Hope all you folks constructing raised beds are not using treated lumber. Latest news is that treated lumber is loaded with arsenic.

Thought I would pass that along.

-- Carole Kington (kington@duo-county.com), March 20, 2002

Answers

latest news?? it have more than that,, cadmium, some have lead, and a TON of other nasty stuff besides arsenic

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 20, 2002.

LAter news than that its been banned. Do not know the exact date but the manufacturers have agreed to stop treating the wood with the arsnic stuff. That means as I understand no more green treated wood after what is out there is gone. Don't know what they will use instead of the green but still will not use any treated wood in my garden.

-- David in North Al. (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 20, 2002.

CCA treated lumber will not be available after 12/31/2003, for residental use only. It will still be available for commercial and agricultural use.

-- David in NH (grayfoxfamr@mcttelecom.com), March 20, 2002.

Well that chaps my hide! I was just getting ready to build me some raised beds and was going to use 2"X8" to make the frames. I definetly need some raised beds to plant my green beans in. I have chronic back problems. Last summer I couldn't keep my green beans picked due to my back and decided then that I was going to make some raised beds this next summer just for the purpose of raising green beans. Now what will I do?

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), March 21, 2002.

Lots of things to use for raised beds besides treated lumber, Black Locust,Cement blocks, I've even made some nice ones with large stones.

-- Paul (treewizard@buffalo.com), March 21, 2002.

Not meaning to be critical, but why would you want to pick green beans loaded with arsenic anyway, let alone keeping them picked on a regular basis?

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 21, 2002.

R.H. If your back is bad a 2x8 raised bed probably isn't going to be enough. I used 2x8's on my last frames and it wasn't any help for the back. Maybe you could stack some tires 2-3 high and fill them w/ soil? It would'nt give you as much growing area, but tires can be had free from dealers. Just a thought.

-- Chux (chux@chuxworld.net), March 21, 2002.

R H I really feel for you buddy! Nothing is worse than for a hard working fellow not to be able to do the work he wants to.

As I age, I plan to look into the kind of raised beds that handicapped folks (in wheelchairs) have. They are like large planter boxes but the tops are at 3-4 ft. I believe they put stuff in the bottom so the entire thing doesn't have to be filled with dirt--like old buckets, etc...Aluminum cans....

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.

Here's how we do beans. Kids pick the bottom while we pick the middle and grandma and grandad pick the top. We do it together and tell stories and sing. Get you some little ones and be sure to have lots of homemade ice cream afterwards!

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.

r.h., use 2X8 untreated cedar if you are going with that method. You'll pay an arm and a leg for them but they will outlast you. I picked up some old used cedar 2x8s a few years from a dismantled deck. I blew my back out in 1979 and those 8 inches DO make a big difference. For others wanting to make raised beds from lumber, consider them as planting a perennial or building a home. Buy the best material and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

-- Martin Longseth (paquebot@merr.com), March 22, 2002.

Instead of treated lumber, or exspensive cedar just ask any farm tire dealer for his old tractor tires, he'll be tickled to death to give them to you and some will even deliver because they have to pay a disposal fee to have them havled off. Simply take a chain saw and cut the bead around the sidewall on one side, and walla, one life time raised bed. It will last longer than either of us, and you helped save the landfil!

-- Tim (goathillfarm50@aol.com), March 22, 2002.

Tires are toxic too. I've had to do inventory inside the 18 wheeler trailer in summer. The fumes were sickening. I'd use them for ornamentals, but not edibles.

-- Deborah Hardy (virgil@igs.net), March 23, 2002.

There is arsenic free treated lumber available, but another possible alternative might be plastic lumber made for decks. It is expensive, at more than a dollar a foot, and only comes in 6" widths, but possibly a person could use two together to make it 12" high. Also, my sister used concrete blocks to build raised beds to about 2 feet high, so she could sit on the edge while working in the garden. One disadvantage to concrete blocks is that they apparently dry out the beds more than other materials.

Another alternative would be to look at the book, "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. He recommends a raised 4' x 4' planter box for people in wheel chairs. He also recommends using cedar, or similar rot-resistant lumber, and tells how to change the side when the lumber does rot out. Using his method of vertical gardening for vining crops may be helpful for someone with a bad back.

There is also a new book out called "Weedless Gardening" by Lee Reich. He also promotes intensive gardening, using mulch to eliminate most weeds. The main thing he does differently is that he advocates not tilling at all, unless your soil is very rocky or heavy clay. He starts most garden spots by laying down 4 layers of newspaper, wetting them down, and covering them with a weedfree mulch, such as compost. Seeds or transplants are put directly into the mulch and allowed to grow through the newspapers that are smothering out the weeds underneath.

Either of these methods look to eliminate tilling and most or all of the spading. The weeding is greatly reduced also. Perhaps an adaptation of these methods will be helpful to a person with a bad back.

I plan to put in several 4' x 8' raised beds this year inside the foundations of an old corn crib. My vining crops will be planted in a foot wide bed inside the chicken wire fence I will be putting up to keep out our abundant rabbit population. They will be growing on twine hung from electrical conduit attctched to the tops of the fence stakes. Since I work fulltime elsewhere, reducing work in the garden is essential for me.

Good luck finding a system that works for you.

-- Jeanne Bilder (jbilder@clear.lakes.com), March 24, 2002.

i think a good cheap answer is using a cheap kids swimming pool. cut the bottom out and your there

-- randy in central missouri (rwybrant@coin.org), March 25, 2002.