A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 ? RE Pressure treated wood

Hubbie bought pressure treated wood for our garden. I told him you can't use pressure treated unless you line it with the black plastic....correct?
He would like to know if painting it inside would be just as good as the black plastic?

it depends on the kind of pressure treated wood and if you are talking about a veggie garden or a flower garden.

most wood is pressure treated with an arsenic compound, and so if you are using it for flowers it is ok, but even with black plastic (heavy duty kind) i personally would not use it for veggies. the arsenic can leach out into the soil and pose a danger of being taken up by the food plants. does that make sense?

however, there is supposedly on the market a type of pressure treated wood that is non-toxic, i just can't remember what kind it is.

douglas fir <-is that what you mean by kind? and yes a veggie garden

Is there perhaps a way to seal the wood so that nothing leaches out? I told him not to get pressure treated wood darnitall. OH man I don't want to waste our hard work and money!

actually, I meant the kind of treatment used. there are two kinds, one is poisonous and the other isn't.

as for using them anyway, i'm not sure of the best way to go. i'd probably go buy some more wood and just use those for a flower garden. not to be discouraging, but that is what i would do. it will be just about the same cost as if you secured the builder's moisture barrier plastic and did all the work involved with wrapping the wood, etc. and truthfully, even then, i'd be afraid, but i'm a "fraidy cat". i won't even let my husband burn scraps of treated wood for that reason.

We just went to a place that sold assorted
"Rough cut lumber"
We picked out Larch because it doesn't decay or break down easily...

But I also wouldn't use it for veggies..
*(the treated kind..)
I would use it in the flower bed though..
Shouldn't have any problems there..

"While it wouldn't be my first choice for a vegie garden, and seeing as you've already purchased the stuff, i can't see why it would be a problem if lined on the inside with builders plastic.
Ensure the inside is lined all the way to the base and hang a bit over the top edge. Place an untreated board flat on the top to secure it and hide the plastic. The poison can't travel thru plastic....."

I've always figured it was a fair argument to say the above...Easy for me to say, but...

..... if it was MY vegie garden, i'd be inclined to agree with not using it. If the beds are not yet constructed, maybe you could return the timber and exchange it for something more suitable. End of the day it's your call.

what kind of wood is good for a veggie garden? We may just buy new wood and give this to his dad
Husband wants to know if redwood is ok? thanks for all the responses

I have heard that Redwood is rot resistant..
And bugs don't go after it either..

We used rough cut Larch...cause the other selections were a bit costly...

The 'Bad' kind of wood is called CCA. It has been voluntarily removed from the market.

I looked into using it, and couldn't find anything really diffient about not using it.

The test results varied widely about.

I did make a blackberry bed and use it as a border, but this wood had been exposed to the weather for a year or more.

If you don't comfortable using it, don't use it.

Ok I called home depot and they said no do not use it use redwood. So we'll go with that and either find another use for the pressure treated wood or give it to my fil thanks all!

Very glad we all could help!!!!

Keep us posted on what you do..

Man, there is so much to learn here! I had never even thought about the possible dangers of using treated wood near vegetables.
So, after how long of weather exposure is it ok to plant around it?

since arsenic is a heavy metal, and the treatmentt is meantt tto make itt weatther resistant, i wwouldn't ever put food plants near it.

Here's some info. http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/CCA-Pressure-Treated-Wood.htm

Can Garden plants Take Up Enough Arsenic to be a Concern?

CCA-treated boards used to frame garden beds can be expected to leach arsenic into the soil next to the boards. The leached arsenic is expected to mix with the remaining soil in the bed as the soil is turned over and prepared for planting. This will decrease the concentration of arsenic in the soil through dilution. This dilution effect combined with the evidence that plant uptake of arsenic is fairly small, suggest that the amount of arsenic in produce grown in such beds will not be a health concern. <snip>

However, the side bar on the same site (CT Dept of Public Health) states the following:
Recommendations
<snip>
• Keep children and pets out of under-deck areas where arsenic may have leached in the past.
• Don't grow edible plants near CCA-treated decks.
• Insert a plastic liner on the inside of CCA-boards used to frame garden beds.
• Follow safe handling guidelines if you use CCA-treated wood in building projects.

ARGH! I have about 10 each of peppermint and spearment plants and 3 chamomile that I should probably toss. Sigh.

We recently had a new fence installed and the posts are treated. Along the fence I have edibles, are they to be tossed altogheter? Why are they using this stuff if it is so dangerous?
I have had another section of my fence replaced years ago as well, but had no idea of the dangers of the treated posts so I continued to eat my strawberries and other things as usual. Now I'm freaking out!

if the posts are "near" but not "in" or surrounding the edibles, then you will have minimal exposure. but if a bed is raised, and the siides are treated, then you really do run the risk of arsenic (heavy metal) poisoning. i'd plan on the beds for edibles being else where, or in containers when they are next to the fence.

Thanks, Jiffymouse! I appreciate the explanations, now I can plan much better!

Snif! Just tossed out about 30 plants. Oh well, fortunately they we cheap and easy to start from seed. Better to be safe than sorry.

Anddddd it's still early enough to start again...
That's the best part where you'll still get your season in and fresh produce...