After twenty years we are totally redoing our raised bed gardens. I am tired of periodically replacing the wood retainers and wish to try something other than bare wood. When questioning the people at our lumber yard, they stated that the new pressure treated landscape timbers no longer have the arsenic pesticide and are safe for gardens.Does any one have any new information on landscape timbers or proven recomendations for wood used for retaining the raised beds? PS These are multiple beds and cover a large area: brick, stone, etc. have been considered and are cost and labor prohibitive. Thank-you for any input.Nancy at Minnesota Sunset

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle (dmcgonig@smig.net), October 13, 2000

Answers

I recall reading about the EPA getting manufacturers away from arsenic, don't know if they have succeeded. If you have a sawmill in your area, see if they have been milling ceder. if they have you can get the outside cuts for practically nothing as they have bark and are not useable to them.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), October 13, 2000.

I am planning to use Trex plasticized lumber. Looks like it will last a very long time. I've found that it is available in a variety of lumber yard locations around me.

http://www.trex.com/

-- Mike O (olsonmr@yahoo.com), October 13, 2000.

Nancy, my raised beds are acutally channel drain roofing. About 14 inches high and comes in any length you want, most of my beds are 12 to 14 feet long and 8 feet wide. They have been down for about 10 years as near as we can remember, you could also paint them if you don't like the silver metal look. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 13, 2000.

There is a brand of treated wood, ACQ, that does not use the arsenic and chromium as the "standard" CCA treated lumber does. CCA = copper, chromium, arsenic. Chromium & arsenic are very toxic. ACQ uses Ammoniacal Copper Quat Type B & Type C -- whatever that is. Supposedly, it is much safer than CCA. But I am not sure that it is safe for food growing beds. You can read their website and decide for yourself: http://www.crossarm.com/

My sister used a type of plastic that is used for concrete forms, as Trex was not easily available in her location. I think the "planks" are held stable by rebar pounded into the ground outside the forms. Hopefully, she will see this thread and post an answer to that herself.

-- Joy Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), October 13, 2000.

I made a reusable form for pouring concrete into. I also made some 3/8" rebar loops which I could slip down over steel stakes on the outside of the forms, which prevent the forms from pushing apart from the pressure of the concrete. I put 3/8" rebar horizantally near the top and near the bottom, with more rebar running vertically every two feet or so.

This method worked very well for me; each 4'x8' raised bed is 24' high, and they grow fantastic veggies. They cost only $25 each. I mix one part portland cement with six parts pre mixed concrete agregate in a small mixer. When the concrete set up, after a couple of days, I stripped the forms (easy), and started another.

These raised beds won't rot out until my grandkids are old, I don't think.

JOJ

-- jumpoffjoe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), October 13, 2000.

CINDER BLOCKS! nothing I have found beets them , No slivers or termites, or pill bugs. And you can plant in the empty holes.A little expensive but you never have to replace them.My beds cost 30 dollars each.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), October 14, 2000.

Depending where you live and if your not shy, Keep your eyes open as you drive about for stacks of old concrete blocks. They seem to be everywhere. I scrounged a couple dozen this last summer just by stopping and asking at a business that had a stack in the back of their property.

Commercial construction job sites, (the bigger the job the better the chanches) usually have leftovers that can be had for little or nothing after the masons are done. Check w/ the foreman or supervisor on the job.

Also, the local block house here sells "clinkers" for about 25 cents apiece. They may be 2nds but you can't beat the price.

Saw in a garden mag, where this fellow had used small saplings about 4-6 inches in dia. and made a log cabin style bed. Black locust used like this would last as long as you could ever want. It looked pretty stylish too.

-- John in S IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

For wood, you can't beat black locust, if you can find it. Won't rot, not for many, many years. A similar lifespan to treated wood, if my info is correct.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), October 16, 2000.

Thank-you for your responses. They are all appreciated. Still have not made up our minds about how we will do the beds, but will let you know when it is done and how it went. Nancy at Minnesota Sunset

-- Nancy Bakke-McGonigle (dmcgonig@smig.net), October 17, 2000.

Nancy: I vote for the concrete blocks. I've tried just about everything else and nothing works better. If you have a block plant nearby, they are sure to have seconds which they sell for pennies. I must confess that I don't do raised beds anymore. I discovered gardening in 55-gallon barrels (cut in half) and haven't done a raised bed since.

-- john and pat james (jjames@n-jcenter.com), October 17, 2000.

No wood! For the first time this year, I used tires for my raised beds. I had seen the ad in Countryside regarding "Re-Tiring" and decided to try it. I was also tired of replacing wood raised beds and the expense involved so had been looking for a cheaper alternative.

Well, the tires are a smash hit for me. They are free (the tire store employees actually look for the sizes I want and load them for me), you only remove the sidewalls,invert so the tread is on the inside and voila! Raised bed! My 11 year old son actually did all the jigsawwing to remove the sidewalls.

In 2000, I had the best green beans, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumber crops in years. I currently have 60+ tires and am expanding to more next year. I love the cost (free!), the minimal labor , the tidiness of the rows of tires. Works for me!

Jeanne

-- Jeanne (jeanne@thinds.com), October 19, 2000.