Cinder blocks to build raised beds. It might not be a good idea.

[deepestblues]

I understand there's no proof if you don't test the vegetables or the soil, but I bet testing is expensive, and I can't afford to grow test food. I need to eat what I grow. I would love to see proof that it's perfectly safe, but until then I think I'll pass. And it sucks because building beds with cinder blocks is very easy and affordable.

For now, I'll stick to untreated wood.

You can go to the county extension agent, every county in Texas has one. Except maybe way out there in west Texas. It costs about $30.00 and they'll give you all kinds of #'s. Telling you about the soil PH and all that other stuff you want to know.
I wouldn't mess with those cinder blocks though. Stick with the untreated wood.

 

[Owdboggy]

Found this article quote interesting.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of using fly ash in concrete and masonry is that the fly ash isn’t merely sequestered, it’s transformed. Like portland cement, Class C fly ash contains lime, silica, and alumina. These ingredients react with water to crystallize into calcium silica hydrates (CSH), the matrix in concrete and masonry that binds the aggregate together. This is known as a pozzolanic reaction. If you break open a fly ash brick, you won’t find any fly ash inside, just CSH and aggregate.

Beneficial use of fly ash and other coal combustion products (CCP) goes far beyond mere containment, for precisely this reason. The pozzolanic reaction consumes the reactive compounds in the CCP and traps the heavy metals in the crystal structure. Once the reaction has taken place, exposure to water ceases to be an issue, because neither slumping nor leaching will result.

 

[Trellum]

Good to know! We were panning to start gardening again next year, so knowing this is really good, I'll definitely not use cinder blocks. After all those things are loaded with a lot chemicals, I don't want any of that near my plants or anything we might eating. Scary! Glad we never used those in the past.

 

[Trellum]

Interesting article. I'd never really thought about using cinder blocks, but it makes sense that being made out of cement they would have bad "stuff" in them. Plus, they're really not that pretty. Give me a big pile of rocks instead - or even some nice timbers.

Hehehe, I live very close to a place where they process the cement itself, some blocks away and let me tell you I have heard so many cases of employees who ended up getting lung cancer and other types of cancer. Strangely enough men and women who have been working there for very long. So yeah, I totally believe using cinder blocks is a bad idea.

 

[R.R.]

My landlord is trying to stop plans to build a cement plant a few yards from the property. I hope he succeeds.

 

[R.R.]

You can go to the county extension agent, every county in Texas has one. Except maybe way out there in west Texas. It costs about $30.00 and they'll give you all kinds of #'s. Telling you about the soil PH and all that other stuff you want to know.
I wouldn't mess with those cinder blocks though. Stick with the untreated wood.

Thanks for the info, deepestblues

 

[Pat]

Very interesting. I was planning on using cement blockes in my garden, not so much to plant the seeds in but as the border.

 

[DrCase]

I am not afraid of concrete blocks
i just wish they looked better
we are all going to die of some thing, blocks are real low on my list