Lumber for raised beds - HELP! :(

[Jeff]

This is a good discussion and we all benefit from the many perspectives. We gain insight and become better informed about many choices.

Curious though. We haven't heard a word from the OP about his thoughts or choices. ???

 

[smallboat]

I've been enjoying watching this as well.
I helped my neighbor build some raised beds close to 20 years ago.
he used landscape timbers and both he and the beds are still going strong.

The house has changed hands 4 times but the beds are still used.

My answer for Jeff (Endless Pursuit) is one word.
Antibiotics.

Simple staph infections killed a good number of them before the diseases of old age had a chance to set their sights on them.
Now ( at least for now) we survive the infections and have to find more modern ways to kick the bucket.

 

[CrealBilly]

I am just glad to see people care about what they are eating. That was one of the many reasons we moved to southern IL and raise/hunt a lot of our own food.

Like many here i'm suspicious of PT lumber. It may or may not be true - there's nothing wrong with using PT lumber for food production. But I choose non-chemical alternatives when possible. There are many natural alternatives to PT lumber like white oak heartwood, cypress, eastern red cedar and black locust (all local to NC and available from your friendly sawmiller). When I'm in doubt - I go natural.

I simply don't have the will or time to spend, reading a bunch of conflicting technical documents, that i find difficult to understand. Just to try and determine if PT lumber is safe to use for food production or not. I really could care less...

After all this conversation - I'm really curious what lumber the OP (anckutza) will use to make raised garden beds?

 

[Joe Lyddon]

The concrete blocks sounds pretty good... easy to build... have at least two courses...

Seems like I've seen blocks that were 4" thick... which would work just as well as the 8" blocks.

Not sure about the cost... but they would last a Very Long time.

You could Cap them with other blocks for a nice sitting surface, etc.

 

[CrealBilly]

I ran across this and thought it might be of interest for this thread. No flaming now... not my words.

You can construct a simple cold frame using wood or concrete framing material. Avoid using wood products that have been treated with creosote. Research conducted at the University of Minnesota using chromated copper arsenate (CCA) pressure treated lumber showed some plant uptake of arsenic but the amounts accumulated were well within U.S. Public Health Service standards.

The source article can be found here ---> http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/growing-broccoli-cabbage-and-cauliflower-in-minnesota/index.html look under starting plants from seeds section

Thanks

 

[Jeff]

Good link.

Two points come to mind:

1. CCA treated wood has been phased out for consumer/residential use. The new preservatives are copper quaternary salts so the chromium and arsenic are gone.

2. We're still consuming arsenic in our daily diets without giving it a second thought and organically grown foods aren't immune either.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/arsenic-food-faq

Shakespeare could ask us: Is this much ado about nothing?

 

[SubGuy]

This has been a quite interesting thread. The OP asked what were economical alternatives to PT. In the course of this thread we have gone to suggestions quickly to weighing the merit of the use of PT and all the specific and inspecific health implications or lack thereof. I believe is has more to do with peace of mind than scientific data. Remember that science once thought the earth was flat, and that the universe revolved around the earth. Asbestos was used everywhere and paint and many other things contained lead. Many people will remember these misgivings and tend to aire on the side of caution. It may be for nothing, but maybe not. It would be imprudent to believe we have figured everything out, and all is well. It would also be imprudent to ignore we have came a long way from falling off the edge of the world to travelling to the moon. This to me means people should do what they feel is best for them. After all, one cannot see into the future.

 

[thrytis]

Cedar and cheap (about $35 for a 3' x 6' bed):



It uses 5.5" x 6' dog eared cedar fence boards from the Home Depot. I was a little concerned because the boards are fairly thin (5/8"), but it has held up fine for two years now. I'm working on building three more beds for this season. Credit for this design goes to http://ana-white.com/2010/05/hack-natural-rustic-cedar-raised-beds.html, though I used a little bit different construction in it.

 

[Bob Carreiro]

Oops!
"I used PT lumber. I lined the bottom with 1/4 x 1/4 screen, then wrapped the inside walls with roofing felt. Mine is 2'H X 5'W X 10' L. Have had it for 3 years."

Was out in back yesterday doing some (more) "spring cleaning" when I noticed - then remembered - that I used landscape fabric in my raised garden back in 2010 rather than roofing felt as I said in my earlier post.

(I've tried to insert a pic after uploading to my gallery. It's there, but for some reason when I click on the "My Photos" button, nothing happens.)

 

[Mark Gottesman]

I have been researching what kind of material to use for our raised beds. I am a little scared to use PT. We are also on a tight budget but don't mind to change the boards every few years. I would really like to try and find some inexpensive cedar boards but Lowes and other places are pretty high. What suggestions do you have? Or any opportunities out there? We are in eastern nc , greenville area.

If you are still looking.


I was reading Mother Earth News at the library and found this item. "Straw Wattles"
http://www.homedepot.com/p/VPC-8-in...AT-_-26052e80-6d25-4c4e-aca8-14e3292125c2-_-x

that looks like it might fit your parameters. I have seen them used by people who were setting up quick school gardens of impromptu Guerrilla gardens.

 

[aplpickr]

Use 5 gallon buckets. We have HD, Lowes, MacDonald pickles, sheet rock mud, etc. We have accumulated ninety over the last 4 years. Mix local soil with some peat, fertilizer, lime, composted manure. Make potting soil that matches vegetable requirements. In the spring, pull out dead weeds, and augment mix with new batch of additives. Buy a roll of 2" x 4" x 5' fencing. Cut a piece twenty squares long, form into circle, slip over bucket and you have a 4' tomato tower supported by weight of dirt. Drill 5 each 3/4" holes in bottom for drainage before filling. Foerstner bit works fine. We mix dirt with a small 4 cu ft cement mixer. We have raised sweet and Irish potatoes, pole beans, vining peas, swiss chard, tomatoes, herbs, vining cucumbers, cantaloupes, Russian wineberries, etc. For things that will need to be picked from inside the towers, cut out one vertical piece for handholes. Make holes in a spiral from bottom to top. Tomatoes last year were 4' above top of wire. Plant one tomato plant per bucket, 10 to 12 beans or peas in a circle near outside of bucket. This method concentrates water during periods of drought. Increase your garden as money, space, and time allows. Tomatoes did not die in summer heat, they made it to a killing frost!