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I've searched and googled for an answer to this but as yet haven't been able to find anything useful.
I've realised that I'm going to need some sort of edging around the beds on my allotment if I'm to avoid having the soil spilling out onto the paths between them. Having read something last year about chemicals from pressure treated wood leaching out - more so when in contact with "rich" soil - I'm not inclined to use treated wood, which leaves me wondering what to do to prevent the wood rotting away in the space of a year or two.
I saw mention of "slab" wood (the bits cut off a log when a sawmill is squaring it up) in another thread on here - which is a possibility.
Otherwise all I can see working is using sawn planks with some sort of oil or paint on them to stop the rot.
As I understand it, paint seals the wood so any moisture that gets in (or is in to start with) can't escape as the wood can't breathe.
I've never used oil before and wonder how it would hold up in that kind of environment.
So, when it comes to the boards themselves and also to the stakes I'll need to drive in to hold them in place... what are my options and how can I best stop them rotting without needing to spend a fortune on treatment?
I expect the stakes would have a pretty hard time of it being stuck a couple of feet into the ground like that, is there a different approach that would work better with them than for the boards?
Oh - and I don't fancy the plastic-lined treated-wood option as it strikes me as a bit laborious and a proably unnecessary use of plastic, something I'm trying to stop doing.
I've realised that I'm going to need some sort of edging around the beds on my allotment if I'm to avoid having the soil spilling out onto the paths between them. Having read something last year about chemicals from pressure treated wood leaching out - more so when in contact with "rich" soil - I'm not inclined to use treated wood, which leaves me wondering what to do to prevent the wood rotting away in the space of a year or two.
I saw mention of "slab" wood (the bits cut off a log when a sawmill is squaring it up) in another thread on here - which is a possibility.
Otherwise all I can see working is using sawn planks with some sort of oil or paint on them to stop the rot.
As I understand it, paint seals the wood so any moisture that gets in (or is in to start with) can't escape as the wood can't breathe.
I've never used oil before and wonder how it would hold up in that kind of environment.
So, when it comes to the boards themselves and also to the stakes I'll need to drive in to hold them in place... what are my options and how can I best stop them rotting without needing to spend a fortune on treatment?
I expect the stakes would have a pretty hard time of it being stuck a couple of feet into the ground like that, is there a different approach that would work better with them than for the boards?
Oh - and I don't fancy the plastic-lined treated-wood option as it strikes me as a bit laborious and a proably unnecessary use of plastic, something I'm trying to stop doing.
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