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SLEEPERS AS VEGGIE SURROUNDS

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Daniel12345 starts with ...
Hi guys,

I have bought about this discussion previously but i thought i would bring it up again for other opinions…

My sister has a raised vegetable garden in sydney comprised of old railway sleepers (2 sleepers high)- its quite a large garden without plastic between soil and sleepers…

Sister thinks that I'm over worried but i just don't know about possibility of nasties from the old railway sleepers making their way into the soil after rain etc…. My concern is that the nsw firewood association has strictly advised against burning old sleepers due to heavy metals, herbicides and asbestos etc which makes me wonder about soils and the usage as garden bed surrounds….

Whilst i don't know anybody who uses old rail sleepers for veggie garden beds i still figure it is reasonably common use??

Im not worried about the asbestos because veggies don't eat it! and I personally (please correct me if i am wrong) aren't worried alot about the herbicides or diesel (which apparently was sprayed on to kill the weeds)--- i figure that if it was present in the soil that the veggies simply wouldnt grow????? do you think I'm right?

As far as heavy metals are concerned would it be fair to say that if there are any in the soils that this would be a concern for root vegetables only??

Would above ground veggies (i.e. cabbage, tomato etc) take up herbicides and heavy metals etc? or is mainly a surface issue on root veggies..

Sorry if i have gone around in circles, still worried. thanks
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Daniel12345
Wollongong
1st October 2015 9:12am
#UserID: 11886
Posts: 26
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denise1 says...
NZ scientist told me that nasty metals etc do get taken up into the plants, so leaf edibles will be poisoned. In NZ we can get new untreated macrocarpa sleepers that are preferred. Used tyres with the sidewalls cut off are used here occasionally for growing herbs etc. Just paint the inside for extra peace of mind and because they warm the soil they are great for winter crops. I would avoid using dirty old sleepers for the purpose as all sorts of chemicals may have been dumped on the tracks, such as dirty train engine oils with lead etc, creosote etc. However they can look nice and rustic so just line them with plastic if you really want to use them.
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denise1
auckland NZ
12th August 2016 9:19am
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randey says...
I concur with Denise. Placing black polythene over the walls and bottom of the beds is going to greatly reduce the possibility of uptake. Then again why the need to use old sleepers in the first place when there are multiple alternatives out there. If you are in any doubt about the "long term" effects of chemicals etc i suggest you google DDT and it`s effects over decades on farming properties. Many of these farms were abandoned because they were poisoned. Hope i haven`t scared you but knowledge is power. good luck
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randey
east cannington,6107,WA
17th August 2016 10:16am
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