Heard a guy at the hardware store say you should never use pressure treated lumber for raised garden beds. Had to look it up when I got home.

Been building garden beds for 5 years and always used pressure treated stuff because it lasts. Turns out the chemicals can leach into soil. Guy was in his 60s, seemed like he knew his stuff. Guess I'm switching to cedar or composite next spring. Anyone else run into this?

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wendyw712d ago

That "guy was in his 60s" part is what gets me. Did he say why exactly he's against it? I mean, the older guys usually have the real world experience, not just what they read online. I've been using pressure treated for years too and never had a problem, but now I'm wondering if I should rip out my whole garden. The main thing I keep hearing is the arsenic, but they stopped using that in 2003. Still, the copper stuff they use now can build up in the soil and mess with earthworms and good bacteria. So was he talking about the old poison or the new stuff? I'd really like to know his exact reasoning because that changes everything about what you gotta do next.