Search
Latest topics
» Famous Gardening Quotesby OhioGardener Today at 8:29 am
» Soaking Seeds for Better Germination
by Soose Today at 4:38 am
» Johnson Su composting Bioreactor instructions for home, not the farm.
by sanderson Today at 4:27 am
» How do I source Mels Mix for 190 cu ft????
by sanderson Today at 4:15 am
» The SFG Journey-Johnson Su Bioreactor for composting, No turning
by has55 Today at 12:09 am
» N&C Midwest: January & February 2023
by Scorpio Rising Yesterday at 9:13 pm
» Microgreens Gardening
by Windsor.Parker Yesterday at 4:23 pm
» seed starting Mel's way
by plantoid Yesterday at 7:09 am
» Home Made Compost
by plantoid Yesterday at 6:18 am
» Kiwi's SFG Adventure
by KiwiSFGnewbie Yesterday at 2:46 am
» Back In The Saddle I Suppose
by Scorpio Rising 1/26/2023, 8:03 pm
» Garlic Chives in SFG?
by quincy47 1/25/2023, 9:29 am
» New but Old
by lovey 1/25/2023, 1:49 am
» Dani's Brand New SFG For 2023
by danieggert 1/24/2023, 6:24 pm
» Seed Exchange - January 2023
by sanderson 1/24/2023, 4:43 am
» Chicken Poop compost
by OhioGardener 1/22/2023, 5:28 pm
» Holy snow Batman!
by OhioGardener 1/22/2023, 10:27 am
» IRRIG8R NEW TO SFG
by Irrig8The916 1/21/2023, 10:51 pm
» Mel's mix for flower planters
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 7:05 pm
» Can I Use This Compost As One Of My Five Different Ones?
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 6:53 pm
» Clamps /clips for covering frames
by Soose 1/21/2023, 6:43 pm
» What DON'T I want in my 5 different composts
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 4:34 am
» New User from Chicago area - question about compost
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 4:15 am
» How to Make a Garden Tower From a Barrel?
by Soose 1/20/2023, 1:08 pm
» Spring Sales Starting Already?
by Soose 1/19/2023, 10:16 pm
» Happy Birthday!!
by yolos 1/18/2023, 8:16 pm
» National Seed Swap Day - January 30th
by sanderson 1/16/2023, 2:48 pm
» Storage of bean seeds
by sanderson 1/16/2023, 2:41 pm
» January: What to plant in Northern California and Central Valley areas
by Yardslave 1/16/2023, 11:17 am
» What are you eating from your garden today?
by Scorpio Rising 1/15/2023, 4:02 pm
Google
Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
+2
ralitaco
DFGibson
6 posters
Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
I need thoughts on my raised Garden. My builder thinks for a food garden that we can use pressure treated wood covered with agriculture plastic. Thoughts please.
Also looking for where to get material for Mel's mix with out breaking the bank. any help welcome.
Thanks!
Also looking for where to get material for Mel's mix with out breaking the bank. any help welcome.
Thanks!
DFGibson- Posts : 1
Join date : 2020-03-10
Location : East Hartford, CT
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
DFG, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!!!
This is a great resource with lots of helpful folks. Some are more "organic" than others so you will get a variety of answers.
I have used untreated and it lasted about 5 years on the ground. I also have used untreated that I painted in my Table Top beds.
I believe one of them is treated as well.
It really is a personal choice. Some folks won't use plastic, others won't use paint, etc., etc.
Here is another thread on this topic:
Treated Lumber ???
This is a great resource with lots of helpful folks. Some are more "organic" than others so you will get a variety of answers.
I have used untreated and it lasted about 5 years on the ground. I also have used untreated that I painted in my Table Top beds.
I believe one of them is treated as well.
It really is a personal choice. Some folks won't use plastic, others won't use paint, etc., etc.
Here is another thread on this topic:
Treated Lumber ???
ralitaco-
Posts : 1312
Join date : 2010-04-04
Location : Hampstead, NC
dstack likes this post
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
DF, here is a good resource on using pressure treated lumber for raised beds:
Safely Using Pressure Treated Wood for Raised Gardens
Safely Using Pressure Treated Wood for Raised Gardens
Never plant without a bucket of compost at your side.
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
That was a good read.
I have lined all of my beds with 6 mil black plastic, so I may not need to worry about PT chemicals leaching, but who knows what chemicals leach from the Plastic
I have lined all of my beds with 6 mil black plastic, so I may not need to worry about PT chemicals leaching, but who knows what chemicals leach from the Plastic

ralitaco-
Posts : 1312
Join date : 2010-04-04
Location : Hampstead, NC
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
As long as your 6 mil plastic sheeting is food grade polyethylene. Just as there is a difference in 5 gallon buckets. Home Depot buckets are not food grade but I grow in them. It is how far and how fast leeching occurs and then the factor of how quickly the plant takes up any of the leeching and from the numbers I have seen, I don't worry about it but that is me. Become informed because you are the one who has to live with the decision or not.
Welcome, Dean. You can also do a search to see other conversations on this topic.
Dean is also looking for a source of ingredients for Mel's Mix. There was a time you could get Mel's Mix locally but that doesn't seem the case anymore.
If you are wondering, yes I know Dean. Connecticut is a very small state and everybody eventually knows everyone here. Plus Dean and his wife come to The Hillstown Grange Garden Talks. I preach talk to everyone. I only believe half of what I say, the rest I get from other people.
My feeling is the expense of Mel's Mix is one of the downsides to Square Foot Gardening but is offset by the problems that it solves before you start. Again this is an individual decision, when in doubt run an experiment, Mel's Mix versus a less expensive alternative. The proof is in the doing, keep what works but always be ready to enter your horse in the race.
Welcome, Dean. You can also do a search to see other conversations on this topic.
Dean is also looking for a source of ingredients for Mel's Mix. There was a time you could get Mel's Mix locally but that doesn't seem the case anymore.
If you are wondering, yes I know Dean. Connecticut is a very small state and everybody eventually knows everyone here. Plus Dean and his wife come to The Hillstown Grange Garden Talks. I preach talk to everyone. I only believe half of what I say, the rest I get from other people.
My feeling is the expense of Mel's Mix is one of the downsides to Square Foot Gardening but is offset by the problems that it solves before you start. Again this is an individual decision, when in doubt run an experiment, Mel's Mix versus a less expensive alternative. The proof is in the doing, keep what works but always be ready to enter your horse in the race.
Dan in Ct-
Posts : 295
Join date : 2014-08-10
Location : Ct Zone 6A
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
I don't grow in buckets, Dan, but I get free 5-gallon buckets from the local bakery that are food grade. They buy buckets of cake icing, and after they are empty they wash them out and sit them our for customers to pick up. I think the plastic is a little thinner than the buckets they sell at Lowe's and Home Depot, but they are still very durable.
Never plant without a bucket of compost at your side.
sanderson likes this post
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
Welcome, DFG! Glad you joined the fray. I never thought of lining with plastic. I like the drainage factor of Mel’s Mix. As for cost effective MM, I have ordered my coarse vermiculite from both my local nursery and Amazon, nice thing is, the MM is a one-time up front cost. That is why I started small! I used re-purposed old window boxes, who knows what kind of wood that was!
Then for the compost (peat is pretty cheap) I shop around; nursery, FB friends with livestock (chickens, rabbits, goats, etc) and TSC has a pretty decent worm castings. I also amend with blood and bone meal...not pure Mel, but I have always done the Rodale hybrid organic.
Keep us posted, can’t wait to hear what your plans are, what you like to eat, etc!

Then for the compost (peat is pretty cheap) I shop around; nursery, FB friends with livestock (chickens, rabbits, goats, etc) and TSC has a pretty decent worm castings. I also amend with blood and bone meal...not pure Mel, but I have always done the Rodale hybrid organic.
Keep us posted, can’t wait to hear what your plans are, what you like to eat, etc!

Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8373
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: Pressure treated wood - covered with plastic?
Great read! Thanks for this! And I'll check out the other thread that Ralitaco recommended. I'm working on one of my next videos to be on this topic. And my this article lines up with previous sources I've looked into.OhioGardener wrote:DF, here is a good resource on using pressure treated lumber for raised beds:
Safely Using Pressure Treated Wood for Raised Gardens
dstack-
Posts : 644
Join date : 2013-08-20
Age : 54
Location : South Florida (Ft. Lauderdale), Zone 10A
sanderson likes this post

» wood for SFG
» Lining Boxees with Polyurethane Spray?
» pressure treated wood
» Using Pressure Treated Wood
» how do you feel about presser treated wood
» Lining Boxees with Polyurethane Spray?
» pressure treated wood
» Using Pressure Treated Wood
» how do you feel about presser treated wood
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|