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Re: building raised beds

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Railroad ties are soaked with creosote, which is fairly toxic --- to
the point that it will burn your skin if you get it on you.  Normal
lumber is pressure-treated with other nasty stuff --- arsenides if I
remember correctly.

Creosote can definitely leach into your garden and will kill plants; I
don't know if it will contaminate unkilled plants.  Pressure-treated
lumber is not known to leach its poisons into your soil, but there's no
way *I'm* going to risk it.

I got a bunch of bricks from old buildings being demolished in my area;
I think I will build my raised bed from these.  A
four-foot-across-the-corners hexagon that's four bricks high --- about
a foot --- should take about 100 bricks.

Now to remove the old mortar.  I'm thinking vinegar; anybody got a
cheaper source of hydrogen ions?  :)

-- 
<kragen@pobox.com>       Kragen Sitaker     <http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/>
The Internet stock bubble didn't burst on 1999-11-08.  Hurrah!
<URL:http://www.pobox.com/~kragen/bubble.html>
The power didn't go out on 2000-01-01 either.  :)


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