Raised Garden Beds

[robertm]

My back may be killing me from hustling wet treated 2x8’s and bending over and squatting to build these puppies, but I can’t imagine what I’d feel like shoveling and moving all the dirt to fill them by hand. The BX may be small, but it is a lifesaver.

I still have a bunch of regrading and backfilling, but now comes the easy part.

 

[Peter 315]

They look very nice but I don't think pt wood is a safe choice.....:2cents:

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Very nice job! Looks like a professional nursery bed!

 

[BukitCase]

they do look good; Peter, I'm not seeing anything that vaguely resembles PT wood in my area; here, all PT stuff looks like a cowboy skated across it with spurs on. Confused (as usual :=) ... Steve

 

[KennyG]

They look very nice but I don't think pt wood is a safe choice.....:2cents:

ACQ treated lumber (the non-arsenic version, the only type you can generally buy now) is considered safe for gardens. None of the chemicals used in ACQ lumber is considered hazardous by the EPA. It's been extensively tested and the chemicals have almost no migration into the soil.

 

[3Ts]

they do look good; Peter, I'm not seeing anything that vaguely resembles PT wood in my area; here, all PT stuff looks like a cowboy skated across it with spurs on. Confused (as usual :=) ... Steve

The spurs description is very appropriate. It also seems to be a west coast thing. PT wood in the rest of the country does not have those marks and is typically greenish or yellowish in color. I've seen some dark reds in California with the spur marks.

 

[robertm]

Relax.
I went through this with my mom 16 years ago when building my kids play yard with treated lumber when creosote was just being knocked out by AC2. Then, I found a kid would need to ingest a 4x4 over 4 feet long to have issues, and by then, passing splinters was a bigger issue. Frankly, I moved the play yard to my sister in-laws last month. The old arsenic treated lumber was no better than the AC2 treated where it came in contact with the ground.
These beds are lined with 6mil plastic, although multiple articles show radishes, which are highly susceptible to drawing chemicals from soil, barely even indicating drawing copper and related chemicals in AC2 treating.
Thanks for the compliments. It was work, but fun. I can’t wait until next spring to stain them. My moisture meter pegged 38%, so that’s gonna take a while to dry out.

 

[kthompson]

They do look very good. I use to use raised beds for garden due to how wet the land could be and really like that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think there are a thousand things that will kill you before using PT for raised beds.

Built mine from salvaged, condemned playground systems. Shame, I can't grow anything to save my life.

 

[Diggin It]

These beds are lined with 6mil plastic,

So, what are you doing for drainage?