I have decided to make some raised planting boxes rather than go into the earth, which here is a combination of sand dune sand and caliche. I believe that some treated lumber would last the longest, or perhaps some railroad ties. Maybe some old building beams if I can find them for a decent price.
Is there a danger of the chemicals leaching out from treated lumber or railroad ties for garden beds? What if I put a liner? I intend on going to the nursery, and getting a really good mix of soil delivered, or maybe just getting some bales of peat moss, and some bags of soil and mixing. But I don't want to do all the work and spend all the money if I am planting these things in a toxic box.
The newer preservatives used to pressure treat lumber are safe for vegetable gardening, still don't burn it. Real RR ties are fine too so long as you use old/used ones... virtually all that can leach into soil has long ago leached out... you wouldn't want to pay the price of new anyway. My entire
50' X 50' garden is bordered with old 12" RR ties, cost me a dollar a linear foot. They're suffiiciently heavy that they aren't prone to shifting, however I still drove rebar through and joined them all with fish plate. And set about halfway into the ground do not permit invasive weeds to trespass (the hay in my fields is far more invasive and infinitely tougher than your wussy Bermuda/Zoysia grass and try as it might it can't get through, plus they make a very sturdy anchor for deer fencing.
My garden is all tilled and almost all my walkways and weedblock cloth is back in... even began planting. My garden is designed for efficiency/ease, not pretty. Along the left side is a small spring fed stream, I never need to water. It actually gets to look pretty lush once it's all planted and is growing. I don't try to plant more than I can use anymore... having a lot of space saves a lot of labor harvesting and everything grows bigger and better.
Lower left plot already has peas and green beans just breaking the surface:
There's probably lots of materials, if you look around. I terraced my garden with bricks, had lots of them from the house across the street that burned down... Actually, the terrace bricks came from a Subway Shop that a truck ran into...
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