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 have used treated timber. I have covered the sides of the timber with a 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 will be in contact with the old soil, will the preservatives from wood seep through from the soil below into the soil above?

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


Thanks in advice for any advice...

In article ,
Richard Price wrote:

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 have
used treated timber. I have covered the sides of the timber with a
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 will
be in contact with the old soil, will the preservatives from wood seep
through from the soil below into the soil above?
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.

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


Thanks in advice for any advice...
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

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

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."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

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 will not harm my veg?

On Feb 26, 12:22�am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will 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.

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

r/


www.locoworks.com wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:22�am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will 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.

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

In article
,
"www.locoworks.com" wrote:

On Feb 26, 12:22?am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will 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 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.
--

Billy

Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush

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."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

After looking at my planter, I've decided on another avenue. I am going to remove the stakes from the bottom of the planter and cover all the wood in a plastic liner, so none of the soil is touching any part of the wood. I can then just sit the planter on top of the undersoil and fill it with proper growing soil.

This should allow me to grow produce without the threat of harmful contaminants and will also save me having to buy more wood and make another planter!

Richard Price wrote:
www.locoworks.com;776263 Wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:22�am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will
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.

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

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.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"Richard Price" wrote in message
...

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 will not
harm my veg?


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

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article
,
"www.locoworks.com" wrote:

On Feb 26, 12:22?am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will 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 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.

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. ;-)
--
Peace, Om
Remove underscore to validate gmails.

"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have
come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
-- Mark Twain

"Omelet" wrote in message
news
In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article
,
"www.locoworks.com" wrote:

On Feb 26, 12:22?am, Richard Price Richard.Price.
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 will
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 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.

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. ;-)
--
Peace, Om
Remove underscore to validate gmails.

"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have
come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."
-- Mark Twain

I'n going to try some of this.

www.earthbox.com