Treatment for scaffold boards for veg patch

[David Lawrence 88]

Hi

i am going to edge veg beds with scaffold boards

to treat or not to treat

and what with 

any tips ?

thanks 

 

[trigger_andy]

9 minutes ago, David Lawrence 88 said:

Hi

i am going to edge veg beds with scaffold boards

to treat or not to treat

and what with 

any tips ?

thanks 

 

Burst Engine Oil mixed with ATF.  

 

I guess you've made your mind up but you'd be much better off with some Larch or even better Oak or Sweet Chestnut. Scaff Boards will last no time at all even with some kind of treatment, and the treatment for a veg bed will be be naff, its not like you'd wanna put creosote on them. 

[Macpherson]

I'm agreeing with Andy on this they'll rot anyway...... I build my raised beds with 150 x 22 tanalised sarking / fencing boards and I line them with visqueen to keep the soil off.

But if you've already got the boards this stuff's quite good, but I'd still stop the soil from contacting the boards, cheers.

 

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[peds]

Yo,

Singe the soil contact sides with a blowtorch or, if you've got the time and the gas, both sides. 

Edit: looks bang on trend too. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by peds

[nepia]

Does singeing stop/delay rotting?  I'm collecting some used scaffold boards next Monday for exactly this purpose

[spudulike]

I stapled damp course membrane on my raised garden wood after the first lot rotted after a few years. Seems OK so far after a couple of years.

[Ratman]

Spuds suggestion is a top trump for you, dpm membrane is cheap as to are staples. I went a bit more heavy duty and screwed old “long vehicle” aluminium reflect boards to inside of my softwood sleepers that were being thrown in skip at work back in may 16, still going well with no rot today five yrs on.

[Ratman]

Hi
i am going to edge veg beds with scaffold boards
to treat or not to treat
and what with 
any tips ?
thanks 
 

Whats your location? If your near i have some more piled up at work you can have, i’m in lancs.

[trigger_andy]

1 hour ago, nepia said:

Does singeing stop/delay rotting?  I'm collecting some used scaffold boards next Monday for exactly this purpose

No, it kinda keeps the rain off. Nothing more. 

[peds]

1 hour ago, nepia said:

Does singeing stop/delay rotting?  I'm collecting some used scaffold boards next Monday for exactly this purpose

Yes, it delays it significantly. Not for as long as painting it with creosote or engine oil or whatever other shite people like to spread all over the place, but if you are into growing veg with a minimal impact on the environment, "shou sugi ban" is one of the options available to you.

Different people claim different results, but there are bits of wood in Japan that have been around for long enough to make the procedure seem worth the effort. Even if it only brings you, say, six or seven years instead of two or three before the boards rot away, I'd say it's worth it. 

 

Now, depending on your reasons for wanting raised beds (I needed them to get above the level of farmyard waste and tractor parts) and how you look after the soil in them, by the time the timbers have rotted away the soil might be of a quality and character that you can just take out the timbers, top up the paths with chip, and switch to simple beds, which are even more on trend right now.

Edited April 6, 2021 by peds