Untreated soft wood like pine planks or heat treated pallet wood only lasts 3 5 years outdoors.
Untreated wood for garden beds.
These materials will generally last 10 to 20 years in a raised bed garden.
Wood composite products.
A redwood raised garden bed however can last up to 20 years.
Using pallets for raised garden beds.
This type of treated wood was banned years ago for household use.
You can read more about it below.
The wood that people worry about leaching chemicals into the soil is cca chromated copper arsenate pressure treated wood or old railway ties.
A cedar frame can last up to 10 years but one made of douglas fir may last only 5 to 7 years.
It was a nightmare getting the planks off undamaged but we got there eventually.
They worked a treat at first but after two years the.
4 more ways to keep your raised garden bed from rotting.
Untreated lumber such as pine is the least durable and is not recommended.
The first 2 methods are useful if you have already built a raised garden bed out of wood.
I also use some pressure treated wood for various garden structures including large raised beds.
The durability of untreated wood used for raised beds largely depends on the type of wood used.
Wooden planters built out of untreated wood will probably last much longer than you think.
I built my very first raised garden beds using wood reclaimed from pallets.