are those rail road ties treated IH?

http://www.ehow.com/info...ilroad-ties-gardens.html

i found this. i first heard after my brother mentioned they're illegal on playgrounds now b/c they leach toxins into the soil.

They are Railroad ties, however they are oldschool ties that are treated with creasote and not CCA-treated wood. Chromated copper arsenate (CCA), renders the wood resistant to fungi (copper) and insects (arsenic).
Chromium serves to lock the arsenic and copper into the wood, which then resists degradation by insects and fungi.

I was attempting to fid some other reference material for this post but I am running short on time. I would like to mention that there are studies that have been conducted on the toxicity of railroad ties these studies consisted of testing fruit, vegetables, and berries that were grow in freshly treated railroad tie raised beds. No trace of any toxin was ever found in any of the vegetable, berries, or fruit. I have heard that one study found trace ammounts of petro products in the leaves of strawberries but not in the fruit.

Creasote ties are ok. I use the old weathered ones. they work great

I was picking some lettuce in the garden and I realized what a wonderful variety I have at my disposal. For tha last 3 weeks i have been eating out of my garden at least 2 meals a day. Every evening I am eating wonderful salads with the leaf of my choice and also fresh strawberries and rasberries, I am now getting fresh green onions and big red onions.

I wanted to attach a few fotos just to emphasize tthe variety.

The firt to pictures are of this years new turkey flock and MaMa turkey.

after that is, noy in any specific order, green leaf, red leaf, baby iceberg heads, romaine, kale, and russian red spinace.

Enjoy!

Looks like a little slice of heaven. Cheers to you and your family Ice House.

looks pretty tasty! I guess so far ive only grown tomatoes but food always tastes so much better when its from a garden, especially your own. Aplogies if youve already covered this but do ever get enough produce to sell the extra?

You are my new hero IceHouse.

This is so freaking amazing and inspiring.

11 months till the launch of mew homestead! im so stoked!

Me and Mama Trips are in the process of finding and buying our own little homestead.

Ice House, your setup and plan is truly inspiring. If I can manage half of what you're doing I'd be an extremely happy camper.

I truly admire your commitment to living right.

Blessings

I do have extras from time to time and I just give that away. I sell my extra eggs to pay for my chicken and turkey feed. I give allot of eggs to friends.

We do allot of canning also to eat over the winter. We jar tomatoes for sauce, sundried tomatoes also, dried fruit, etc.

oooh yea i remember you mentioned that ealier, very cool your a huge inspiration and your giving me hope, showing me that my dreams are not impossible to realize, thank you.

Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing. The pictures are both a visual treat and an inspiration. I would expect nothing else from the world's greatest online communities' newest moderator.

Peace and Happy Salads my friend!

Appples!

What a dynamite year for fruit! Lots of small old farms in my kneck of the woods. All of em have orchards. This is an epic year for apples. All of the 13 or so trees I have are loaded this year. Some of these very same trees had no apples last year. Looks like we are gonna have a GRRRRREAT year for cider. Im excited!

Enjoy the pics.

I find this thread very inspiring, and I have also found talking to Ice House in the chat also very inspiring. My plans for sustainability are in place, though it will take some time.

I am on every allotment waiting list in the area where I live. For those who are unfamiliar with what an allotment is, it's a plot of land to be used solely for non-commercial gardening (usually growing fruit and veg). There is a piece of land, pretty much like a field, divided up into seperate plots.

The rent for such a plot of land is very low (on average about £30-60 for a whole year, depending on size). It takes time to get one, as there are understandably long waiting lists.

I have been on each list for a year now, so I'm getting there. This has given me plenty of time to plan what I shall do with my allotment, so I would like to share that with you.

I shall have raised beds with seasonal vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions etc) across the allotment. Providing me with fresh food throughout the growing season. I shall also have a herb garden, because fresh herbs are amazing. I shall have a large greenhouse where I will grow tomatoes and peppers (Capsicum and chilli peppers like Jalapenos etc).

This same greenhouse will also have some special plants within it. Caapi will be a major feature of the greenhouse, as will Chacruna. I shall also have Iboga in the greenhouse. A small part of the greenhouse at the far end will be an arrid section for cacti (both psychoactive and non-psychoactive).

At the bottom end of the allotment I will build a large(ish) shepherd's hut type structure, very ornate and painted beautifully. Within this insulated hut, I will have a mural adorned entrance area, with a journey room on one side and small lab area on the other. The journey room will be a peaceful, comfortable sitting area, adorned with symbolic power objects, complete with a wood-burning stove. There will be a small toilet/shower room attached to the journey room (for either freshening up before/after a journey, or purging from the lower end).

The lab area will be small and basic and used for extractions, germination/propagation and mycology.

As stated previously the waiting lists can be long, it will also take time to build up the plot to how I have described it. This is very much a long term project, which I felt compelled to share with Ice House and the rest of you. Thank you for such a fanstasic thread.

Peace

Macre

My partner and myself were lucky enough to get to spend the last two days being welcomed into the ice house home stead and wow, my mind is blown.

Beautiful property, beautiful chickens and dogs and turkeys, big ol apple trees, big ol garden and a horsey, we were welcomed in and introduced to everyone, fed, showered, taken care of in every possible way, soooo much love and respect to ice house !!!!! Anyone would feel truly blessed and lucky to get to visit that amazing space THANK YOU SO MUCH ICE HOUSE!!!!!!!

Thanks for the kind words brother. It was wonderful being able to share our home with the both of you. We look forward to seeing you again.
Sincerely
Ice House

you are one lucky guy icehouse! sounds like you've really earnt it..

..you sure bring home the harvest goodness IceHouse!

nice looking phalaris further up..

MAJOR BUMP

Living the dream!

Such an inspiration.

<3