Railway Sleepers

[Edwardo82]

Dear fellow growers,

I am currently cultivating a piece of land into a large allotment and have been fortunate enough to have been given some railway sleepers. I have already built one bed and am very pleased with it. I have another 11 railway sleepers which I am hoping to build another set of beds from particularly for my asparagus this year.

They are roughly 8ft and appear to be very old and I believe them to be oak due to the weight etc. They are dark in colour but do not appear to have any unwanted residue or leaking.

I have been on the internet to research their use and get some useful points and have come across this: Deadly railway sleepers ? Myths about railway sleepers

Much to my shock it would appear that some sort of law has been passed against using these in horticulture and particularly where you are growing edible plants

I believe they are the Dutch oak as the appearance is very similar.

I grew a number of vegetables last year from my first bed and they were delicious, particularly my leeks, which grew extremely well.

Now I am hoping to enroll onto a horticultural course this summer at Sparsholt College and would hope to be able to use my vegetable plot as a project to work with at the same time.

Another important point I guess to make is if I end up selling any of my veg where does this put me?

I was actually going to see if I good conduct some tests on my soil to see what chemicals were in there as my friend is a post graduate studying chemistry and said he would be able to help.

Please let me know what you all think and whether I am really breaking the law here, they made such a good solid bed and I was really looking forward to making some more.

I look forward to hearing from some of you and thanks alot in advance

Yours sincerely

Edward

Dear fellow growers,

I am currently cultivating a piece of land into a large allotment and have been fortunate enough to have been given some railway sleepers. I have already built one bed and am very pleased with it. I have another 11 railway sleepers which I am hoping to build another set of beds from particularly for my asparagus this year.

They are roughly 8ft and appear to be very old and I believe them to be oak due to the weight etc. They are dark in colour but do not appear to have any unwanted residue or leaking.

I have been on the internet to research their use and get some useful points and have come across this: Deadly railway sleepers ? Myths about railway sleepers

Much to my shock it would appear that some sort of law has been passed against using these in horticulture and particularly where you are growing edible plants

I believe they are the Dutch oak as the appearance is very similar.

I grew a number of vegetables last year from my first bed and they were delicious, particularly my leeks, which grew extremely well.

Now I am hoping to enroll onto a horticultural course this summer at Sparsholt College and would hope to be able to use my vegetable plot as a project to work with at the same time.

Another important point I guess to make is if I end up selling any of my veg where does this put me?

I was actually going to see if I good conduct some tests on my soil to see what chemicals were in there as my friend is a post graduate studying chemistry and said he would be able to help.

Please let me know what you all think and whether I am really breaking the law here, they made such a good solid bed and I was really looking forward to making some more.

I look forward to hearing from some of you and thanks alot in advance

Yours sincerely

Edward
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[Edwardo82]

Sorry I think I have posted this is the wrong place

Extremely sorry everyone not use to using forums.

[Nicos]

Oh don't worry- still do that..one of the mods will move it if they think it needs moving!

Railway sleepers??? Tough one.
I think it's the tar which is the problem.
Tar is carcinogenic and if it's impregnated into the sleeper- then maybe you do have a problem regarding growing veg.

Having said that...we bought about 30 railway sleepers for our flower border- picked the ones which had no residual tar on them- and they've never leaked at all.
perhaps it might be worth putting some clear plastic on the inside of the sleeper to create a barrier- although the slugs will love you for the ready made B&B.
Will be interesting to see what other peeps think!

Oh...and welcome to the Vine!!!!

[Nicos]

You know- having just read through those articles...and apparently the sale of tarred sleepers should now be banned- our local Agri ( farm supply yard) is selling loads- at about 40E ( £40 ish) each!!!...all DRIPPING with tar!

[Edwardo82]

Thanks alot Nicos, I am thinking I may need to stop while I am ahead with my sleepers on the vegetable plot

I guess I may need to revise my plans or swap them for some more suitable alternative.

I did create this thread again some where else more suitable, as I was worried about upsetting people for being a plonker and posting it here.

Also thanks for the welcome message

[Edwardo82]

Really? Well I must be honest with myself do I want to run the risk of polluting my veg.

Having carried these with my friend already I am not looking forward to moving them again lol I swear my arms have streched

I have also seen alot of people selling railway sleepers on the internet, it would appear the rule is not being enforced.

Well it will be interesting to see what others say, but I think it's generally going to be a no no.

Kind Regards

[Nicos]

I did create this thread again some where else more suitable, as I was worried about upsetting people for being a plonker and posting it here.

We're not that sort of forum!

The other thread may get deleted- or just left to progress

[Edwardo82]

Thanks Nicos, I really appreciate the feedback and support

[Sanjo]

Hello Edwardo82 and welcome to the madhouse.
If you are really concerned about what may be on the railway sleepers, you could always line the inside with black polythene to act as a barrier between the sleeper and the soil. Take it right down to the base of the bed, and if poss, tuck it underneath so that any moisture likely to leak out will run away from the bed rather than into it.
Hope that helps. Of course, if you are planning to grow entirely organically, then polythene will be a no no for you anyway. Whatever you use to act as a barrier will have to be impermeable so that the wood cannot contaminate the soil and I can't think of anything unless it is plastic. Somebody else may well have other ideas (in fact I guarantee it!) so hang on a little while and they'll be along soon. Sandra

[Edwardo82]

Thanks Sandra that is a useful point. With my first bed I have only used a membrane which is permeable simply to stop some of the weeds from forcing their way through.

I am adamant that I want raised beds, as I have the space and like the benefits from having them but whether I use these extremely heavy sleepers is yet to be decided.

I will definitely considering what you have said and hold fire before I start sinking the sleepers into the ground. Need to re think my Saturday and Sunday working plans

Also as you said wait to hear from others on the topic.

Many Thanks

Kind Regards

Edward

[JILLY JACKSON]

hi again Edward,Sparsholt?you lucky thing,my grandson is there and loves it.Just coming to the end of his three year course.Have a lovely time you will enjoy it

[sewer rat]

Dear fellow growers,

I have been on the internet to research their use and get some useful points and have come across this: Deadly railway sleepers ? Myths about railway sleepers

Much to my shock it would appear that some sort of law has been passed against using these in horticulture and particularly where you are growing edible plants

Feel free to use your beds in any way you see fit. Railway sleepers are not illegal to use in horticulture or agriculture. There was a lot of scaremongering in 2003 but you anly have to look at the number of sites selling sleepers specifically to horticulture or agriculture to realise that any rumours are just that. You may be getting confused with the law which advises against their use for food - it is referring to garden tables etc made from sleepers. If you are concerned, you could staple fleece or some other substance to the "earth" side of your sleeper.
On another point - since when and by whom was polythene banned from being a useful tool to the organic grower

[sewer rat]

I have posted a reply on the other thread - hopefully our brilliantly fantastic mods (it never does any harm to crawl a bit ) can amalgamate the two to avoid confusion ?

[Peter]

I assume you were at Deadly railway sleepers ? Myths about railway sleepers, but did you carefully read the entire page?

[zazen999]

Weird...merged the threads and the first post has merged instead....