Railroad Ties Are OK, But Use Caution

Q: Can I use railroad ties to make a raised bed for vegetables?

A: Yes, if you want to. Let me give you the whole story and you decide. Railroad ties are treated with creosote, a toxic product of coal. In hot weather it will ooze out of the wood. This can make a mess on your jeans, if you forget not to sit or kneel on that convenient "bench" around your bed. It can also volatilize into the air on warm days and may do a bit of damage to plant foliage very near it.

What concerns most gardeners is that the toxic creosote may leach into the soil near the ties. It can, but it won't move very far, so roots have to come to it. When they do, however, they will generally be damaged or killed, so it doesn't get absorbed by your plant.

If you do decide to use railroad ties, you may want to line the sides of the beds with plastic before you fill them with soil. Planting things back several inches from the ties is a good idea. Also, avoid using ties in greenhouses or under coldframes, cloches or plastic rowcovers. Anything that holds in the vapors will increase the damage to your veggies.

Q: I know it's good to bury tomato stems deeply when I transplant them. Is this true of any other vegetables?

A: Tomatoes will root beautifully along a buried stem creating a more vigorous plant. No other vegetables need this treatment to the degree that tomatoes do, but it can be done to many "leggy" transplants of things like eggplants, peppers, cabbages, broccoli, etc. You never bury the crown or growing point of your plant, so usually lettuce, kale and squash transplants will need to be transplanted at the same depth at which they are growing in their pots.

This is the time to put out broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale transplants for a fall/winter crop. Planting them a little deep will help keep the tiny rootballs from drying out in our summer heat. Mulching the soil around them will also help.

Q: My garlic tops died back, so I harvested them recently. They appeared healthy but very small. They were planted in April. What happened?

A: Garlic and most onions have a growth habit that many gardeners don't understand. They are day-length sensitive. They root well and put on good leaf growth during short days and cool weather. Our longer days in late spring trigger bulb formation. The tricky thing is that the size of the bulb is directly proportional to the number of leaves the plant has when it starts making its bulb or cloves.

In Western Washington we suggest that garlic be planted in late October or early November. It will root and may send up a small sprout. Garlic is perfectly winter-hardy here and, although the first sprouts may be damaged by a hard winter, it will grow fast and furious in the spring. Garlic can be spring-planted, but it must go in very early to grow into a leafy plant before the long days signal it to start bulb formation. It rarely is as productive as fall-planted garlic.

Nice plump garlic cloves spaced 6-7 inches between plants in any direction will give the biggest bulb at harvest. The tiny cloves from the center of the bulb never size up well. Closer planting may decrease ultimate size too.

Garlic is not particularly picky but prefers a fairly fertile, well-drained, loamy soil. If the soil is excessively sandy or clayey, add some compost. Avoid fresh manure. If you are going for prize-winning garlic, give it some extra nitrogen fertilizer in the spring and keep reading.

Gardening runs Friday in Scene and Sunday in Home/Real Estate. It is prepared by George Pinyuh and Holly Kennell, Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension agents, Mary Robson, Master Gardener program assistant, and volunteer Master Gardeners.