I read Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening and decided to build some raised beds and a trellis for my garden this year. Both items required very stressful visits to Home Depot. I hate Home Depot. It’s so intimidating and it takes an act of God to get someone to help you. I researched online to figure out the wood I needed, but once there, I couldn’t find that exact size in the store. A worker was walking by, so I told him I was building raised beds and needed 2"x10"x12'. He pointed to where the lumber was. I loaded the lumber onto the special lumber cart, then went to stand in line to get it cut into specific lengths (two 4' and two 2') by the same worker guy. After, I went back to the lumber aisle to get brackets and overheard this couple who started walking down the aisle, then the woman said, “Oh, wrong aisle.” The guy asked “Why?” And she answered, “That’s treated wood. We want untreated for our garden.” Shit! I said, “Excuse me, I overheard you talking. Did I just get the wrong wood for my raised beds?” The woman said, “Well, that’s treated wood—you can see the greenish color—so the arsenic in the wood will leach into the soil and then into your vegetables.” It's green! How did I not notice that I had green wood? I said, “But I told the guy that it was for raised beds and this is what he told me to get.” She explained that a lot of people use treated wood because it lasts longer, but it’s not as good for the garden. Her husband assured me that even though they cut it, I don’t have to buy it. So I followed them to the untreated wood aisle, found the size I wanted and stood in the cutting line again. When it was my turn, I explained the situation to the guy. He said, “You should use treated wood. That’s what people use. It lasts longer.” I explained that I was in a community garden and they wanted us to use untreated wood and I didn’t understand that I had gotten the wrong thing before. He didn’t answer, but made a show of putting the old lumber in a pile and, not as carefully as before, cutting the new lumber.
When I got home I did some research online about pressure treated lumber and found that they don’t use arsenic in it anymore, but I couldn’t find out what made it look green. Also, I don’t trust “acceptable levels” of anything. I’m glad I got the untreated lumber. It makes me feel better, like eating organic strawberries. They cost a lot more, but I’d rather not think about pesticides while I’m eating.
The trellis trip wasn’t as stressful, but almost. I had to find electrical conduit, which Mel said they could cut into 4' lengths, but Home Depot didn’t. Luckily I found some 5' lengths and bought those. Then I needed connectors, which I again had found online, but in the store, there were dozens of various kinds, and I had to search, because of course there was no one to help. Then I had seen the rebar by the lumber, and nylon netting was in the garden section, so I pushed my cart with the conduit sliding out every few feet the entire length of the store. But once I got it all in my garden, it was so easy to put together (with Eliot's help!). I’m so impressed with it. The raised beds look a little like Homer Simpson put them together, but the trellis looks great.
