Folks, Good grief. One of our list members ASSUMED that my 2X12's were pressure treated. Not so. I merely pointed out that one should not pontificate based on an assumption, on facts not in evidence. Though I do appreciate Byron and others noting that the boards can be made safer by covering, weathering, and/or painting - enough already. The point was that raised beds have worked well for me for many, many years. And, as my favorite gardening technique for increasing yields, it is a subject most assuredly on topic. Dontcha think (if you are inclined, as one listmember was) that beds which lend themselves to the double digging French intensive method are likely to increase yields of chiles?? My continuing question is "who knows something about peppers (chiles) preferring poorer soils?" Your devoted fan, Gareth the ChileKnight