BEDS WITH WOODED SIDES

[markspearce]

HI Charles
I am creating a new veg area and I want to use wooden edging to define the beds and paths,I was looking at using 6×1 treated planks as I have about 300 meters of edging to do .
I have read in one of your books about using untreated timber and painting with osmo which is a natural preservative ,but I just wont have the time to do this .
Is the treated(tanalised) timber just really bad for us does it leach out in to the soil ,is that why it is not recommended or is it ok ?
Greenwood like oak or ceder is expensive,and untreated planks I think would need replacing quite often which would be expensive do you have any other alternative ?
Thank you
Mark

[charles]

Hello Mark

The simplest and cheapest is to have no wooden edges, as at most of Homeacres.
Otherwise, I don’t know if the treatment leaches out, I don’t think anyone does for sure, so it’s a precaution to treat with Oslo. Fair point about time and expense.
Do check out wood-free.

[Rhys]

Mark

I was asking Charles the same question about 3 years ago, got the answer he gave you and I took his advice. I now have four 7.5sqm beds which have really good structure, more worms each year and better plant root systems evident at harvest time. Each bed had trenches dug for potatoes on rotation, which generates a nice topsoil tilth after harvest but has otherwise seen no digging whatever. Drainage has improved and in year 3 I am currently harvesting 30-40cm long parsnips weighing 8-16oz.

You can lay down an awful lot of high quality compost on the beds for the price of the wood, you know……

[Stringfellow]

Another vote here for no wooden sides; save cash to buy compost, save time by not making wooden sided beds and eventually having to replace them anyway, compost spills on to paths which enhances fertility there. Each to their own and deep raised beds are helpful for people with bad backs……

[Karen]

Likewise here too 🙂 a total convert from not using wooden sides.

Removed most of the wooden sides of our beds and it makes work a whole lot easier too e.g. adding wheelbarrows of compost etc… harbours less slugs and their eggs :))

and saves $$$ and replenishing wooden sides.

[Author]

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