Raised Bed Vegetable Planting

[Richard Price]

Hi all,

This is my first post on the forum so a big hello!!!

I have a copule of quesitions and would appreciate some advice.

1. I have built a raised bed for Vegs, (2.4mx 1.2m x 0.3m) and hav used treated timber. I have covered the sides of the timber with plastic liner so none of the soil will be touching the timber itself However, below the bed I have driven stakes into the original soil which are also made of treated wood. Now, considering the new soil wil be in contact with the old soil, will the preservatives from wood see through from the soil below into the soil above?

1. I need to buy soil for the planter and was wondering what is best t get. My mate has just bought soil which is £40 a ton and it cost hi £100 to fill his planter! (3m x 1.2m x 0.45m)

Thanks in advice for any advice..

-- Richard Price

[Billy]

Yes. As the soil on top dries out, moisture, carrying the wood preservative, will be wicked to the surface and to the roots of your plants. Producing poisonous foods isn't necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on how you feel about the people who will be eating from this patch.

30% - 40% sand, 30% - 40% silt, and 20% - 30% clay, then thoroughly mix with as much compost and other organic matter as you can, plus manure, and bone meal. Of course all this is pointless from a consumers point of view, if your garden is poisoned. You could plant some nice ornamentals in your box though.

[mor]

hi. l look this up on line you may wnat to check it up. good luck. le us know how you are doing. garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_To_Do_Raised_Bed_Vegetable_Gardens - 32

-- mor

[len gardener]

g'day richard,

we always fill our beds with mushroom compost we can access direct from the farm nice and affordable makes a great medium.

see our pic's on our site.

as for the treated timber not sure? but for me i'd rather not have edging that treated timber.

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:04:37 +0000, Richard Price wrote: snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[Richard Price]

Thanks for the advice.

I have now ordered some untreated wood and will construct anothe planter. Does anyone know what I can treat the wood with, that will no harm my veg

-- Richard Price

[www.locoworks.com]

Richard, Your best bet is to use redwood. It naturally resists rot and insects and will not harm your vegetables. It is pricy, though.

[Paul Ring]

I've used plastic decking. While not very wide (6") it provides me a separation between the paths and the beds.

r/

wrote:

[Richard Price]

Thanks for that. I've tried to get hold of redwood, such as western re cedar, but nobody seems to stock it in Wales

-- Richard Price

[Billy]

If you can find old growth heartwood from a redwood tree, I would agree with loco BUT that is hard to find here in California, so your chance in the UK, I presume, would be much lower. The next time I repair my raised bed, I think I'll look into plasticized decking wood but check it out, it may leach undesired chemicals as well. Otherwise, the 2" x 12"s that I used for my box seem to be good for at least 10 years. Keep your construction simple in order to make any replacements simple.

Bon appétit.

[len gardener]

g'dau richard,

on one of our pages there are a couple of links to products made from lanolin/wool grease that are purported to be excellent, whether you can get them over there i can't say?

there was another product also not sure the link maybe ther as well, but if not do a google on natural wood preservatives etc.,.

over here they make a stand alone garden frame out of corrugated zincaluum same as water tanks are made from they are either round or oblong. saw one organic lady with deep raised beds she just got sheets of corrugated and used galvanised star picket in the corners to tie it all together, looked ok won't suit yuppies but hey it's functional and should the need arise too easy to replace a sheet.

On Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:22:31 +0000, Richard Price wrote: snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[J. Clarke]

In Wales any North American wood would be as "exotic" as English walnut is in the US.

Best bet would likely be to look for some synthetic lumber made from recycled plastics. In the US "Trex" is the best known brand. The stuff should pretty well be inert from the viewpoint of planting.

There are numerous tropical hardwoods that will stand up for decades, the trouble is that I don't know of anyone who has used them for the purpose you intend and wouldn't guarantee that they don't leach substances that would harm the plants--they have some pretty powerful natural chemistry that keeps the bugs and fungi out.

[David Hare-Scott]

There are timbers that will last for many years in contact with the soil. There is no point in me naming names as the ones I know would be unavailable to you. Contact somebody in the building trade, timber merchant etc who knows their stuff. Here they are graded (1 to 4 AFAIK) I don't know if you would have the same grading but there must be something. The grade 4 stuff is used for fence posts, jetty pylons etc. Good fenceposts around here last 40 years without any chemical treatment.

David

[Omelet]

Some people use tires for raised beds. Contrary to popular belief, they are inert and do not poison the soil.

And you can get them for free.

They paint well if you are worried about looks. ;-)

[JC]

I'n going to try some of this.

[Omelet]

Ok, but tires are free.

One of these years, I'd like to experiment with hydroponics.

[George.com]

try some of these instead

[JC]

Hey, thanks for that. My idea was to try to figure out how to make these things instead of paying 50 bucks apiece for them.

[www.locoworks.com]

urally resists rot and

=EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF= =BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD = =EF=BF=BD =EF=BF=BD -- Mark Twain

If you live in a fairly densely populated area there may be a likely building being demolished. Often they will let you scavenge some lumber. I got ten eight-foot 2x12s just for the labor of hauling them away and then extracting the numerous nails in them. They are ugly, but they will weather out nicely and last for several years, while I keep my eyes open for other buildings.

Good luck in the hunt!

[sockiescat]

On Feb 26, 12:22?am, Richard Price Richard.Price. [e-mail] wrote: Thanks for the advice.

I have now ordered some untreated wood and will construct another planter. Does anyone know what I can treat the wood with, that wil

not harm my veg?

-- Richard Price

Richard, Your best bet is to use redwood. It naturally resists rot and insects and will not harm your vegetables. It is pricy, though.

If you can find old growth heartwood from a redwood tree, I woul agree with loco BUT that is hard to find here in California, so your chanc

in the UK, I presume, would be much lower. The next time I repair my raised bed, I think I'll look into plasticized decking wood but check i out, it may leach undesired chemicals as well. Otherwise, the 2" x 12" that I used for my box seem to be good for at least 10 years. Keep your construction simple in order to make any replacements simple.

Bon appétit.

Some people use tires for raised beds. Contrary to popular belief, they are inert and do not poison th soil.

And you can get them for free.

They paint well if you are worried about looks. ;-)

[George.com]

once you have figured out the tools you need, and the ones you only have, & have nutted out how to put the things together they are actually very easy to make up. Getting the first done is the big bit. I scored some old dumper

2x10 scaffold planks today from a scaffold outfit. A phoned around a few & found one who had refuse. They were happy to pass it on. Thats the raised garden in the polytunnel sorted.

rob