Re: Raised beds

> The material in railroad ties is creosote. Creosote is one of the most
> studied materials used for protection of wood.
> 
> Every dock and pier, every piling, every telephone pole is protected with
> creosote. The EPA has studied the effects and found NO contamination of
> nearby soil or water. The Clean Water Act and potential liability issues to
> utilities have focussed a lot of attention on creosote but it continues to
> be used throughout the world. Aside from hard-to-verify anecdotal evidence,
> the product is believed to be very safe to use in wood applications.
> 
> However, there is no question, particularly on hot days, the odor can be
> objectionable and there are reasonable substitutes (cedar, redwood,
> copper-based chemicals)

There's a web page out there that has the EPA Information Sheet for treated
wood.  You can find it at:

   http://members.primary.net/~silvest/garden/ccamsds.html

In summary it says that things are generally safe, but you shouldn't
use treated lumber where it will come in direct contact with food and
drinking water, but it sounds like it should be safe for gardening.

In reading the archives, I noticed a lot of people complaining about
plants on the perimeter of their raised beds not displaying the same
vigor as plants closer to the center.  I don't think this is because
of the chemicals in the treated wood, but rather because of the drying
affect present closer to the edge.  Plants nearer to the center will
naturally dry out a slower rate.

Chris
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index