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Wood fence near garden #925219

Asked February 28, 2026, 9:40 PM EST

I want to plant near the my neighbor's painted wooden fence. The fence is less than 10 years old. I assume the fence is pressure treated. Between that and the paint, I am concerned about chemicals leaching into my vegetables and herbs. How far away should I plant from any treated lumber? And, I have had landscape timbers in various places over the years. How long would any leaching remain in my soil? Thank you.

Livingston County Michigan

Expert Response

Unless there is more to the story, you have described a low risk environment for human health. 

How close to the fence do you want to plant? Does the ground slope from the fence toward your garden bed, where runoff from the fence might go directly toward your garden? If not, you could safely plant annual crops quite close. In most soils, any chemicals from the fence will go down into the soil, not spreading out more than an inch or so laterally. Root crops (potatoes, carrots, beets, etc.) are more likely to take up contaminants, so you may want to plant those a little further away from the fence. There is no magic distance, but staying a couple feet away should provide ample safety margin in most cases. 

For the landscape timbers, most of the chemicals will remain close to where the timbers were. The preservatives are designed to inhibit the activity of fungi and other microbes that would normally break them down in the soil. As a result, they can persist for many years, bound tight to the soil. That said, the benefits to eating fresh produce greatly outweigh the marginal risk from eating crops grown where a landscape timber may have rested a few years ago. Again, root crops are more likely to take up any persistent chemicals, but the situation you have described is low risk.


Thank you for contacting Ask Extension! Replied March 05, 2026, 2:08 PM EST

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