Would you prefer to use PT or railroad ties? My place is on a moderate slope so I need to stagger the plant beds. Just curious about pros and cons. Thanks, JB
The RR ties and the PT both work. If the RR ties are really old, that is better. If the PT is the newer kind without the toxins, then that is Ok. However to be on the safe side, it is easy to line the inside of the ties or PT with plastic. It take a long time for plastic to degrade when it is buried in soil so it should protect your plants from chemicals that leach out into the soil and absorbed by the plants. I use pellet bags on the inside walls of my raised beds. Use what every you can get cheaply. I have had my raised beds from PT for a dozen years and it is still in good condition.
A lot of the newer PT stuff is not suitable for direct contact with the ground/buried. Do some extra homework on that to be sure- it may be different in varying parts of the country. Marine grade receives the highest amount of treatment, but prolly not readily available .........in Colorado
Star Gazer made a RRT retaining wall in this thread. I used railroad ties for a retaining wall at my previous place and it was divided into 4 planters. You can see the end section of my retaining wall/planter in post #20.
Done that out back, couple of tiers. CMU and faux stone with stone caps. Eventually I'd love to do the whole works this way, but for now I'm shopping for reclaimed RRT's. Kinda tough to find around here.
