Are there health dangers in using pressure treated wood for raised garden beds?
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At one point in time (this has since been banned, I'm told) arsenic was one of the chemicals used in treating lumber.
I just made raised beds this year myself and researched it quite a bit before I bought lumber for it. I just used plain, construction-grade lumber...2x8's - untreated. (would have loved cedar, but pricey...ouch!)
Everyone I talked to that had raised garden beds and that had used un-treated lumber said they have lasted them for 7-8 years so far, and not needed to replace them.
There are other chemicals used in treating lumber that I would not trust around food, so my advise is to use untreated lumber or cedar, just to be on the safe side.
My raised beds are doing great and have not had any problems at all so far. Good luck with yours!
the only health issue I know of is when burning treated lumber it gives off toxic fumes so dont burn your scrapes
There is some word that using treated wood around vegetables is a bad idea. Especially if the chemicals leach into the soil. I would think there were no problems for flowers beds.
Pressure treated wood it Ok for flower beds, but not oK for produce. The pressure treatment can leach into the soil and is absorbed by the plants. tf
No. There is not enough of anything leaching out of anything to harm anything. I do agree that there are better presevative to treat lumber for longevity, but the case has been made that children would get sick from the playsets if they were to chew on it. Now, why would someone let there children eat the playset. A child would have to eat an entire treated 2 x 4 x 8' to do really serious harm. Are those substances bad, yes, but not in your raised garden.
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