Built a raised garden bed from cedar, wasted $300 on the wrong wood

I decided to build a raised garden bed in my backyard last spring. I went to the lumber yard and bought what I thought was cedar, but it turned out to be some treated pine with a cedar stain on it. After 6 months the whole thing started rotting out and sagging. The plants looked nice for a few weeks, but now I have to tear the whole thing apart and start over. Has anyone else fallen for that fake cedar at the big box stores?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_burns9512d agoProlific Poster

Man, I feel your pain on this one - I did the exact same thing with a planter box for my herbs. Spent like $250 on what I thought was cedar from a hardware store, turns out it was just some painted junk that looked nice for maybe two months. Built this whole fancy thing for my basil and mint, and now my basil's basically growing out of a soggy cardboard box situation. Honestly, I'm pretty sure the shelf that collapsed under my tomato plant last week had more structural integrity than that "cedar" ever did. Ngl, next time I'm just going to find someone selling actual rough-cut lumber off Facebook Marketplace instead of trusting those store displays.

finley72912d ago

Didn't I see a YouTube video saying cedar's almost impossible to find now cause of supply issues?

perry.evan11d ago

wait so did you actually check the tags on the boards before you bought them or did they just say "cedar" on the display and you grabbed whatever? i've been burned by the same scam and it's maddening how they can get away with selling stained pine as something it's not.