Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
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! |
Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
Invest in cedar posts and they will last at least 12 years with no treatment.
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! |
Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
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! |
Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
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! |
Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
pgh wrote:
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. In my greenhouse I used cypress boards for the bench tops and copper-napthenate treated Douglas Fir table legs. That was over 30 years ago and all is still OK. Copper Napthenate Preservative is plant safe and is available at all greenhouse supply houses and better hardware stores. Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at: http://www.users.fast.net/~shenning/rhody.html Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at: http://members.aol.com/rhodyman/rhodybooks.html |
Non-toxic preservative for wood in raised beds
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. The most practical way I know is to build your raised beds with concrete blocks instead of wood. If there's a place near you that manufactures them, you can get "seconds" (which are not good enough to use in buildings but are just fine for raised beds) for very little money. Mine is two "courses" (blocks) high. The soil in it is about 1.5 blocks high. Very convenient. I can sit on the walls while I work on the beds. vince norris |
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