Raised beds

[ladram]

Can anyone tell me if making raised beds for veggies in my garden with gravel board will kill me? One website suggests gravel board whilst another says the tanalisation will leak arsenic into the soil and inhibit the crops and poison me!

I have already bought and constructed 2 beds (gravel board being cheap and easily available) and don't want to continue if its a bad idea.
thanks

[tootles]

You could always line the bed sides with black plastic or something???

[Stacey Steve]

Been using gravel boards for the last 2 years and I'm not dead yet.

I read in GYO that while yes arsnic will leech out of the timber, it is such low quantities and localised that it should not cause a problem.

If you are concerned, line the boards using the plastic from compost bags stapled in place.

[Snadger]

If you just use ordinary timber boards and paint them yourself with water based shed paint, you will probably save money and have no arsenic worries!

If you are worried about beds you have already made though, the 'cover them with polythene' advice seems good!

[Two_Sheds]

We've just had a huge lorry-load of scaffolding boards* delivered to our site for about £80 (that's roughly 50p a plank, or £2 per raised bed. Bargain!). God, our Rep Annette is good.

I'm going to make some of these: Assemble ::Sunset :: General :: Living in the West with the 2 x 2 that I acquired last week from my neighbour. Superb!

* they are old & split ~ no good now for scaffolding, but brilliant for raised beds

[Two_Sheds]

update: my lord, how hard is sawing up wood ? !!
I've developed a new muscle, and several calluses. I managed to saw one bit off ... another 15 to go. Should have them all done by Xmas then.

PS. How does one sharpen a saw?

[tootles]

One buys a better one!!!!!!

[burnie]

update: my lord, how hard is sawing up wood ? !!
I've developed a new muscle, and several calluses. I managed to saw one bit off ... another 15 to go. Should have them all done by Xmas then.

PS. How does one sharpen a saw?

Carefully!!(it's easy using a 3 square file,but teeth are "set" and this can require a special tool)

[chuffa]

Hello two-sheds, dont build muscles. Let the saw do the work, dont force it. Sometimes the wood moisture content can grip a saw making it hard work but if you rub candle wax on both sides of the saw it should be easier. Dont bother sharpening it when it goes blunt, just buy a new one from a builders merchant that are cheap and make sure its a cross-cut saw. I also like the " living in the west" idea of making the beds.