Pressure treated wood for raised beds

Over the years there has been a lot of talk about pressure treated lumber and its use in gardening , and specifically for raised beds. Like most things, the more people talk about a particular topic the more the truth gets dilute and the myths and incorrect facts get shared as truths. Raised bed lumber , pressure treated safe?

I am considering using some 2xinch material for a small raised bed for strawberries. My first thought was to consider pressure treated lumber , but I have read conflicting articles on the the safety of this product, with the chemicals possibly reaching the plants. Save yourself a few hundred dollars and get pressure treated lumber for your raised bed or other garden projects. It is cheaper than cedar, and worry free. Even if it still contained arsenic it’d be pretty safe, but it doesn’t even have that small risk anymore.

DO NOT use pressure treated lumber for food beds , as the chemicals within the lumber will leach into the soil and plants. Use a naturally rot resistant wood , such as redwood or cedar, any wood high in tannins will do. The perfect building material for raised beds is pressure treated lumber.

It’s economical, easy to work and safe to use in gardening applications. Their study used planter beds made of treated and non-treated woods along with the same soils and the same types of plants, and then compared copper accumulation between them. Arsenic based pressure treated wood is no longer sold in the U. These are the kind we are talking about for raised beds.

The safety of pressure - treated wood for garden beds depends on what preservative was used to treat the wood. The wood to use for a raised bed is your decision. Here are some options: Cedar and redwood are naturally water-resistant but can be expensive and hard to find. Pressure treated lumber is an option.

Can you use pressure treated wood to build raised beds ? The pros and cons of using pressure treated wood in the garden. There was a time when pressure treated lumber contained arsenic (CCA) and was not considered safe for use in raised vegetable gardens because the arsenic leached out into the soil. The newest method for treating wood is Micronized Copper Quaternary (MCQ). When you think of “easy raised beds,” you probably think of using pressure-treated wood and a miter saw. That’s the way I used to make my garden beds in spring.

A hurried trip to Home Depot or Lowe’s, then a few hours of measuring and cutting and nailing and placing beds. Many people don’t know if their raised beds were built with pressure - treated wood … and perhaps it really isn’t that important. If you’re still concerned about growing purely organic fruits and veggies, there are steps you can take to minimize their exposure to your pressure treated wood: Plant crops a foot away from the walls of your raised beds. The preservative is unlikely to leach into the soil beyond this point. Modern pressure treated wood should be an acceptable option.

When building the raised beds with this lumber, make sure you and your scouts wash their hands well after the construction is done. Before you get starte please read our info on safety , fasteners and building tips. The new pressure treated wood contains an insect repellent and a mold inhibitor.

Alkaline Copper Quaternary (also known as ACQ) is a water based wood preservative method recently introduced in countries where there is a demand for alternatives to Chromated copper arsenate (CCA). What is a good alternative to pressure treated wood for raised beds ? I wanted to check with you to see what your take was on using pressure - treated lumber for raised garden beds. Update: The few beds we use are fine. Don’t use it in serious construction. OKGardeningClassics 26views.

My raised bed vegetable garden beds are all pressure - treated lumber now. I feel ACQ is a good alternative to the older CCA. TIP: To be cautious, some gardeners line their treated wood beds with a protective layer of plastic to form a barrier between the wood and soil. Again, you will need to research the plastic to ensure it is food safe and consider the effects of condensation forming between the plastic and the wood.

Cover CCA- treated wood used for raised garden beds or borders with heavy plastic to prevent contact with garden soil. Manage your garden soil to reduce plant availability As, Cr, and Cu. Maintain soil pH in the near-neutral range (pH 6-7). The EPA considers wood infused with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) to be safe for food crops, but if you use this pressure - treated wood you may want to line the bed interior with landscape.

CCA contains arsenic and apparently leeches a bit into the soil. I don’t believe in anecdotes, and having an analytical mind and having been exposed to rigorous scientific study in college when I was a research assistant in a lab, as well as of course the academic work in college, I’ve always looked at things scientifically, and today I. Using pressure - treated wood as opposed to untreated wood raises your risk of being exposed to these chemicals. When buried in the soil to make a raised bed , the compounds slowly leach into it and are taken up by plants. Pres-sure-treated lumber is identified by the chemicals that have been infused into it.

We would also like to know about non-toxic wood preservatives we can use on an existing trellis. Going on two years with my raised beds using true 2x8s. Building a raised garden bed creates an interesting dilemma: If you use pressure - treated wood or commercial wood sealers, you risk having unwanted chemicals leak into the environment and into your garden produce. But if you skip the sealer or preservative, your raised bed may not last long.

Wood is holding up well in an.