Talkback: How to build a raised vegetable bed

Hello Cynthia,

Pressure treated timber is ideal for raised beds, as it withstands rot better than timber that hasn't been treated. Have a look at our wooden planter project.

Good luck,

Emma

gardenersworld.com team

Please ignore Adams tip of attaching plastic secured with nails.

It simply traps moisture, raises the temperature between plastic and wood, and makes an ideal place for rot to develop. Even if it had worked, using nails breaches any benefit and breaks the barrier.

It is far better to either paint the inside of the boards with a  bitumastic paint, or in the case of raised veg beds, drag soil away from the boards during the winter period.

my soil is not good as iwant 2 raised bebs haveing it in bricks do i need a bottom in it or just soil as i hate weeds this is my first time doing this and ireally need help thank you dee leggett

Engineering problems mainly, glassback. Think of the weight of wet soil. So you are going to need a very strong structure.

thanks joe i see where your coming from more vertical brases or thicker planks /. railway sleeper size?maybe new of course . ??

Have managed over the winter to put raised beds on the whole of my allotment. I managed to get old scaffold boards from a friend. I now dont have to dig the whole of my plot certainly makes life easier and of course you can plant closer together.

i would like to build my beds 2 or even 3 feet high (BAD BACK )are there any problems that may accur.

You don't need to have 3 feet of soil of course. You could have have a platform of some sort with the raised bed on top of that. Or if you are happy with a smaller growing area a "manger" planter might be OK for you.

Blueberry,

I think that a platform or staging would create even more structural problems, as well as - if you mean leaving an open space underneath - some additional maintenance problems.

Glassback,

My response to your last message didn't arrive. It was that I wouldn't recommend sleepers or other creosote-impregnated timber. It's smelly in hot weather, can ooze onto you, and probably isn't great for any edible plants that touch it.

Joe

Joe

We have raised beds made from reclaimed railway sleepers - creosote-impregnated. They aren't too smelly as they're pretty well-seasoned. The plants grew well inside the beds and none were actually touching the sleepers as we planted them a few inches inside. 

The question I now have is whether enough creosote or chemicals from the creosote could "leak" into the soil over time, and into the plants, to actually have any poisonous effects on us? I'd hate to look back after years of enjoying our own rocket, carrots, lettuce and tomatoes (although they're all green so maybe not) and find that we've also been slowly poisoning ourselves!

Any thoughts?

Robert

as Sharon said scaffold boards, most of our allotmenteers have used second hand scaffold boards at about £4 each one for each side and one cut in half for the ends,2"x2" corners hammered into the soil and the boards screwed at the corners its so easy if you want smaller just cut to size we weeded the base soil and added manure and dug in some of us topped with half decent top soil at about £20 a ton mines got old carpets  and flattened cardboard for the winter and it works well getting the beds in good condition ready for the coming year

Good luck Alan

sorry the old carpets and cardboard are laid on top of the soil

Alasn

I found this very usful, creating a rasied bed correclt is very important just like creating a layout is essential. I found this article helpful when i was creating mine
Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Layout

Hi just wanted to know for sure if pressure treated timber is safe for raised vegatable bed.

robert_t wrote (see)

Joe

We have raised beds made from reclaimed railway sleepers - creosote-impregnated. They aren't too smelly as they're pretty well-seasoned. The plants grew well inside the beds and none were actually touching the sleepers as we planted them a few inches inside. 

The question I now have is whether enough creosote or chemicals from the creosote could "leak" into the soil over time, and into the plants, to actually have any poisonous effects on us? I'd hate to look back after years of enjoying our own rocket, carrots, lettuce and tomatoes (although they're all green so maybe not) and find that we've also been slowly poisoning ourselves!

Any thoughts?

Robert

I have just retired from Irish rail so what I am going to say is true and fact , this also applies to the UK and Europe .up until very recently trains unloaded human excrement on to the tracks and on to the sleepers  , so along with creosote you also human shit , piss , engine oil, grease, Diesel fuel oil, and any other substances carried by rail ,Irish rail Banned the sale to the general public off rail sleepers because they are still responsible for any injury that may be caused to the buyer "E,U" Law .So if you are thinking of raised beds I implore you all do NOT use sleepers

Derek ex train fitter irishrail

A4, Treated timber used to contain arsenic, copper and chromium, but their use in wood preserving treatment methods has been long since banned.  If you are using new pressure treated timber, it should be fine.  Using reclaimed treated timber could pose a slight risk as it may have been treated with one of the banned substances, although it would be rather old timber by now (I seem to recall the ban came into effect in the 1980s.)