HARDWOOD X RAILWAY SLEEPER RAISED VEGETABLE GARDENS

Daniel12345 starts with ...
Gday,

I have a rather unusual topic/ area of enquiry... and I'm interested in your knowledge/ experience of working with XRAILWAY SLEEPER SIN THE GARDEN- NAMELY FOR RAISED VEGGIE GARDEN BEDS.... Recently i was sourcing some firewood and came across an article in the "Firewood Association website (the fire association is privately run and approves some loppers to provide sustainable firewood"...... the article was entitled HAZARD- DO NOT BURN RAILWAY SLEEPERS- Upon clicking in the article details of how x railway sleepers contain asbestos dust in the cracks, heavy metals, herbicide buildup from track spraying and diesel/ oil from carriages were given.. I am aware that some contain creosote coatings so are no good to use in gardens...... In my lifetime i have both built one outdoor table out of recycled railway sleepers and i have also cut the occasional one in my previous job at bunnings warehouse..... I cannot recall ever burning sleeper offcuts but in my lifetime i may just have done so..... - i hope that a one off exposure here or there isn't enough to haunt me later on in life (but thats a story for another day).. Recently (about 6 months ago) my sister built a large two tiered raised vegetable garden out of recycled railway sleepers (with rust marks and holes from the old tracks)---- The garden is not lined with black plastic and i may be wrong but it is my belief that hardly any raised beds would be.... I am now left worrying for my sister about the safety of her vegetables and soil... One part of me believes that yes the rail sleepers may contain a small amount of nasties, but the other part of me thinks that most of the nasties would have already washed out and if there was plenty of herbicides the vegetables simply wouldn't grow..... I know a lot of people use treated pine for their garden beds but i wonder if recycled railway sleepers is common practice? Should i be worried? am i worried too much?/ the funny thing is that until recently they were still selling x railway sleepers and on some permaculture sites they recommend using them over treated pine.. Surely i the old days when treated pine didn't exist (50's-60's) thats the main type of sleeper used. sorry , I'm confused and hope someone may be able to assist......

jakfruit etiquette says...
Redgum RW sleepers are often available around here after track repairs. The busted bits are often burnt in piles and they do seem to have an oily scent compared to redgum firewood. I've heard that to control weeds over big distances of track, herbicide is mixed with deisel to spray. To my thinking soil biological activity could break down/de activate the diesel and herbicide over time. Go to the 24 hr supermarket late at night when the cleaning is being done and check out the fumes. You might be better off with garden food ??

denise1 says...
Sleepers vary a lot. Some look quite clean and others caked up with tarry mess. I dont know if either contains poison but would recommend lining with plastic. You can also use for garden recycled tyres with sidewalls cut off, and paint them as some people have speculated they could also leach poison. You could enquire govt scientific research such as CSIRO.

Daniel12345 says...
Cheers, thanks heaps denise,,,

Yes, these ones that my sister is using are definitely not creosote treated as they contain no black tarry mess and would have been purchased from a nursery or landscape supplier… Please let me know if you disagree, but: Now that the raised veggie garden is complete and based on the information i have come to the conclusion that it is safe despite no black plastic and poses negligible risk whether being cut, or used in a veggie garden..

thanks..