Raised beds

[kwhites634]

I should know this, but I don't Can PT wood be used for raised beds? I was using non-treated wood I had on hand; naturally, it didn't last.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Yes , you can use Pt lumber and i painted mine. These most recent beds are concrete block. Not going to rot!

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I posted on the pond..but ours are made with old railroad ties that were once bleachers at a city park. Love em!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I posted on the pond..but ours are made with old railroad ties that were once bleachers at a city park. Love em!

I used railway ties years ago, until i discovered all the nasty creosote and stuff used to preserve them!

 

[BantyChooks]

I used railway ties years ago, until i discovered all the nasty creosote and stuff used to preserve them!

I have a bunch of railroad ties that I found in the woods a bit ago. I almost thought of using them as a garden edge, but got cold feet because of all the nasty stuff in them. Instead I put them around the edge of the yard to keep stuff from washing down the bank. Hasn't killed the grass, but I still don't want it near my food.

 

[SuChick]

I should know this, but I don't Can PT wood be used for raised beds? I was using non-treated wood I had on hand; naturally, it didn't last.

No.

Spring for Redwood if you want lumber that will last and won't poison you. Also PT has a tendency to splinter and is generally unpleasant to work with.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

I used railway ties years ago, until i discovered all the nasty creosote and stuff used to preserve them!

I have a bunch of railroad ties that I found in the woods a bit ago. I almost thought of using them as a garden edge, but got cold feet because of all the nasty stuff in them. Instead I put them around the edge of the yard to keep stuff from washing down the bank. Hasn't killed the grass, but I still don't want it near my food.

We put black thick garden liner in before the dirt so there's a barrier.

 

[CapricornFarm]

I have a bunch of railroad ties that I found in the woods a bit ago. I almost thought of using them as a garden edge, but got cold feet because of all the nasty stuff in them. Instead I put them around the edge of the yard to keep stuff from washing down the bank. Hasn't killed the grass, but I still don't want it near my food.

Hubby put some that were here when we moved in over by the edge of the nice area he had made near the house. Filled all in with rich soil and compost. I wanted to plant stuff there but he doesn't want fencing there and i am not planting veggies to feed varmints. He likes areas to look " park like" . Maybe i will plant some flowers there.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Hubby put some that were here when we moved in over by the edge of the nice area he had made near the house. Filled all in with rich soil and compost. I wanted to plant stuff there but he doesn't want fencing there and i am not planting veggies to feed varmints. He likes areas to look " park like" . Maybe i will plant some flowers there.

Plant some herbs. Rosemary and such. If the area allows for it. You could have a nice herb garden!

 

[lazy gardener]

Hey, Whites!!! I'm a purist when it comes to what I allow to touch my soil. No PT for raised beds here, and no RR ties with creosote except for flower beds. If you want a wood that will last a long time, look at hemlock, or cedar. You can get even longer life out of it by staining it or painting with sealant. Then, line the inside of the bed with plastic. As other posters have mentioned, you can also use cinder blocks. Those should outlast both you and me. You might even look at using engineered deck boards to build your raised beds (the plastic decking with the wood grain "stamped" into it. You would need to use some structural stakes to keep the sides of the RB from bowing if you used these.

Then, there's the lazy gardener way: if you must have a raised bed, don't bother to edge it at all. Build the bed with sloped sides. Lay a goodly amount of newspaper or cardboard on the sides, or cover those sides with flakes of hay. You can also plant lettuce or other greens on the sloped sides of the bed.

My garden is a gardener's dream: gentle south slope, excellent soil: sandy loam. So, I do not have any raised beds in this area at all.