Hi all,
I’ve got a bunch of pressure treated lumber leftover from a non-bonsai project and I was wondering if anyone knows if it’s okay to use for grow boxes or will the chemicals be harmful to the tree?
Hi all,
I’ve got a bunch of pressure treated lumber leftover from a non-bonsai project and I was wondering if anyone knows if it’s okay to use for grow boxes or will the chemicals be harmful to the tree?
I stay away from pressure treated lumber for my grow boxes. Depending on the pressure treatment method, the chemicals can be phytotoxic.
I use them because I had them. Open mesh bottoms. I do/did worry about whether or not it would be toxic, but I guess I’ll find out in a few years. I’m making my next box out of cedar to see how it holds up. You can also find like old recycled wood on FB for cheap. I found some on the side of the road.
reclaimed pallets would also be an option. +1 for the cautious approach to treated wood. It normally takes quite some time for a box to break up if the panels were not made from too thin panels to start with.
I’ve used Pressure Treated lumber for a number of years. The old opinion of not using it came from when arsenic was used as the preservative.
The newer PT is preserved with a copper based preservative.
My only suggestion is to let it weather for a year outside prior to use.
Thanks for the advice!