Spotted a neighbor using pressure treated wood for a garden bed and had to bite my tongue

I was walking my dog yesterday and saw a guy building raised beds with PT lumber from Home Depot. That stuff leaches copper and chromium into the soil, especially if you're growing veggies. I know because I replaced my own beds 2 years ago after testing the dirt and finding high copper levels. Has anyone else dealt with this or am I the only one who checks these things?

3 comments

3 Comments

leoward26d ago

... tell me about it. I once spent a whole weekend building what I thought was the perfect veggie bed out of reclaimed pallet wood, only to find out later it was treated with methyl bromide or something equally sketchy. Had to pull up all my carrots and start over, felt like I was starring in my own gardening blooper reel. Now I just use cedar and hope I'm not accidentally hosting a science experiment.

gonzalez.rowan1mo ago

Man I felt this one. Two summers ago I dug up my whole tomato patch after a soil test came back stupid high on copper and I was so bummed. It's rough when you see someone else making the same mistake not knowing any better.

piperf401mo ago

Oh man, that's a tough one. I've been there too with the soil test anxiety. But actually, I gotta say something - @gonzalez.rowan, it's worth noting that the copper in PT wood these days isn't quite as bad as the old stuff from like 20 years ago. The new stuff is ACQ treated, which uses copper quat, not the arsenic stuff they used to use. Still not great though, I'd never use it for a veggie bed. I think a lot of people just see "pressure treated" and assume it's safe because it's sold at the big box stores. It's a bummer to watch someone make that choice without knowing what they're getting into.