For me, it is a no-brainer. Pressure Treated lumber has to be disposed of as toxic waste - do you want that near your food? We don't use it at the Clinton Community Garden, but in addition to untreated wood also use brick and mortar on some of our beds, especially those that we are raising higher for wheelchair users and others who need more height.
Best wishes, Adam Honigman Volunteer, <A HREF="http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org/";>Clinton Community Garden</A> << Subj: RE: [cg] raised bed questions raised Date: 7/9/03 10:27:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Gwenne Hayes-Stewart) Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ('[EMAIL PROTECTED]'), [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] there is a new product out that is impregnated with soy oil. It can be specially ordered through Lowes and Home Depot. It is twice as expensive and is very brittle and tends to split if you are not careful. We use it but curse it as we go. Gwenne -----Original Message----- From: Jim Call [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 9:06 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [cg] raised bed questions raised Bob, Most ACGA listserv gardeners are organic oriented so mentioning pressured treated (PT) wood is not viewed well in this community. In CASA's GardenAngel Program, originally, I used cedar timbers. When I ran out of this material, I did build a couple of raised beds with PT but have since decided to use regular lumber. I plan to stain each piece with a solid color stain (2 coats) (Behr Solid Color Stain from Home Depot) for protection. For the long run, regular lumber will not last long. As far as options, locust is great. Cypress should work well. Normal store bought wood is pine which is a low density composition, therefore its life is limited. As a general rule, the heavier or denser the wood, the longer it will last. As far as using recycled plastic, we have used them as the cap for our raised beds. Our beds are made of concrete blocks, so they will still be in production long after everyone on this listserve has went to that great CG in the sky. Please review at... http://www.casagarden.com/rotary.htm Recycled plastic comes at a premium price. Using concrete blocks and having the expertise to lay them is also something to consider. Many times it comes down to budget constaints. If you have a small budget, then it comes down to how resourceful you are at acquiring materials. I've found that poor folks or those who come from a poor background (such as myself) are normally more resourceful than those well off. Good luck going forward with your raised beds, Jim >> ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
