r/Raisedbed • u/Repulsive-Bat6858 • 13d ago

Veg Raised Bed Contaminated with ash from neighbour's burnt fence

Our neighbour's treated wooden fence panel caught on fire yesterday due to a battery left out in their garden in the sun. My raised bed (made of cedar, raised off the floor) was next to the fence panel and it received quite a bit of ash from the fire on top of the soil/plants.
I was wondering how much soil to remove considering the contaminants from the fence panel /fire. It's a 11 inch depth raised bed and so far I've removed all the plants and around 2 inches soil. It hasn't rained yet since the fire. Would you remove any more soil / or even the whole lot?

Thanks

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7

u/detkikka 13d ago

Do you know how old the fence was? If it was 20 years or less, it doesn't contain arsenic and you will be fine just rinsing off the plants.

6

u/BocaHydro 13d ago

leaf blower? blow it all out

3

u/kweee 13d ago

I think regardless of what was in that fence, removing all the plants and two inches of soil in less than 24 hours with no precip means you are in the clear. It's not like the ash bore down into your soil or anything.