Raised bed advice please

[Dave & Kate N Wales]

Hi there,
we are fairly new to growing our own, last year was our 1st year and we have learned a lot along the way. I have been reading the posts on here for about week now and felt i should start joining in now.

Anyway we have decided we need to try and make some raised beds this year but as we are on a budget we need to try and get as much wood as we can cheap or free so i asked on my local freegle board and we have been offered a pile of decking that someone has just taken down but we are unsure whether it we can use it for raised beds because it will be treated wood. Any advice on this would be much appreciated please. If not we will try and make some wooden planters out of them which we will line before plantng in them. We are going to pick them up in the morning and the lady has 5 bags of top soil that we can have too.

Regards Katie

[WeeGarden]

Hiya, and welcome to the vine. I'm not an expert, but I've had two decks had two decks built in my houses so far, and they're usually just pressure treated wood, so I think you'll be fine. You could ask the previous owner what he has painted them with if they've been painted?

[Alison]

The preservative they use on wood these days is fine and doesn't contain the nasties that it used to. Grab the wood and use it, sounds a great deal to me and will save you money. To be honest, you want it treated as it will last sooooo much longer and you won't have to replace after a year or two.

[Dave & Kate N Wales]

Thanks thats a big help, not sure of sizes until we get there but sounds like we should be able to use it for something. I think hubby is going to be kept busy this weekend
Katie

[binley100]

Hi welcome to the vine. Grab that wood, it'll be useful whatever you decide to use it for

[FionaH]

Try not to take their arms off for it! Its a great deal

[snohare]

Painted with something you cannot be sure of, but pressure treated ( or "tanalised" wood in this country is all done nowadays with a form of arsenic that is only toxic to the environment when the wood is burned. (If you search on the Grapevine for "pressure treated wood" there are some really detailed old threads discussing this.)
Decking timber is usually pretty good wood qualitywise, too, the right thickness for raised beds, so it sounds like you are onto a winner !

[BUFFS]

decking material,,make sure you put them down with the ribbed sideoutwards,otherwise the woodlouse etc would have a nice cosy retreat to spend the day in,on the outside,any that stay around will soon be picked off by the birds.

[binley100]

decking material,,make sure you put them down with the ribbed sideoutwards,otherwise the woodlouse etc would have a nice cosy retreat to spend the day in,on the outside,any that stay around will soon be picked off by the birds.

Good thinking ........