Topic: edging for path

[staris]

i'm planing on putting a path right up the middle of my allotment, i was going to fill it with all the stones that i'm picking from it, any ideas as to what the cheapest method would be top use as edging i've heard that using pressure treated timber is not a good idea because of the chemicals in the wood.
my local timber merchant has some 8ft long by 6inch boards which are Tanalised ? are they safe to use the, only problem with them are they are only 16mm thick so they may rot fairly quickly, they are very cheap at 1.68 per board.

[teresa]

My son took his floorboards up ( woodworm) so I used them to edge my lottie have been down 3 years now and still ok.
Hubby made some small stakes and screwed them to the boards. Hammered them in the ground so they dont move.
Put a weedmenbrane down under the stones, saves weeding the path.
recycle is my middle name haha.

[Amazin]

I have 1ft wide paths between my beds (not raised), marked out with twine, but I've bought several rolls of cheap green plastic lawn edging to define them better.

[grahamatlocking]

I am using floor boards for the edging of my beds and filling the path with wood chippings as you can get 3 very large bags from homebase for £15 and you can keep the bit you have left for the year after when it has flattened down a bit.

[kt.]

I have 3x2ft paving slabs for my path running up the centre of my plot.  People are always getting new drives so there are plenty of freebies always advertised in our local papers. ;) :D ;)

[asbean]

The plastic lawn edging doesn't stand up too well to being trodden on or strimmed  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

[Old bird]

Hi the tanalised ones last a whole lot longer as they have been treated not to rot!

I don't know about the chemical contents of things like that.  Generally I reckon that only the very outside veggies and earth come into contact with the chemical so I can't imagine that it would do that much harm - I haven't heard of anyone becoming ill from something like that - and if it was that noxious it would have a warning or be banned from sale.  OK I accept it doesn't go down the organic route - but some small compromises have to be made!

I have put down weed membrane between the beds and filled them with wood chippings - which you can try and get for free from a tree surgeon or the Council?!

Old Bird

 ;D

[Baccy Man]

Pressure treated & tanalised are the same thing.

Tanalised timber is treated with TANALITH 'E' which is considered much safer than TANALITH 'C' which they used to use that contained arsenic amongst other things. TANALITH 'C' was phased out under EU regs in 2002 so all tanalised timber should contain TANALITH 'E'.
Some timber marketed as tanalised is actually treated with 'Alkaline Copper Quaternary' which is a registered trade mark infringement but is also considered a safe product. ACQ is known to corrode metal quite rapidly so any nails used need to be replaced more regularly.
Tanalised timber often has a green residue on the surface this is not harmful & will wear off in time. It will not need any further maintenance treatment but will naturally weather over the months finally changing to a grey colour. This is caused by the effect of sun, moisture, wind and other exterior conditions. The efficacy of the preservative continues. The timber will produce cracks (checks) that will open and close as an effect of condition changes. They are not detrimental to the long term durability of the timber.

There is a product data sheet for TANALITH 'E' here if you want to know exactly what's in it.
http://www.nclosure.co.uk/pdfs/health_safety_specification.pdf

[allaboutliverpool]

Thanks Baccy Man, I have been criticised several times for using treated wood.

Answering Staris, I intend to do exactly as you are thinking of for my second plot which will be a pottager with irregular paths and beds.
I have filled about 1/4 of my raised bed  paths with stones and will use those bordered with gravel boards that you are talking abot.

My intention is to have the raised bed paths entirely paving stones (400mm) as on my video.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N0m5Qt1ipro

[staris]

thanks for all the speedy replies, i think i'm going to use the treated gravel boards i'm not gonna get hung up on the tanalised treated boards i think it's very unlikely like you say that it's going to harm anyone and i bet we are eating fruit and veg from supermarkets that has been spayed with worse stuff.
thanks for the link to your video allaboutliverpool , very impressive garden you have got there  :D

[Amazin]

The plastic lawn edging doesn't stand up too well to being trodden on or strimmed

Then don't do it, dear.

 ;D