Raised Vegetable Garden

5 Responses to “I have been raising vegetable for 10 years in a raised bed that has treated wood sides. Am I safe to continue?”

1. saaanen Says:
   October 24th, 2010 at 7:13 pm

   If you haven’t gotten sick, or the plants haven’t died, why not?
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2. tinman97prn Says:
   October 24th, 2010 at 7:41 pm

   The chemicals used to treat the boards aren’t very water soluble, therefore they really can’t leached from the wood.
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3. cajundude1 Says:
   October 24th, 2010 at 8:15 pm

   No treated lumber is really part of an organic garden. It depends on what was used to treat them. In some cases it could be arsenic which is not recommended to use but the amount that will be absorbed by the plants should be minimal. I would advise to get away from all treated wood for beds. You can get untreated cedar or cypress for your beds. My neighbor uses concrete blocks for his beds. You can even use bricks if you have any laying around. After 10 years, I would say that the wood does not contain a hazardous amount. That’s a long time, even for treated wood to last. Since it lasted that long a goodly amount was used to treat them, however. I used to have railroad ties for my beds. I got away from that too. I am still living, so the amount of creosote that I got into my system hasn’t brought me down. Removing the sides at this time will not do you much good, since any of the preservatives are already dispersed in the soil.
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4. Hondu Says:
   October 24th, 2010 at 8:43 pm

   Do not give it a second thought. Folks have been using treated wood for raised beds, cold frames and planter boxes for several generations now. Leave your raised bed sides alone.
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5. Alexa Says:
   October 24th, 2010 at 9:02 pm

   No they should be fine as any potential compounds in the wood would be leached out by the rain by now.
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