What Is the Best Treated Wood to Use Around a Raised Vegetable Bed?
Your question gets one of the “it depends” answers. How long do you want it to last? If it’s relatively temporary (less than 3 years), use recycled lumber if available. A raised bed edge need not be as permanent as a deck or fence. Peter Chan, a well-known vegetable gardener in Oregon, builds raised beds the way they were traditionally done in China, with slightly sloped edges firmed by the shovel, and no external wood at all. First, here are some suggestions about what NOT to use. Railroad ties, especially when relatively new, have been impregnated with creosote which can cause plant damage from leaching into the ground. Do not use anything treated with pentachlorophenol (once sold as “Penta”). This product is no longer legal for sale. The registration was canceled by the EPA in 1986 because of toxicity to mammals (including humans.) Sometimes people have outdated supplies of it in storage. Don’t use this. Take it to a hazardous waste disposal site. (Call your county for information a
