Raised Beds - Western Red Vs Eastern White Cedar?

[Zap]

Hello,

I'm interested in getting opinions about building raised bed gardens, specifically whether anyone has any information and/or opinions about building RBG's from cedar and preferences on choosing Western Red Cedar Vs Eastern White Cedar?

I'm interested in all aspects of the "whys"

Thanks!

 

[Chuck]

Hello,

I'm interested in getting opinions about building raised bed gardens, specifically whether anyone has any information and/or opinions about building RBG's from cedar and preferences on choosing Western Red Cedar Vs Eastern White Cedar?

I'm interested in all aspects of the "whys"

Thanks!

Cedar is good. Both types. It resists rot big time

 

[Beth_B]

Honestly I think both are good so go for the cheaper option.

As a side note, I picked up some old free railroad ties a few years ago and am using them in a couple of perennial beds. I don't know what they make those things out of but they are solid, and the old iron spikes make for cool accents.

 

[SydneyGee]

We just built two garden boxes and learned ALOT about the first one! We used 12"x2"x8' slabs Douglas fir as it is a hardwood, and will last us almost a decade in dry southern California. It was very cheap, and looks fine to us (I am sure it will grey with age). The first garden box we put in 1"x1" posts to stabilize the slabs and used 3" screws to drill through the two pieces of wood. This resulted in a pretty flimsy build, but it was cheap. It was also a pain because we pre-drilled with too short a drill bit and had trouble lining up the two pieces of wood.

The second smaller box was a 4'x4' (with the same 12"x2" wood) and we thru-bolted it, you could probably chuck it across the yard and suffer no damage (assuming you could pick it up, that wood is HEAVY). So my recommendation is to buy washers and bolts and pre-drill your hole with an appropriate bit. We don't regret the tripled cost in thru bolting, as it will withstand a lot more.

Cedar is a much better choice if you have the cash for it, it runs triple the cost of doug fir, so that ended up being out of our budget!