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| I know there have been countless posts regarding pressure treated lumber in the garden, so I apologize for adding one more.
I have some pressure treated railroad ties that are being removed from a 20 year old retaining wall. I have been told that the harmful chemicals have likely leached out of the wood by now. Does anybody know more about the subject? The timbers are about 20 years old. Thank you! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| You'll get a mix of personal opinion responses ranging from don't even touch them to why are you worried. So IMO yes, anything that was going to leach out of them has already done so. I wouldn't hesitate to use them. I'm willing to bet that if I could have a nickel for every garden that is framed by old railroad ties I could take a cruise. :) Besides, the recommended DMZ gap is only 4 feet anyway. And that is with the new stuff. Bottom line, it is going to boil down to your choice. If you are at all worried about it then don't use them. No point in you worrying about your food. Otherwise, go for it. Dave |
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| I agree with Dave; if anything is left to leach at all, it will be so minimal that there is nothing to worry about. Trust me when I say that you have a LOT of other things to worry about before this. Joe |
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| Just don't handle the wood too much and it should be okay unless it's flaking out and making dust. It's not one-time or a mega-exposure that's dangerous with pressure treated wood...it's continuous exposure. Nothing/not-much is going to leech into your veggies. If you can manage not to touch the wood too much while installing it and working around it, it's not much of an issue. |
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| I carried in by hand close to two dozen to build borders and walls for my gardens. If you find the center point of balance they are not as heavey or hard to carry as they look. Not surprizingly, the one that have the least creosote are the ones that will rot, hollow out quickly, within five or so years. Crabgrass and rogue Raspberries seem to love growing in them, at least in the ones that were rotting on the inside. I burned the pieces I had no use for after I had cut them to fit and it burns, at least mine did, with very little smoke. After twenty years check them over carefully, as you will be surprised how quickly they rot once they start. |
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