How to stain treated Pine for a vegetable garden bed?

[HarrisonSt]

Hi Bunnings community, 

I'm building a raised vegetable garden that will double as a small retaining wall.

We're going to use standard CCA H4 treated pine, as ACQ is not available and hardwood is outside our budget. I'll use builders' plastic to line the inside of the walls, just to be on the safe side.

I want the exposed wood to be a moderate red-brown, targeting more cedar/jarrah tones in the end. 

How would you coat the CCA-treated pine, for longevity, looks, and lower health risk?

Cheers all

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @HarrisonSt. It's a pleasure to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about staining treated Pine.

Lining the inside of the garden bed with the builder's plastic is a good idea. Make sure to allow a way for water to freely drain out the bottom so you don't end up with a pond.

For the outside exposed wood, there is no health risk involved, so you are free to stain the Pine with any exterior stain product. If you also wanted to protect the timber, you could coat it with an oil and stain combination. The product can be applied with a brush or roller.

Please let me know if you have further questions.

Mitchell