« Reply #17 on: May 07, 2013, 04:38:15 PM »
This board is a great idea.
An excellent resource for home gardening using the "raised" beds method is by Peter Chan. His method is preferred in wood-scarce Asia and is simple enough: mound the soil without the use of boxes. I practiced this method for years whilst living in the Willamette Valley of Oregon and with good success. It is also easier to plant cover crops and turn the soil in between crops. In this often damp growing zone borders of wood harbor slugs and snails, so dispensing with it helped reduce that problem. I also used raised beds made of wood but primarily to grow flowers...as the wood was pressure treated and not recommended for use in situations where plants might absorb some of the chemicals used in treating the wood that leach into the soil. 
Many years ago I used the raised mound method very successfully. Some of my best tomato crops and other veg came from those "humps of dirt". I don't remember who I read back then (70's) but I do remember reading about that method. Now I use untreated wood to corral my dirt, but the concept is the same - a lot of good earth piled up to make a bed for the garden. Snow is finally gone and it's getting close to planting time!
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