railway sleepers

Jnelhams

You could if you were short on cash, use old tyres stacked 4 high.

LJM

i think then i will use the layer of polythene as i dont want to waste these sleepers and i already have begun digging

DKLS

old tyres are great for growing spuds, when the leaves reach the top of the first tyre, add another tye fill with soil, when 4 or 5 tyres high, and ready to harvest you will have a spud tower!

LJM

i did think about that for my potatos but i may try the grow bag technique first

Debt_Free_Chick

To be honest, I think you have to make your own assessment of any toxicity from railway sleepers.

The "current advice" is from the EU (!), but people have been growing their own veg in beds made from railway sleepers for years. Some of the older sleepers would have contained traces of arsenic, which used to be used in creosote (but isn't any longer, AFAIK) - but I've not seen a single report of anyone being poisoned by their own veg!

As ever, it's a cautionary note - based on skin contact, primarily - but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of any concrete evidence.

Make your own mind up

paulijay

RAISED BEDS USING RAILWAY SLEEPERS =

MINE HAVE BEEN IN SITU FOR OVER 20 YEARS - WHEN BUILDING I USED 6INCH NAILS BANGED IN 3 INCHES..THEN USING A BOLT CROPPER TOOK THE HEADS OFF - THEN PLACED 2ND SLEEPER ON TOP OF FIRST AND GENTLY TAPPED DOWN. WORKS A TREAT.

ALSO LINED THE INSIDE WITH SURPLUS DPC PLASTIC OR ROOFING FELT CAN ALSO BE USED.

AS FOR CLEANING THE BEST METHOD IS A WIRE BRUSH - IT THEN ALLOWS THE WOOD TO BREATHE AGAIN.
GOOD LUCK AND YOU WILL NEED A GOOD AMOUNT OF GRAVEL AT THE BOTTOM BEFORE PUTTING ON THE EARTH MIXED WITH MULTI PURPOSE COMPOST OTHERWISE THE SOIL WILL CLOG TOGETHER.

LJM

paulijay wrote:

RAISED BEDS USING RAILWAY SLEEPERS =

MINE HAVE BEEN IN SITU FOR OVER 20 YEARS - WHEN BUILDING I USED 6INCH NAILS BANGED IN 3 INCHES..THEN USING A BOLT CROPPER TOOK THE HEADS OFF - THEN PLACED 2ND SLEEPER ON TOP OF FIRST AND GENTLY TAPPED DOWN. WORKS A TREAT.

ALSO LINED THE INSIDE WITH SURPLUS DPC PLASTIC OR ROOFING FELT CAN ALSO BE USED.

AS FOR CLEANING THE BEST METHOD IS A WIRE BRUSH - IT THEN ALLOWS THE WOOD TO BREATHE AGAIN.
GOOD LUCK AND YOU WILL NEED A GOOD AMOUNT OF GRAVEL AT THE BOTTOM BEFORE PUTTING ON THE EARTH MIXED WITH MULTI PURPOSE COMPOST OTHERWISE THE SOIL WILL CLOG TOGETHER.

thankyou for that i was beginning to get a bit worried about using them

navig8r

DKLS wrote:

old tyres are great for growing spuds, when the leaves reach the top of the first tyre, add another tye fill with soil, when 4 or 5 tyres high, and ready to harvest you will have a spud tower!

I once saw on TV that Bob Flowerdew favours this method.

Dave

The_Biff

Screwfix sell special screws with a hex head up tp 10" long. These whizz in with a powerful drill. One big advantage is they can easily be dismantled if you change your mind or make a mistake. I use a 750 w drill & it just handles them.
Other firms on the net sell these screws.
I would not use old ones. They can contain creosote (60+ carcinogenic compounds) arsenic etc. New ones use chrome & copper which hopefully are safe.

Tired_Mummy

I would really like to try growing some veg in our garden this year but all our earth is in raised beds which are made from railway sleepers. We have managed to get some of the creosote off the sleepers but I believe they will always have some creosote in them.

Does anyone know if it is safe to grow veg to eat in them or will the creosote have seeped into the earth?

Any advice gratefully received..