# Garden border for a raised garden. (Chemicals in wood)



## Blackwater Bees (May 7, 2012)

Stop over-analysing. If you use wood, you have to have some kind of preservative, creosote is better than most of the others.


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## DarkWolf (Feb 20, 2013)

The pressure treated wood they sell these days is absolute garbage... I put out some raised beds for some side food crops out of the main garden bed and the dag blasted things rotted out in 2 years... Above ground.. Well.. Except the inside.

And it was rated for burial. 

Railroad ties will be fine. It's the same stuff in them as in telephone poles, though more of it. Unless you're chewing on it, it's all good.


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## trance (Mar 29, 2013)

I did check my RR Ties I already have, some have already leached long before I got them while others still have spots of leaching but not much. I might see if I can find some that have completely leached out. I looked at 2 x 4 x 8 cedar boards, $8.00 each. If you do 4 sides 2 high it's not that much more ($3 or $4 more depending) than buying a RR tie for $13.00 ish. 

Has anyone worked with Cedar and how did it hold up?


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## Ben Brewcat (Oct 27, 2004)

Get pressure treated. Arsenic hasn't been used in it for decades.


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## UTvolshype (Nov 26, 2012)

Only issue I've had with Railroad ties is black ants getting into them and causing problems.


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## Silverbackotter (Feb 23, 2013)

If you are not opposed to plastic line the inside and bottom with black plastic will keep stuff from leaching so much.


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## jdmidwest (Jul 9, 2012)

Don't they sell landscape rock or edging at the local lawn and garden stores in Fl? Cedar is natural and has it own built in rot protection. Most lawn and garden places offer some plastic edging also. Brick works great too.

The problem with wood is that eventually it will rot and you will have issues with ants and other beetles. Rock or brick is a permanent solution.


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## bolter (Jun 27, 2013)

I'd check with local lumber mills to see what they have available. They may have local varieties that aren't commercially valuable but do have rot resistance.
Up here, I use rough cut larch (2 x 6) to make my raised beds & 6 x 6 for posts/arbors, etc. Larch isn't as good as cedar for rot resistance, but is cheap (12' 2x6 is less than $6) & will last a long time (at least 10 years for a raised bed).
I stay away from pressure treated wood for anything close to plants as a majority of the chemicals will leach into the ground very quickly.


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