Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: the Kergan on April 01, 2012, 00:52
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After spending a wad of cash having raised beds built and 5 tonnes of quality soil put into them I have now gone into a cold sweat!
I just thought to myself... Is tanalised / pressure treated timber ok for this. I was worried about the chemicals getting into the soil. After reading up on this I find that most people do not have an issue with it as they think the treatment is safe and not harmful.
Has anyone built beds with treated / tanalised timber.
If you have grown an extra head or have ended up dead please let me know.
I don't want to kill myself munching away on poisonous veg and don't want to sprout any additional body parts, as coming from Wiltshire I have an extra toe on each foot as it is.
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After spending a wad of cash having raised beds built and 5 tonnes of quality soil put into them I have now gone into a cold sweat!
I just thought to myself... Is tanalised / pressure treated timber ok for this. I was worried about the chemicals getting into the soil. After reading up on this I find that most people do not have an issue with it as they think the treatment is safe and not harmful.
Has anyone built beds with treated / tanalised timber.
If you have grown an extra head or have ended up dead please let me know.
I don't want to kill myself munching away on poisonous veg and don't want to sprout any additional body parts, as coming from Wiltshire I have an extra toe on each foot as it is.
I wouldn't worry about it too much now KG. You probably won't be ingesting anywhere near the amount of chemicals that supermarker veg contain. :)
(Btw, I live on the Isle of Sheppey and whilst the rumours of interbreeding are quite possibly true (baaaa - excuse me), it has nothing to do with my webbed feet (no toesocks :()... :D
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I've used pressure treated wood
it was fine :)
veg grew great .. tasted fine
i didnt get ill 8)
and the wood hasn't rotted either :D
Edited to remove bold text as it is harder for some members to read.
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Used it here. :) It will leach to a degree but if you use untreated wood, you'll be constantly rebuilding your raised beds. ::) If you're really concerned, you could line it with plastic...
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All my beds are tanalised timber and I'm feeling no ill effects. There used to be a chemical in them which was very toxic, arsenic I think, but that has not been allowed for years. That's probably where they get the reputatation from for being a problem. :)
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Treated lumber formulations here have changed as well and are much less toxic, though you still don't want to breathe in the stuff as you saw. Other than that, they're okay.
If it still worries you, you can always line the inside of the beds with some clear poly and tack down the top edges so they don't flutter in wind or funnel in rain.
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I used treated wood on all my beds that I have built.
I have lined all the tall raised beds with Pond Liner though, not because of the chemicals in the wood, but because I thought it would help keep the wood dryer so hopefully it would last even longer.
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I work with tanalised timber everyday and i'm still here lol
as for keeping the wood dry there is no need as it will dry out and split and rot quicker your better of letting it get wet to stop this :)
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Thanks for the replies everyone. I think it will be fine. I will just let the enemy try the veg first and see how she is in a week. :D
I asked her to bring her mother round and get her to lick a length of the timber and see how she was feeling in a few days but she weren't up for it.
Never mind ::)
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My understanding is that the dangerous stuff was banned ages ago and that as long as you use that there will be no problem
see here http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/archived-growing-techniques/information-pressure-treated-boards_26516.html (http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/archived-growing-techniques/information-pressure-treated-boards_26516.html)
and here
http://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-diary/1700/building-traised-beds/ (http://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-diary/1700/building-traised-beds/)