rasied garden bordering question?

I read that limestone will leach, and change the pH.

What do you guys think about PVC board?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_238345-99899-2827_4294934154__?productId=3603698&Ntt=pvc+trim&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_Lumber_4294934154__s%3FNtt%3Dpvc%2Btrim&facetInfo=


Or Vinyl Fence Rail

http://www.lowes.com/pd_87348-73428-73061401S_0__?productId=3362766&Ntt=vinyl+fence+rail&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dvinyl%2Bfence%2Brail&facetInfo=

kelly1 wrote:I read that limestone will leach, and change the pH.

Thanks, I'll have to watch for that. If it is a problem, then I can solve it pretty easily...

Color me prejudiced against anything plastic.

My first observation is that neither boards are really wide enough, due to the fact that they are adhering to milled lumber specs. My results using that size Trex were disappointing. Mel's Mix settled, and my end result was too little dirt for anything but lettuce and spinach. If you must use this stuff, I would suggest the 8" boards. It might also be appropriate for a tropical or rainforest climate. Other than that, they might be nice for flower beds out front of the house. I also like the idea of limestone bricks. Nothing wrong with limestone leachate unless you're growing azaleas or rhododendrons or other acid loving plants.

I also suggest price comparisons between milled 2" x 8" x 8' pine if cedar is not available. It's relatively cheap, very sturdy, and should last almost indefinitely in an arid climate, and a long time even in our more humid areas. When it does break down in the garden, it just adds to the humus content of the mix.

We've been too enamored of plastics in the kitchen for decades. We're now shifting to inert glass containers or plastic that does not break down rapidly. Same thing in the garden. We're shifting to plain, unpainted, untreated cedar squares as fast as I can build them. I've got some scrap 2" x 8" that I may convert to squares just to see how long it takes them to rot in our climate.

You can get a 2" x 10" x 8' pine board at Home Depot for $5.47. They will make one cut for free. So, to make a 4' x 4' x 10" high box costs $10.94 before tax. Very cheap. Won't last as long as cedar but it's hard to get cedar where I live. Pine is everywhere.

[quote="boffer"]I found a study that said if I ate two CCA pressure treated 2x4x8's every day for 10 years that my body would accumulate enough arsenic to kill me.

I think you'd be a goner in about 3 days from splinter overload
just couldn't resist.....

@ralitaco I had some left over PVC sign board scraps that I used for some beds. I am not a plastic fan either, but I didn't really want to put them in a dumpster either. There has been PVC pipe in my house's system for 30 years. I haven't heard any problems with PVC. just my 2 cents.

Squat_Johnson wrote:There has been PVC pipe in my house's system for 30 years. I haven't heard any problems with PVC.

great point