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I am about to build my first elevated bed out of untreated cedar. My goal is to keep it as toxin-free and organic as possible. I need it to drain properly as well.

On the very bottom, on top of the cedar planks, I am going to use galvanized steel fencing wire, as a mesh. Is that going to leak anything into the soil?

More importantly, what should I use on top of the mesh? I've read about cardboard (not fully organic), newspapers (ew, ink) and landscaping fabric - all of which have drawbacks. I am starting to think I should just arrange a layer of 1-2" pebbles and dump the soil on top of it.

Can you provide advice on organic bottom for elevated garden beds?

hyankov
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Given that the bottom of the elevated bed would be untreated cedar boards with hardware cloth on top of them, you could use burlap or even a loosely woven 100% cotton fabric such as muslin. Note that these options will rot over time, so you'll have to you to remove the soil and replace it when that happens.

An inorganic option that would work well for your installation is polypropylene silt fencing, which will hold all of the soil in place while letting all of the water drain through. It also lasts for, quite literally, decades, so there is no need to remove and replace the soil every few years.

Jurp
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