creosote substitute

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creosote substitute

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pip22

Joined: 15 Mar 2015
Posts: 14
Location: Brittany

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 1:10 pm Post subject: creosote substitute
Hi all, Do you know if creosote substitutes are safe for using near the veg patch? I have a product which smells like creosote but am pretty sure it's a substitute as don't think creosote is available anymore (name is Targobois in France). Thanks, Pip

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45794
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 2:07 pm Post subject:
if it preserves timber it probably kills veg is a general rule i follow

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 3:58 pm Post subject:
If it smells like creosote then it probably is. Not sure about France but creosote is available in the UK.

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 5:01 pm Post subject:
There are lots of things here for treating/preserving wood...I would think most if not all are / could be lethal to veg etc

pip22

Joined: 15 Mar 2015
Posts: 14
Location: Brittany

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 6:12 pm Post subject:

thanks for your replies. it's for the footing around a polytunnel we're making so that the boards don't rot each year, so maybe we can insulate the boards from the inside earth; the plastic sheet comes down over the hoops and the footing boards and then is buried going outwards so we could staple plastic around the timber to insulate from the soil inside.

Next thing will be how to protect (or not) wood for around some raised beds (hardwood's out of our price range)

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 7:04 pm Post subject:
Have a look at boron or borax based products for wood preservation.

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 15 7:13 pm Post subject:

pip22 wrote:

Sleepers are still sought after for raised beds, but be careful as they can still contain very noxious stuff; & there has been talk of them being banned...though how far on this is, I've no idea, but they are now no longer allowed to be stored outside because of said noxious stuff leaking into the ground

pip22

Joined: 15 Mar 2015
Posts: 14
Location: Brittany

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 15 8:59 am Post subject:
thanks both; i'll have a look to see what I can find

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 15 1:40 pm Post subject:
Most sleepers are steeped in creosote, as are 1 or 2 of my old containers and they grew veg., but I lined them with polythene. There is an organic preservative I just can't remember where the name is written down, worth a google perhaps?

pip22

Joined: 15 Mar 2015
Posts: 14
Location: Brittany

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 15 7:50 pm Post subject:
thanks gregotyn; so hopefully the plastic covered polytunnel footers will be ok. we may just use untreated boards for raised beds and replace when they rot

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15710

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 15 7:41 am Post subject:
Try something like oak, sweet chestnut or western red cedar for the raised beds. Even oak will rot eventually, but the heart wood is good for a long time. I think ours as sapwood in it because we didn't understand properly when we bought it, and let them get away with sapwood as well as heartwood. Thinking about it, we bought the timber a long time ago, so suppose it hasn't done too badly.

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