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Originally Posted by shilala
Wayner, usually the ties that guys get are spent ones. They've been used on the railroad and really don't have any crap left that's a problem. I sure wouldn't use new ones. I suppose I should have qualified, I just immediately thought of the old ones guys can buy at home. Odd I didn't think of new ones because there's a tie plant right by my house that stinks like the bejeezus. I used to be afraid of pressure-treated lumber. I've long since ceased being afraid of it. I'm not sure if people still fuss about it being bad for you or not?
I should also qualify the 6" stuff. I'm talking about garden plants up north here. Actually, most of our stuff can't get past 4", and 6" is a stretch. In long growing seasons and loose soil with certain cultivars, I don't suppose there's any reason why roots can't get down there further, especially if they're chasing water. I suppose it'd be dictated by the plant's length of season, they might never get time to get down there before they're done. The 6" thing is because that's all the deeper plants find the need to push roots to get what they need (around here). They'll actually never go past two inches if they never find need to. That's evidenced by our tomato plants. They just send roots all over the top of the ground until they find wormholes to send roots down. Even at that, they'll only go about 3" max. You can pull a whole plant out effortlessly in loose soil. We plant them sideways in a trough rather than in a hole. It works LOTS better like that.  |
Even with older ties, they have been found to leech chemicals. Where it might not be a big issue for flowers or other plants, I wouldn't trust it around my veggies.
There have been some good research articles on arsenic and PT lumber. Most of the scares came about through the old CCA treated lumber. There are a couple new ways of treating lumber now, and they are supposed to be safer, but still there is leeching. Whether or not that leeching can hurt you is another matter. Personally I am leaning more towards concrete block as it's cheaper and can be made into more patterns more easily for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OHRD
So, how should I pack the dirt? Hard with a shovel or loose like I just flung it on there? I mean, it'll have to be packed around the actual root of the plant where I dig in at, but what about the rest?
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Don't pack it at all. Just fill and smooth it down. The first few rains will pack it down enough.