Pressure Treated Wood For Raised Beds
A good choice for many backyard growers is a.
Pressure treated wood for raised beds. However while treated lumber will hold up better over time it can also leach harmful chemicals into your soil. Gardeners have used pressure treated wood for decades in raised beds and as posts but on december 31 2003 the environmental protection agency epa banned the sale of lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate cca for residential use. Yes you can use pressure treated lumber for your raised garden beds homeowners ask if it is safe to use treated lumber for garden vegetable beds. Plant crops a foot away from the walls of your raised beds.
This publication from pennsylvania state university does a good job describing the risks of using both cca treated wood as well as acq treated wood. The safety of pressure treated wood for garden beds depends on what preservative was used to treat the wood. While there is scientific consensus that it is safe to use for garden and vegetable beds the information below explains what chemicals are used in viance ground contact treated wood for residential use and the results of numerous scientific studies. Of course the primary concern with using pressure treated wood in raised bed gardens has been with the arsenic in cca chromated copper arsenate treated wood.
If you re still concerned about growing purely organic fruits and veggies there are steps you can take to minimize their exposure to your pressure treated wood. Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate or cca can leach toxic. Tips for healthy veggies in pressure treated beds. Like most things the more people talk about a particular topic the more the truth gets diluted and the myths and incorrect facts get shared as truths.
Concerns have focused on the leaching of arsenic from pressure treated wood. Many new gardeners and even experienced ones turn to treated lumber when sourcing materials for raised beds due to its added protection against moisture and the associated rot and bug damage.