raised beds

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Permalink Reply by Chris Bocchino on February 28, 2009 at 4:20pm

If you want your raised beds to last for years and years then I would use cedar. Although expensive it is resistant to rot, very strong and will pay for itself over the years. If you cant afford cedar then you would have to use non treated lumber. It does not last that long but will last more than a year. Or another option would be to make it out of retaining wall blocks of some sort..........Chris

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on February 28, 2009 at 5:41pm

I would advise that you don't use treated lumber, whatever you do, especially if you are going to grow veggies in the bed. There are too many chemicals in it, most notably formaldehyde. There are a number of things you can use though, we used recycled redwood for ours, but you can also use cedar like Chris suggests. I think there is even now the fake wood that would last for years (like they use in trax decking). Or you could use bricks or stones.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa on February 28, 2009 at 6:24pm

I also agree not to use treated lumber. It will leach the chemicals into your food and you will get sick. Use untreated lumber. Make sure it is at least an inch thick (thicker if possible) or it will buckle eventually. I made the mistake of using 3/4 inch plywood strips for my first set of raised beds and they buckled terribly! Oh well, you live and learn I guess. My next set of beds were made using 2x6's, although I recommend going more than 6" deep if your underlying soil is bad, like mine is. I have sand and hard clay. I really should have gone deeper. Where are your beds going to be? If you are making them to lanscape the front of your house (some people grow their herbs and veggies this way and they look beautiful) I would suggest something beautiful as well as strong, like the retaining wall Chris and Joy suggested. If done right, you won't have to do them again, ever.

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Permalink Reply by Johanna Greenberg on February 28, 2009 at 8:36pm

We built ours out of untreated pine and oiled the boards with linseed oil well before assembly. So far they are lasting well and resistant to rot. We have some older boxes that were made out of reclaimed wood from a local arborist, it was a good way to recycle wood that would have otherwise gone into the chiper. (these aren't super square but do the trick).

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Permalink Reply by Courtney Ostaff on March 1, 2009 at 9:45am

I dig these:
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=47455&cat=2

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Permalink Reply by Joy Williams on March 1, 2009 at 9:55pm

those are nice raised beds, and you don't have to bend to far over to work on them.

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on March 2, 2009 at 8:31am

We have raised beds made from plastic lumber (trex) that have lasted over 10 years.
You have to use angle brackets to put them together. Though expensive, if you figure at least a 10 year life span its not bad. The newer treated lumber apparently does not have arsenic, and if you search for peer reviewed analysis of the leaching of treated wood into the soil, it may not be that scary.
Of course you could do no-till lasagne gardening and not use a raised frame at all.

pax
JOhn

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on March 2, 2009 at 9:01am

I'm so glad you commented on the newer treated wood because that's what my new beds are made from. I left that decision up to the contractor who built them. They're NOT creosoted railroad ties :-) for instance. Although arsenic is poisoninous, our bodies can apparently handle small amounts since much drinking water has trace amounts (more unfortunately in some places) and so do vegetables, especially potatoes.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Montgomery on March 2, 2009 at 11:40am

honestly I bought recycled plastic ones from Gardeners Supply. Last year the 3x3 bed was $45-which I think is economical. This year I think they've raised the price $5 or so. At the end of the season I can take them apart and store them. I think they're awesome! And the number 1 reason I purchased then instead of building my own was b/c I didn't want to rebuild them at al!

Take Care,
Beth

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Permalink Reply by Greg Kriebel on March 2, 2009 at 8:52pm

I used treated lumber on my raised beds. They are 3 - 2x6's high and very nice being so tall making it easy to tend.
I had the leftover treated lumber around and I'm not worried about using it. They were cheep and don't rot.
Here is a discussion from a Penn State horticulture guy:. http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/uc173.pdf
and tests done just about this subject. I think more modern treated lumber does not include Arsnic.

Formaldehyde is a misnomer. There is that chemical compound in trace amounts all around us all day long. in the air we breathe.
It's danger is when it is combined with urea - like in mfg. glues etc . and foam insulation.

Don't use trreated lumber if possible, but I don't think the risk is THAT bad. I have black plastic between my soil and the lumber, anyway.

Don't panic. Everything in moderation.. Sure use plastic deck wood. but How long does that take to biodegrade here on our planet?

My neighbor used straw bales for his raised beds. very nice.

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on March 3, 2009 at 8:31am

Thanks for your comments Greg.We live in complicated times. There are days when I think returning to live in the Stone Age might be a blessing, but then I run myself a nice hot bath and wash that idea right out of my head..

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Permalink Reply by JC on March 3, 2009 at 9:17am

This is not my garden (obviously), but I took photo because I like the corner pieces they used at the Green Bay Botanical Garden.

Attachments:

• Green Bay Botanical Garden.jpg, 2.9 MB

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