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!

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 ???

DF, here is a good resource on using pressure treated lumber for raised beds:

Safely Using Pressure Treated Wood for Raised Gardens

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 

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.

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.

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!  

OhioGardener wrote:DF, here is a good resource on using pressure treated lumber for raised beds:

Safely Using Pressure Treated Wood for Raised Gardens

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.