Many new gardeners and even experienced ones turn to treated lumber when sourcing materials for raised beds due to its added protection against moisture and the associated rot and bug damage.
Pressure treated lumber for raised beds.
If you want to use a pressure treated wood for your raised beds look for lumber with a label stating it was treated with acq alkaline copper quat.
Concerns have focused on the leaching of arsenic from pressure treated wood into the soil contaminating plants and people.
Certain woods such as cedar black locust redwood and cypress are naturally less prone to rot due to the oils in the wood.
Yes you can use pressure treated lumber for your raised garden beds homeowners ask if it is safe to use treated lumber for garden vegetable beds.
Gardeners have used pressure treated wood for decades in raised beds and as posts but on december 31 2003 the environmental protection agency epa banned the sale of lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate cca for residential use.
The safety of pressure treated lumber for raised bed gardens has been examined by several researchers.
There are several different alternatives to using pressure treated lumber to build raised beds.
While there is scientific consensus that it is safe to use for garden and vegetable beds the information below explains what chemicals are used in viance ground contact treated wood for residential use and the results of numerous scientific studies.
The safety of pressure treated wood for garden beds depends on what preservative was used to treat the wood.
Some have the same look and others are a different approach altogether.
From what i ve seen the consensus is that the chemicals do leach out of the wood into the soil and are uptaken by the plants in very small amounts.
Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate or cca can leach toxic arsenic into soil.