Try and find black locust posts, they last longer than stone... or if
you are in an area where stone is more common than wood use that!
Linseed oil will not help much it only is a barrier to moisture, it
will do nothing to stop the rot that will start as soon as moisture
comes in contact with the wood! To protect the wood the preservative
is toxic by definition, at least to fungi and bacteria..... With
naturally rot resistant woods (black locust, cedar, cypress, redwood,
black walnut, black catalpa) the chance of contaminating the soil is
minimal..... in comercially treated lumber there are many chemicals
that could be toxic to humans, not just arsenic! Having said that most
of them will add so little toxin to the soil that it isn't really much
of an issue! But if you are worried use rock, brick or cinder
block(solid 4by8by16inches) look around to find deals so they are
affordable.... ie old mismatched bricks cost me 10 cents each vs 50
cents all matched and pretty. The rock and brick look nice and the
cinder block will look as nice as wood with time, and all three will
out last any wood with no worries about toxins. How was that for an
earful!!!


Kevin Miller wrote in message news:81AFFE7FC5844E4A.2653BB3385DEBC57.9135AFDFF9 ...
most places now carry arsenic-free treated lumber

On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 09:52:49 GMT, pgh
wrote:

Hi!

I am looking for a practical way to prolong the life
of the wood frame in the raise beds I will start building
pretty soon.

"Practical" means relatively easy to obtain, not too
expensive, and easy to apply (eg, by painting, but not
something that requires special skills).

We want to grow edibles there, so whatever we use has to
be non-toxic. The guy at a local hardware store suggested
boiled linseed oil, and couldn't think of any other
product (among those that the store offers).

I know in the past this question has been asked and I
jotted down some of the responses: use appropriate wood to
start with (white cypress, cedar, red oak), then apply
either Henry Asphalt Emulsion or thick marine paint or
rubberizing coating.

I will appreciate if you can share any relevant experience
or information on the subject. I am particularly interested
in the viability of boiled linseed oil since that's what
I have been able to find locally.

Thanks!