Re: [gardeners] Question about pressure treated wood
Harry Boswell (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 21 Feb 2001 18:46:38 -0600
I'll echo what George said - with one caveat. I've made beds out of
CCA lumber for years, and have a couple now. I don't *think* there's
a problem, although if I were growing carrots or another root crop,
I wouldn't plant within about 6" of the wood.
That being said - the place I work has a lab for testing air, soil, and
water
samples, and I think I'll see if they can test some of the soil from one of
my
old beds. I'll try to remember to ask them tomorrow, and report back.
In the meantime - last year, I decided to do a test, using one bed of CCA
lumber, one of untreated lumber, and one of untreated-but-painted lumber.
So far, they're all holding up.
Harry
----- Original Message -----
From: "George Shirley" <gshirl@bellsouth.net>
To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: [gardeners] Question about pressure treated wood
> You will probably get 50 different answers to your question Jeannine. To
the
> best of my knowledge, and that's based on reading most of the literature
on the
> subject. The active ingredients in pressure treated wood do NOT leach into
the
> soil. That being said it is also best that you not saw your treated wood
over
> the soil but do it over plastic or cement where the sawdust can be swept
up and
> put in the trash. There is some schools of thought that the arsenic in the
> preservative can leach out if the wood is turned into sawdust.
>
> I see this same question asked on the web almost daily is the reason I
said you
> might get 50 different answers. My raised beds were originally made with
> railroad ties. Railroad ties are preserved by pressure treating them with
> creosote. After I replaced them (they were rotting badly) with cinder
blocks I
> took samples to a chemist of my acquaintance and asked him to test the
soil for
> foreign substances, in particular creosote. All tests came back negative,
> including the samples taken from what would have been directly under the
ties.
> As they say everywhere on the net Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).
>
> If you are truly concerned you might try either cedar or cypress boards or
> cinder blocks instead of the pressure treated wood. Hope this helps.
>
> George
>
> Jeannine Kantz wrote:
> >
> > I've been perusing several plans for building raised beds. One calls for
> > CCA pressure treated wood. Is treated wood safe to use with plants that
> > will be eaten? Does anything leach from the wood to the soil?
> >
> > Jeannine Kantz
> > jkantz@tca.net
>