HARDWOOD X RAILWAY SLEEPER RAISED VEGETABLE GARDENS (forum)

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......

Time: 15th June 2015 11:53am

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Chris says...
Is this a question or an essay?


Time: 15th June 2015 2:12pm

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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 ??

Time: 15th June 2015 3:50pm

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Daniel12345 says...
Cheers, thanks heaps for the reply guys.. the question is do i tell my sister to leave her veggie garden as it is? or do we rip it up and start again? part of me thinks that removing and starting again is excessive but you may disagree? i guess in hindsight (and please anyone correct me if i am wrong) but if x railway sleepers were terrible/ unsafe to use as veggie garden beds than they wouldnt sell them at nurseries/ gardening shops and they wouldnt recommend them on permaculture sites.. I would like to think that the occasional machining of these sleepers (i.e. cutting, drilling) and also the odd person who burns them in their fireplace isn't an unsafe practice ( after all their are heaps of people selling them as firewood on gumtree)

Time: 15th June 2015 6:40pm

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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.

Time: 16th June 2015 7:30am

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denise1 says...
In Europe the old creosote treated sleepers will be restricted from usage in public places such as parks and playgrounds except for where they will not be exposed to regular skin contact. Creosote has been determined as being more toxic than previously thought and so new recipe creosote has reduced toxin. The restrictions state that it is not allowed in cases of regular contact with skin, such as regularly working with it without gloves. The attached website also says that using for gardens is fine, but just avoid excessive touching with bare hands. www.railwaysleepers.com/railway-sleepers/treat-railway-sleepers

Time: 16th June 2015 8:03am

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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

Time: 16th June 2015 11:43am

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Daniel12345 says...
Thanks Jakfruit,,

Yes i figure that if there was still diesel and herbicide in the soil that the veggies simply would not grow.. So i don't think herbicide is an issue

Time: 1st October 2015 9:04am

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