Wood for my garden & rhubarb

disccopy 8/16/2014, 12:46 pm

This may not be the proper forum location, BUT I was told buy a garden center that the pressure treated lumber today IS SAFE to use for my garden. In trying to search the site I come up with yea & nays.. Thoughts? IF used do I need to line the sides with plastic?

Also I want to plant 1or 2 rhubarb plants. I first thought a 2' wide by 4' long would work? Thoughts? Variety?
Thanks

**AtlantaMarie** 8/16/2014, 5:09 pm

We decided not to take the chance. The chemicals COULD migrate thru the plastic... And even though arsenic is no longer used, I wasn't willing to put those chemicals into my body. It's just not worth it. I'd rather replace the wood every few years.

Size sounds good for rhubarb. I've got seed for both Victoria & Glaskin's Perpetual that I got from Baker Creek. Both are heirloom. Haven't planted them yet, so can't give you any taste advice. See me in a couple of years, lol.

disccopy 8/16/2014, 5:22 pm

Thanks

**camprn** 8/16/2014, 7:02 pm

I won't waste my premium SFG space for rhubarb. It's out in the yard and does just great there.

mollyhespra 8/16/2014, 9:44 pm

Rhubarb gets HUGE and it has an extensive root system. I would dedicate a non-SFG, sunny, fertile corner of your yard. My rhubarb "patch" (4 plants) takes up part of one length of the house. One plant would easily overgrow your 2x4 box.

Oh, and I wouldn't trust the chemicals in treated wood to not leach out into the soil. We kept an eye out for sales and purchased cedar, but you could use "plain" old pine instead, they'll just need replacing sooner.

disccopy 8/17/2014, 10:49 pm

Thanks for the thoughts.. My yard at this time though is not the best for planting anything in. In the future I may have a designated spot but for now I'm going to keep one semi contained. I've got access to some lumber so putting a box together shouldn't be an issue. My issue is locating the needed items for making Mel's Mix.

**camprn** 8/18/2014, 7:33 am

disccopy wrote:Thanks for the thoughts.. My yard at this time though is not the best for planting anything in. In the future I may have a designated spot but for now I'm going to keep one semi contained. I've got access to some lumber so putting a box together shouldn't be an issue. My issue is locating the needed items for making Mel's Mix.

What ingredients are you needing at this point?

**AtlantaMarie** 8/18/2014, 1:52 pm

Thanks for the rhubarb advice, guys! I'll keep it in mind as I get ready to seed some...!

disccopy 8/18/2014, 7:25 pm

I was having a problem locating Vermiculite, BUT I finally located a source about 45 minutes from me in KY that carries 4cf bags of coarse. It's $25.00 per bag.. Is that a good price?

Marc Iverson 8/18/2014, 7:27 pm

That's a great price, especially for coarse, which is quite hard to find for most people. Buy 100 bags and resell them at a huge mark-up! Very Happy

I was very lucky to find some coarse vermiculite locally for $30 for 4 square feet. Considering I didn't have to pay shipping, it felt like winning the lottery.

disccopy 8/18/2014, 8:06 pm

OK Now for another question.. IF I just go with common boards ( pine) rather than cedar..Common board is actually not 6" wide but 5.375..So the question is will the 1x6 be tall enough?

Marc Iverson 8/18/2014, 10:49 pm

Technically, yes. I'm sure Mel takes that into account when writing that six inches is enough to grow most any non-root crop in all by itself. However, mulch helps so much with water retention, to keep soil from splattering back up onto leaves and encouraging disease, to make harvesting clean fruits and veggies easier, to keep temperatures more consistent, etc., that you might come to really appreciate having enough space for both your growing medium and a nice layer of mulch.

Some crops, even, are so commonly mulched that it's probably the norm. Strawberries, for example, and it's regularly suggested to mulch garlic when planting in fall to harvest next summer.

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