raised beds that are 4 feet wide by 8 feet long (a very standard size) that would . 150.00. Miche tells me that some of the beds in the nurseary are going on 25-years old and other than the color change from natural weathering, they look like they are nearly new. It doesn't make any sense that you could crush up some limestone or feldspar, mix it in water, and it would soak into and protect the wood (though maybe it does!) and what did you use as a weather barrier? For all our talk of being green, we seem to miss one of the most important points: If we want to be natural gardeners, we have to take the rot with the renewal, don't we? Got me wondering if the secret ingredient in "Eco" or "Lifetime" is something as simple as baking soda or some other simple alkaline material. ", "Just a thought: bathe the wood in a mixture of beeswax and hemp seed oil. It looked rough hewed and I could not identify what kind of wood it was. I also considered using used roofing slates to create beds, but couldn't source any in the right time frame - but have seen them used successfully locally. Possibly. On the other hand, my 1/2 inch treated pine compost bin has been terrible and started falling apart after about 2 or 3 seasons. It will be a very large perimiter so I assume hardwood is too expensive and pine probably won't make it 3 years (or will it?). In the US we have a use first, test later system where political, economic and technical limitations means that none of the chemicals have been exhaustively tested, only a handful have been well tested and many havent been tested at all. You can also cut posts to install along the walls for additional strength. 99 Derby Street, Suite 200 As you can see, the best type of wood for raised beds can vary depending on how much you want to spend. When it rots i will replace it or go over it. Many thanks. There are low VOC products which may be classified as non-toxic. tall. An occasional gator may pass through during wet weather but no threat to the garden except for looking for some of the small critters. The other link indicates that it uses "plastics" but does not specify which ones. 20 Raised Garden Bed Ideas 26 Photos Discover different types of raised garden bed styles and get inspired to create your own with these pictures. Screaming "No!" They're both very durable, beautiful, and naturally resistant to moisture, rot, and even termites. Stucco stains, and needs a fairly stable and solid base to have any chance at resisting cracking. You can use large logs, sticks, and other organic matter. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I intend too. ", "@ Mimbles ", "I constructed a redwood veggie bed and it does not look good next to the house. ", "Stucco does not seem lke a good choice to contain wet soil. ANY ADVICE? enjoy", "Advice please ? No plant material need by against treated or other wood, just tile. Powered by - DETAILS . I agree with Ellie 100%. Its largely resistant to rot and termites, and its relatively easy to find. The environments that would cause it to break down would not support plant growth. The garden layout can't be changed (easily) Raised beds have the potential to dry out quicker. Wood is one of the most common material for use in raised beds. Cover CCA-treated wood used for raised garden beds or borders with heavy plastic to prevent contact with garden soil. Digging dog - terrier? These come in various sizes, theyre easy to find, and they dont have to be terribly expensive. I wonder what effect a wax-based coating would have? Lastly, untreated wood is your raw lumber. I have been planting away in my 3 new raised beds and, so far, I am very happy with them. I believe its made in Canada. A garden contractor has been happy to deliver it to our allotments totally free. This year i have reduced the height. Bamboo is an altogether different material and very resistant to water (which is why it's used to form flooring for bathrooms). often think is the ultimate, especially as we age. I also asked around and thought about my own experience with raised beds. Its also advised to make the height of the frames at least 10 inches. I'll keep reading now. (If you have difficulty using this form, please use our Contact Form to send us your comment, along with the title of this article. So I did what any gardener would do and spent the next three weeks scouring websites and reading through extension program materials and forestry blogs. ", "I would absolutely not use creosote, which is toxic, for anything you are growing vegetables in. ", "Jim, Tom, and Jack seem to be hijacking. And - while I'm not a chemist - there most definitely are different forms of copper. Two years after writing this article my thick (2") untreated raised beds described in this article are doing wonderfully and look like they'll keep going for many more years. ", "Is it advisable to use plastic lawn edging between your softwood untreated planks of the raised bed to prevent soil from touching the wood? ", "@Vernagain, thank you for your response, I appreciate your good sensible down to earth (is there a pun in that?)advice. Rocks. ", "I am thinking about using Lime for my raised beds - has anyone ver used it on wood? For very little cost and effort and with no pollution dangers, you have a green solution that continues to raise the beds over time with organic matter. Why You Should Have a Garden Holding Bed Our soil is very clayish, too, so the drainage is poor and that should have hurt the raised bed. It can also be expensive. The hardcloth looks new when we dig up our mix of soil so we reuse it on the new box. So what chemicals specifically does HDPE leach as it deteriorates? Reclaimed and recycled wood can be beautiful. It was easy to use and covered pretty uniformly with a few darker spots. ", "The question asked is for a science-based answer to the use of spent engine oil on timber used allotements and gardens. And if they are damaged badly, you might want to replace them with new ones. If you find some gorgeous reclaimed wood and want to use it for your front door, go for it, but its probably not the best type of wood for raised beds. No one has it. In the early years the furrows may be as high as the "raised" beds. Hoping they will last a few seasons. Mequoda Publishing Network This is my grocery list example that fits in a 48 raised bed. I've decided it's best to let the wood go naturally and leave it at that. The Bottom Line: You Can Use Treated Lumber for Raised Bed Gardens Scientific evidence backs up the claim that it is fine to use modern treated lumber in raised bed gardens. Raised Garden Beds Near Paris, Tennessee Buy and sell used raised garden beds with local pick-up or shipped across the country Log in to get the full Facebook Marketplace experience. I would strongly like to discourage anyone from using pressure treated lumber or creosote or anything like that. Almost 6 years myself of untreated pine and no issues Was told it's better to let the cedar sit out untreated for one winter to "acclimatize", then coat it in the Spring. Akinori Ito said he figured that if you could make plastic from petroleum chemicals, then you should be able to reverse it, needless to say, he was right. It heats up the plastic and turns it into vapor and then turns it back into crude oil. ), By clicking 'Add Comment' you agree to our Terms and Conditions, "Just an idea: would it be of much benefit to cover the planks in old plastic bags eg. Thanx It has some great plans and it might give you some thoughts for your business venture. : ) Plan to coat with raw linseed oil, or maybe EcoWood (but not knowing EcoWood ingredients gives me pause). ", "has anyone considered using a wax coating", "I've recently built planters out of a combination of pine and pressure-treated wood that I plan to grow herbs in. Delivery to. While strolling around the outside nursery area which houses many raised beds, I was puzzled by the wood being used. So the heavy rains are kept off the wood and under the wood I put gravel so it drains well all around the sides under the wood. What is amazing to me is the thorniness of this endeavor; of trying to find the best solution and that there is no easy answer. Plastics and all petro chemicals leach toxins and poisons into any moist soil/water they are in, plants absorb everything they can from the soil they grow in including toxins and poisons. ", "hello,we have used a product called Eco Wood Treatment,on our raised beds,it has worked very well . Unfortunately the bags of soil cost more than the block, depending on how much existing soil you mix in with the bagged soils. I have to treat it to prevent the mold and mildew. but it's the best thing i have found so far. Ask me in five years time and Ill tell you if I made the right decision! Common sense screams no to any chemical byproduct concoction derived from petroleum or any other chemical concoction for that matter. Exxon has 28 different flavors of HDPE, Dow has 6 flavors, then you have Chevron, Shell, BP, etc. Only a petrochemical shill would ask for something that a-retentive and totally asinine. Nothing on their or their partners websites claim the product is food-safe, which it would have to be in order for me to plant my carrots or tomatoes near it. Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations: Food Gardening Network That scream actually took a couple years to form but was irrefutable evidence that I could not ignore, not even by reading the plastic propaganda off the website of a company trying to justify hocking their wares in cheap plastic bottles. There is a trick to growing tomatoes that I just found out abouttear off the lower tiny branches/leaves and plant it deeper in the ground. Now that your bed frame is in place, repeat step 3 two more times, stacking the 28s vertically. ", "Cheap, do-it-yourself versions of the so-called "Eco Wood Treatment" or "Lifetime Wood Treatment" are available. Or untreated, FSC-certified cedar or redwood if you want something a bit longer-lasting. 00 / each. The wood I am using is hemlock, I burned the wood (Shou Sugi Ban) and now I want to use pure pure tung oil with turpentine. All plastics are chemical concoctions (to borrow a phrase). I did treat the wood with an exterior toner because I was going for of a reddish look with grain of the cedar able to stand out nice. We are slightly handicap. Imbed the concrete with lengths of rebar to add support to the concrete. However, my family is the one eating the vegetables from the beds andI would hate to have this concoction leaching into the fresh produce I feed to my children. My early years I tried unframed raised beds and it was a mess and not worth the trouble. Thanks for the suggestion though. It did grey the wood, but it has not rotted and has held up very well. I had a chemical free farmer tell me he was using carpet samples for weed control.imagine the chemicals that would leach from those? Unlike pressure-treated lumber, untreated or heat-treated wood contains no questionable chemical compounds that may leach into the soil within the bed. We made it 6' x 2' and about 4' high. does anyone have info that aluminum can break down and leach into the composted soil. ", "Almost 6 years myself of untreated pine and no issues ", "Greg: I can see how a rail could work well for the frames and you do have the advantage of the pallet wood being free so I say go for it! So you start the project while agile and the "raised" beds will get higher over the years, just as the doctor ordered - so to speak! So what does that mean? To do this, simply multiply the width by length by depth in feet (For example: 4' x 8' x 1.5 = 48 cubic feet). Wood Raised Garden Bed Compare More Options Available ( 2974) Model# RC 4C8T2 Greenes Fence 4 ft. x 8 ft. x 7-10.5 in. Its been cut, and thats probably about it. I have no idea what product was used on the planks back then. Recycled and reclaimed wood. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we ", "Has anyone tried applying wood ash to untreated boards? ", "Just use large rocks to create a raised garden. ", "For the best results, just use cedar boards, they are rot resistant, and will last for years. Based on the fact that we are regularly in contact with thousands of chemicals whose safety is unknown or unproven and whose adverse effects can be both cumulative and interactive, it would be both prudent for ourselves and considerate to others not to add to the problem. ", "google concrete additives. We are just embarking on this gardening voyage. That might not be so easy. ", "I wanted to report back and say things are going well with my raised bed project. Wood raised garden bed kits cost an average of $148.12. The challenge is to find a solution that is: what kind? http://www.strongtie.com/productuse/ptwoodfaqs.html# They are easier to plant, weed, water and harvest. Any ideas on how or what to put on the uppermost cut edge of the roofing strips to make it a little more friendly to plants and gardener ? Metal also seems like a very bad idea. This has worked very well and every so many years a board(s) need replacing so it is just a relatively easy job to carefully lift boards out and drop new ones in. You made some excellent points about other possible material choices and I agree. You know this is rust right? I wouldnt use the best new wood. I am going to do what I can with the resources available and forget the rest so I enjoy my new hobby and hopefullythe (medium green) organic fruit and veggies of my labours :)", "Re Scortching the wood (20th Sept 2010): the scortched bit lasts millenia - scortched sharpened ends of poles have been found when excavating 2000yr old Roman small forts of the type erected for brief encampments. 3) I'd give more consideration of potential shade issues -- mostly from one tree I don't want to prune radically, but also from neighbor's trees. Others think it is safest to err on the side of caution . ", "I commented before ", "Consider that there are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100,000 chemical substances introduced into our environment. Lastly, untreated wood is your raw lumber. I'd be interested if anyone has any more information about this. My wife and I opted for cedar planks treated with thick coats of raw linseed oil. Fill With Your Growing Medium. Whether you build your own, or purchase a kit, cedar is definitely worth your consideration. And is a winner in my book. Thank you for sharing your ideas and experience; I'll chime in with mine. The possibilities are (almost) endless! Why can't they contain veggies. I do expect it will deterorate eventually but have been pleased with it so far. I have not contacted this company, however their website makes a clear argument that their product would be safe for a food crop application. When you have both the top and bottom for your raised bed, it's time to connect the 2 pieces. ", "Seems like the raw untreated wood from the sawmill would be the healthiest. The location and breezes are nice; however, the soil quality and depth on this ledgy area are poor. They have about 12 sleepers around a raised flower bed, and further down their garden another 4 or so.
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