4 ms·

I appreciate the sentiment, but in this case, it's not completely "just wood": http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/treatwood/gardenuse.html http://npic.orst.edu/

• bytefactory 12y ago
  Just replying to what I think is your objection, apologies if that's not what you meant. I think the point being made was that a lot of things that we think of as outside our domain of expertise, and thus inaccessible, truly aren't. It's worth attempting to construct the garden bed yourself, and you might find that it's not nearly as insurmountable of an obstacle as you'd imagined. In this particular case, treating the wood might have been part of the process of learning how to make the garden bed, as would using a saw, polishing the wood, etc.
• jarin 12y ago
  Treated wood also costs like twice as much. I know that as a guy trying to just plop together a garden box I'd probably go for the cheapest wood that doesn't look like it will fall apart right away.
  • prawn 12y ago
    Treated pine is cheap here in Australia though the treatment is not exactly proven food safe. Untreated will not last. Treated will potentially release chemicals into your soil/food, though you can line the interior of your bed with gardening plastic. There are also slightly more expensive options for treated wood (branded EcoWood and so on) that are a good option. (I have seven 1.2x2.4m raised beds in my garden. Bring in fresh soil otherwise you will get endless cycles of weeds - that's still one of my main problems two years in.)
    • hdevalence 12y ago
      Well, untreated wood won't last, but --- "it's just wood", so you can build a newer, better, one when it rots away.
      • prawn 12y ago
        Seems a bit wasteful to me, of the wood and time. I'd rather pay a little bit more and build the thing once rather than be patching it up or replacing later. Untreated pine is also a risk when it comes to termites.
• gooseyard 12y ago
  he appears to have used cedar.
  • mturmon 12y ago
    I see he appears to be in the San Francisco area. This means it could well be Douglas fir. More likely Doug fir, I think, than 2x material made out of cedar. But I agree with the spirit of the original. It's just a raised planting bed. Use it till it falls apart, then make another, using the lessons you learned the first time.
    • dfc 12y ago
      You think SanFran is the reason a standard pine 2x would be KDF? Where in the US are pine 2xs not KDF? I am with goose, it looks like cedar. If that is pine it has been curing for a year.
      • quesera 12y ago
        You might be surprised at regional variations in dimensional lumber species. 2x's are commonly eastern white pine in many parts of the country (or "SPF" -- spruce/pine/fir, no promises, but not douglas fir). DF is sometimes also available, as is SYP. Both are more expensive than WP, slightly. 4x4s are always DF, in all locations that I've noticed. No doubt due to its superior straightness and strength. Also curiously 2x3 availability (always WP, afaict) varies greatly. I've had lumberyard guys stare at me like I was crazy for asking where the 2x3s were. These weren't new kids, either. All of these variations might be influenced by local building codes, in addition to regional distance-to-market. As for the species in the photo... Could be cedar, but the grain looks pretty tight -- another possibility would be redwood, which is appropriate for the use, and is available at west coast lumberyards. Can't get redwood on the east coast except at specialty yards, and even they generally don't stock it.
        • mturmon 12y ago
          You are right, redwood is a distinct possibility. Non-heart or mixed heartwood/sapwood redwood can look like what is shown. Although the sapwood has very little resistance to insects, at least in southern CA where I build stuff.