Used to swear by pressure-treated lumber for my raised beds in Portland

After watching my neighbor's cedar beds hold up for 6 years while mine started rotting at year 3, I finally switched to cedar for the new 4x8 bed I built last month and the cost difference was only about $40, has anyone else made that switch and noticed a big difference in longevity?

2 comments

2 Comments

murray.cole12d ago

Nah man I gotta disagree. My pressure treated beds are going on year 5 and still solid. I think a lot of it comes down to how you build them and what kind of soil you put in. Cedar looks nicer but it's not bulletproof either, I've seen plenty of cedar rot out after 4 or 5 years if it's sitting in wet clay.

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davis.gavin11d agoOG Member

Ask you something - what kind of soil mix are you running in those pressure treated beds? lmao cause I think that's the real secret weapon right there. I've seen guys toss in straight clay with bad drainage and yeah even cedar isn't gonna save them from rotting out in a few years. The whole chemical leaching fear with pressure treated stuff is way overblown now too, considering most of it these days is ACQ or CA treated instead of CCA. Just curious what zone you're in and if you've noticed any difference between your pressure treated and any cedar beds you've had side by side.