Hi all,

I've got a patch in our small back yard that the wife has been doing a garden in each year, and each year I nearly whack the front of everything when taking care of the lawn. So this year I want to box the garden in just enough that I can do the grass without harming anything. Her concern is using treated lumber and whether any of the chemicals in the treatment could seep into the soil and subsequently the plants.

Is there any truth/risk to this? I'd rather not have to use stone just for cost reasons and we're only planning on being here another maybe two years.

Thanks.

 

you could use one of the new composite types of lumber, chemical and maintenance free.

 

Modern treated lumber that uses copper should be safer than the old treated lumber that used arsenic. Still the common thought is no treated lumber around the food garden.

If you want to use treated lumber for the border you could line the inside (dirt side) with galvanized steel flashing so your garden dirt does not touch the treated lumber.

 

I'd be more worried about "acid rain" than I would the treated lumber. If you have doubts, contact the company that made the PT lumber. They have tags on the end of every board.

 

For a couple of years just to protect the garden, a row of bricks might do the trick.

 

If you live near a river, you can haul in river rock. I am not a fan of unnatural edging. I usually mulch and edge with my square shovel and run my weedeater to keep beds clean and neat.