What Wood To Use For Raised Vegetable Beds
Frame it all 1 in w x 192 in l x 5 5 in h brown composite raised garden bed.
What wood to use for raised vegetable beds. Wood is a very versatile material for vegetable gardens. If you have any questions about how best to colour and protect wooden raised vegetable beds give our friendly team a call. The oils in red cedar yew and redwood lumber make it naturally resistant to rot. The durability of untreated wood used for raised beds largely depends on the type of wood used.
The wood to use for a raised bed is your decision. So when i set out to create a set. Recycling is great for the environment and in some cases can be great for your raised bed as well but certain recycled materials should be avoided when building your raised bed. Hemlock fir and pine are suitable materials for raised beds but aren t very long lasting.
Apart from being a sustainable resource it looks good and is great for creating a new structure for vegetable beds that will hold in compost or keep out pests. A cedar frame can last up to 10 years but one made of douglas fir may last only 5 to 7 years. For pricing and availability. Railroad ties are found throughout the united states as garden beds stairs and other landscape features.
Materials to avoid using in raised beds. I also use some pressure treated wood for various garden structures including large raised beds. From what i ve seen the consensus is that the chemicals do leach out of the wood into the soil and are uptaken by the plants in very small amounts. Whether it is used to create raised beds the edges of paths or a frame for protective netting wood is the natural choice for many gardeners.
Should you finish untreated wood used for raised beds. The next best wood for raised garden beds is soft wood like pine and spruce. Cedar and redwood are naturally water resistant but can be expensive and hard to find. It s also a lot more susceptible to fungi and pests like termites which is why it s usually always pressure treated.
Here are some options. Other lumber such as black walnut white oak and locust wood are dense making them long lasting. There are wood preservatives on the market such as croma wood treatment that are non toxic water based preservatives specifically formulated for use on compost bins raised beds grow tables and vegetable planters. Eden 34 in w x 34 in l x 37 in h wood raised garden bed.
This type of treated wood was banned years ago for household use. A redwood raised garden bed however can last up to 20 years. Two foot long stakes that are set at each corner of my raised garden beds. It s a cheaper option but beds made of soft wood only last 7 10 years.