Need an advice, comment on what wood to use for raised beds for growing vegetables.
And what sizes do you suggest?
I have some treated lumber 2x6s that they been laying out for a few years and was wondering if can I used them to build my raised beds with them?
I would like to heard from the forum advices and ideas. Please post pics of yours if you want.
Thanks
I’m a little wary of using treated wood, but that’s what I build my beds of. I hope it hasn’t hurt us! But if I had the need I’d like to try this approach:
When we did our raised beds, I went with untreated since apparently the chemicals can leech and not something you want in delicate food plants.
I plant some things very close to the edges so it’s better for it to be food safe.
We cheaped out for our first trial on the square-foots and used pine instead of hardwood. It looks like we’ll get 5-8 years out of them. Considering the price difference, I may stay with just doing faster replacements with the cheap.
the new treated lumber isn’t toxic like the older stuff was. and even the old stuff , if its been sitting outside for a few years is probably ok to use. we took off our covered porch last summer and most of the treated lumber is still in good shape. I’m going to make more raised beds with it this spring. i like the concrete ones.
I just finished a bunch of Hügel style raised beds using Corrugated Roof panels. I wasn’t happy with wood options at the time either.
Just found these:
Thank you all for your advices, tips and ideas. Love the videos, really great ideas.
Thank you all
As far as wood goes, on the East coast Eastern Red Cedar, white oak, and mulberry are some rot resistant woods that you might be able to obtain from a local sawmill.
All the metal sided raised beds I see people building look great, but I’m not sure they’ll last like people think. When our flower beds got piled too high and got on the metal siding on our house, it almost immediately began corroding the paint and metal. I can only imagine that soil and constant moisture contact will work on the coating of the metal. Maybe I’m wrong. I personally use cedar and white/post oak just because I can get it for free. Both are lasting quite well for me this far.
most of mine are white cedar and the oldest ones are 5 yrs. old and still look great.
Fertilizer is probably going to wreck that metal siding pretty quickly. It’s full of stuff pretty chemically active, or else it wouldn’t be fertilizer.
Aluminum might do better on the corrosion resistance long term.
I have been thinking of building some raised beds this year as well and this thread has really gotten me in the mood!
Some excellent ideas in here 
Well I’ll report back when they go bad. Our last house still had original galvanized water pipes in it and they were corroding but also were over 60 years old. I’m hoping to get twenty years out of these galvanized panels.
I think galvanized steel will easily last 30 plus years of harsh conditions even with electrolysis and that would be without oiling or priming. I think concrete and stone is better but its so much more time and money but i would like to build ones like yours (I wonder if the internal tie ins could be only lower and still be effective) for the time / money since i want them all done now instead of over the next 3 years.
They look great! Hope they work out well for you. Looking forward to reading some updates on how they perform - how you think they are for water retention, soil temps, etc.
I bet there’s a different in the “rating” or thickness of the galvanized material between pipes and roofing metal. I’ve never seen a comparison between the two, but I’d enjoy looking a comparison someone did between the two. Make sure and give us an update, good or bad, in 5-10 years.
I love these and am thinking about upgrading mine. (And adding the 2more that were in the long term plan)
Problem is that I am unable to find ANYONE with sheets of corrugated galvanized steel in Canada! I’m shocked and confused about this.
I’ve found exactly what I need, at a decent price, just in Niagara Falls and would consider driving down to get them but the border is now closed.
This is terribly inconvenient. (Yes, I will be grateful if this is my biggest issue for the next while)
My cedar 2x4s lasted a while. 5-10 years; I forget exactly. Replaced them with a dry stone border. But my raised beds are only ~12 inches tall, so the edging is much more aesthetic than functional.
…and the “victory garden” I’m starting today is just two long unbordered mounds of a compost/soil mix, since I’m just hustling to expand my lettuce and veggie supply in case grocery supplies remain unstable.
