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KathyTX

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I live in Zapopan, in the Vallarta Universidad area. I hope that this is the right forum  for me to ask this question. Here goes. For those of you that like to DIY, do some wood work, where do you like to get your lumber/wood? I've already looked in Home Depots and they don't have what I'm looking for. I want to build raised garden beds and need 12"x2" boards or equivalent or boards I could stack. Looking for untreated wood; pine or cedar. For 3'x6' beds/ 1 meter x 2 meter. Hopefully in the Zapopan area but I realize I may have to drive a bit. 

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This is the website of a wood company in Zapopan that a friend of mine swears by. My friend says that it's the BEST source of wood that he's ever come across in Mexico and he does a LOT of woodworking. They kiln dry which is almost unheard of here.  http://www.tedima.com.mx/index.html

I hope you find what you're looking for there.

 

 

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That's a real expensive way to go Kathy. In Mexico, these long wooden boards are used as forms for those wire reinforced corner columns you see in Mexico, at least in the rural areas. They often leave the "whiskers" sticking out for future expansion.They are strapped in place around the corner support mesh, and the column is filled with concrete. These boards, or forms, are highly coveted.

A better way with the boards is to use them as a concrete form as well. You can use the special wire reinforcement in the corners, then pour in concrete. If you are infilling with bricks (blokas) make sure you leave in some long wires hooked onto the reinforcement columns. As the bricks go up, you can "tie in" the bricks to the corner supports. Concrete blocks are inexpensive and much stronger than fired bricks. You can also build a form to hold concrete as it cures with wire or rebar reinforcement. Plywood is most often used in this way. You can use vegetable oil as the release off the wood. This is what you would make if you wanted to share the "mold" or form with your garden club friends. The hardest thing building these raised beds is they need a lot of soil, and this is heavy. You will also need a compost bed, that animals can't get into, you will need to mix in loose compost to the top soil, but you already know that.

Another way, which you will know from the garden club, involves those blue plastic 45 gallon drums, cut into two or three sections

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1 hour ago, Ferret said:

This is the website of a wood company in Zapopan that a friend of mine swears by. My friend says that it's the BEST source of wood that he's ever come across in Mexico and he does a LOT of woodworking. They kiln dry which is almost unheard of here.  http://www.tedima.com.mx/index.html

I hope you find what you're looking for there.

 

 

Thank you Ferret, very useful information.

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I third the suggestion for brick or block beds. I'm building a house in Guanajuato City, the wood vigas I'm using for ceiling joists are triple the costs of the cement and steel reinforced vigas that are used for the cantilevered lower floor joists and double the cost of my 6" x 2" 1/4" steel I beams. Wood is a costly material in Mexico. And I'm opting for #2 grade beams instead of #1s. Go block or brick! Or even poured concrete.

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You don`t really need 2" wood.  I`ve used 1".  They work fine. Here, the cost is 150 pesos per 3 meter 12" x 1" "tabla".  A 10 foot (3 meters) by 1 meter bed needs 3 of these boards: one for each long side and one cut in 3.  One of the cut boards is screwed into each end and one in the middle. This will keep the bed square enough through rains for several years.  450 pesos total.

Put a couple of coats of linseed oil (aceite de linaza cocido, 30 pesos) on the boards to give them some protection.

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1 hour ago, dichosalocura said:

Yes, when building raised garden beds, in Mexico it is better to use bricks or concrete blocks.  I don't think the wood would last a long time here, the climate and the termites can be pretty brutal on wood down here.

Termites love moisture in their wooden lunch and will thank you for feeding them .

 

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On 1/23/2017 at 11:41 AM, KathyTX said:

I live in Zapopan, in the Vallarta Universidad area. I hope that this is the right forum  for me to ask this question. Here goes. For those of you that like to DIY, do some wood work, where do you like to get your lumber/wood? I've already looked in Home Depots and they don't have what I'm looking for. I want to build raised garden beds and need 12"x2" boards or equivalent or boards I could stack. Looking for untreated wood; pine or cedar. For 3'x6' beds/ 1 meter x 2 meter. Hopefully in the Zapopan area but I realize I may have to drive a bit. 

Kathy, I got involved in square foot gardening NOB 30 years ago with fantastic results and being able to plant two and three times as many plants as a regular garden in an area about 16 ft.X 32 ft. The raised boxes were different sizes 2'X8', 4'X8', 4'X 4', 2'X12' etc. with a 2' walkway all around each box lined with patio style 1"X12"X12" so as not to compact the soil or soil the shoes. Main deal was to remove the entire soil from that area, down 2 ft.or so, screen it, then put it in the boxes (wood or concrete)  leaving that 2ft. walkway all the way around. A lot less bending down and ease of maintenance with the soil level nearer to waist high would be worth the effort. PLEASE don't do all that screening yourself, it is a real back breaker believe me.  Good planting and harvesting.

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Thanks for all of your input. FWIW, I do have a compost pile; have been composting for years, and have never had animals in it. Id' love to find a good source of manure here or close,  to add to it. That was easier to find when we lived in Ajijic!  I'll definitely check out that Madederia. I have some linseed oil too. I have a few reasons for using wood, mainly that it's much easier to assemble than using concrete blocks & dragging each one of those through the house would not be fun. I'll be using the soil that I have and adding amendments to it, like compost. We'll see how it all goes. But I'm having fun with it all. 

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15 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Mold loves to grow on linseed oil. I'd look for an alternative.

I was talking about boiled linseed oil.  Been using it for 40 years.  Does not allow mold to grow. 

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That gray mold (botrytis)  is a big problem here. It likes warm and moist, cool and moist - we are lucky in Chapala that the hot season is also dry. The point is you don't want anything which can attract, or harbor, mold spores. Can you get someone to carry, mix and place concrete at your house? You could still buy the boards, but use them like I described before. The fun part is there are many creative options. For example distress (bring out knots and grain) the face of the board that will meet the concrete, use oil for the mold release, the concrete will look like wood, especially if you whitewash it every year (lime kills off bacteria, molds, etc. and ants don't like it either. We have/had lots of bamboo, cut them in half lengthwise,than fasten inside the mold again, so the planter looks like bamboo when the board comes off. You can also get chunks of white styrofoam, make artistic pattern with them and then fasten them to the mold (they won't last long however). See - it's not hard work if you are having fun!

Important tip, which I am sure you already know. If you get the fungus, treat it like a nasty disease, disinfect your garden tools, and don't let cuttings get anywhere near your compost. Get them far, far away.

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Mold grows on organic material in humid climates. So wood, dirt, cement if it is not clean, whatever. Sunbrella fabric is treated against mold, but it can get moldy if not washed regularly. I have not had mold grow on wood that has been finished with petroleum products or non-natural oil based sealers or varnishes. But doubt that OP would want to use something non-organic in her garden.

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