Plastic lining or not?

Mads 5/26/2011, 1:41 am

Hi there y'all!

So I'm getting closer to the time when I'll be constructing my raised beds... Still haven't figured design and dimensions yet, as the position of my (not yet constructed) greenhouse will determine where I'll have space for raised beds... A big puzzle, this is...

One thing I'm sure of, is that I'll be using fairly cheap untreated wood (pine, I believe), and I'll paint the beds, at least on the outside...

So my question goes for the inside part. The part that the soil is in contact with. Should I line this with plastic? I'm sure I could find the answer in older posts here, but I can imagine it's also a matter of opinion, so it would be nice to hear the fors and againsts...

As for the bottoms, I'll throw in some of that garden fabric and a load of cardboard to attempt to avoid weeds coming up through the whole thing...

All advice will be appreciated, but not necessarily followed ;-)

Thanks in advance.

/Mads

pattipan 5/26/2011, 3:00 am

Mads wrote:
One thing I'm sure of, is that I'll be using fairly cheap untreated wood (pine, I believe), and I'll paint the beds, at least on the outside...

So my question goes for the inside part. The part that the soil is in contact with. Should I line this with plastic? I'm sure I could find the answer in older posts here, but I can imagine it's also a matter of opinion, so it would be nice to hear the fors and againsts...

As for the bottoms, I'll throw in some of that garden fabric and a load of cardboard to attempt to avoid weeds coming up through the whole thing...

All advice will be appreciated, but not necessarily followed ;-)

Mads,
We painted our boxes with a non-toxic paint (or rather my husband painted them!). Most of the wood we used to build them was cast-offs from a local sawmill, so the white paint makes them look a little better! We did not line the boxes with plastic. We just used landscape fabric on the ground as you mentioned. If you do decide to paint and are concerned about the toxicity of the paint, then lining the part that comes into contact with the soil might be best.

It sounds to me like you have already thought about this, so use your own judgment and get those boxes built, filled with Mel's Mix and ready to plant! Plastic lining or not? 421549

pattipan

vjam5555 5/26/2011, 12:39 pm

Good Afternoon!

My SFG is very unconventional...I'm even using laundry baskets (hey, I have a deck!!!). Last year, I lined the laundry basket with a trash bag, poked lots of holes in it (for drainage) and filled it. This year, the plastic has broken down so much it breaks into dime sized flakes, potential contamination. So I don't recommend lining the box. I only did it to hold in the soil (yeah... Rolling Eyes

, I didn't use MM last year). But you don't need to.

jwbryson 5/26/2011, 2:37 pm

I bought untreated 2x6's at Home Depot, had them cut to size and built two 4x4 boxes. I then used a combination primer/latex paint to paint them white. I then lined the inside of the boxes with plastic sheeting that I bought and cut to size, which I stapled to the inside of the boxes with a power stapler. I was not sure about the paint leaching into the soil. This is my second year and so far so good. No issues at this point.

vjam5555 5/26/2011, 3:49 pm

Mads wrote:Hi there y'all!

So I'm getting closer to the time when I'll be constructing my raised beds... Still haven't figured design and dimensions yet, as the position of my (not yet constructed) greenhouse will determine where I'll have space for raised beds... A big puzzle, this is...

One thing I'm sure of, is that I'll be using fairly cheap untreated wood (pine, I believe), and I'll paint the beds, at least on the outside...

So my question goes for the inside part. The part that the soil is in contact with. Should I line this with plastic? I'm sure I could find the answer in older posts here, but I can imagine it's also a matter of opinion, so it would be nice to hear the fors and againsts...

As for the bottoms, I'll throw in some of that garden fabric and a load of cardboard to attempt to avoid weeds coming up through the whole thing...

All advice will be appreciated, but not necessarily followed ;-)

Thanks in advance.

/Mads

Mads,

I don't see much of a point to lining the interior wood...the wood is untreated so no worries about chemicals leeching. But then, maybe I'm missing something...

Mads 6/5/2011, 2:26 pm

Hey there and thanks for the replies.

I ended up just assembling the beds directly. Then I can always paint them later. I didn't put any plastic lining at all, so I guess they will rot after some time, but I can live with that ;-)

The whole area looks horrible, so no pics just yet...

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Plastic lining or not?

Plastic lining or not?

Re: Plastic lining or not?

Well, plastic can degrade...

Re: Plastic lining or not?

What purpose is the plastic serving in lining your box?

Re: Plastic lining or not?

Re: Plastic lining or not?


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