What Is Eco Restore Wood Treatment?

Eco Restore is an eco-friendly, mineral-based product that seals the fibers of wood to help your wood raised beds last longer. Without some kind of sealer or treatment, the wood you use to build your raised beds can degrade pretty quickly as it absorbs UV light from the sun and excess moisture from the soil. Wood can even weather faster with each change in temperature.

Instead of buying pre-treated lumber, I recommend adding a wood preservative to untreated boards to increase their lifespan in the garden. Since this wood treatment will be in contact with your vegetables, stick with something 100% natural and organic. Eco Restore fits that bill. It maximizes the durability of your raised beds without any harsh chemicals or harmful residue left in your soil. (This has been independently lab tested.)

So how does it work? Eco Restore penetrates the fibers in your wood to prevent absorption of water, UV rays, and even fungal spores—all things that cause wood to decline over time. I applied Eco Restore to in-ground wood steps that I knew would get a lot of wear and tear in a client's garden, and those steps were holding up great after 5 years, even in Houston's hot and humid climate.

The best time to apply this food-safe wood sealer is before you construct your raised beds so that you can coat every edge with preservative. Let's look at how to mix it up and apply it to protect your wooden beds.

How to Mix Eco Restore Wood Sealer

Eco Restore comes packaged up in powder form and has to be mixed with water before application. You'll need a fairly large, sturdy container to mix it up in, so I recommend grabbing one of those 5-gallon buckets from a hardware store for $5, plus a wooden paint stirrer. Mix one gallon of water per 2-ounce package of powder. You'll notice your mix has a yellowish milk-like appearance.

The mixture will be slightly acidic, so do your best to avoid getting it on your skin or in your eyes. (This is just while it's wet.)

Tip:

I recommend measuring out the powder and mixing up what you need to treat one raised bed at a time. This will help you know exactly how much mixture you have to use for each bed, inside and out.

How to Apply Eco Restore Wood Preservative to Raised Beds

Eco Wood Restore is super easy to apply to the wood using a paintbrush, roller brush, or even a paint sprayer. The key is just to coat each board thoroughly. I recommend painting each board before you assemble your raised bed so that you can paint every side of your wood boards, including those rougher cut edges. The more wood grains you treat, the more effective this product will be.

If your raised bed is already assembled, I recommend treating both the inside and outside. The interior of the bed is especially important because it'll be up against damp soil every time you water or get rain.

You should notice an immediate color change as the treatment penetrates the wood. You'll be able to see where you've painted already. One coat is all that's needed to protect your beds.

Give the treatment 24 hours to dry before you construct your raised beds or fill your bed with soil.

Note:

If you get any mixture on your skin or clothes, use soap and water to clean it up.

How much product do I need to cover my raised beds?

Calculate the square feet of your raised bed(s) by multiplying the length and width in feet. Then multiply by the height of your raised beds.

A 2-ounce packet of Eco Wood Restore makes 1 gallon of preservative, which is enough to cover approximately 150 square feet. So divide your total square footage by 150 to know how many packets of Eco Restore you'd need. Make sure to round up to ensure you have enough product.

One gallon of wood preservative should be enough to coat the inside and outside of a 4ft x 8ft x 2ft raised bed.

Will my raised beds change color after applying Eco Restore?

The minerals in Eco Restore Wood Treatment do change the color of your wood permanently. Your raised beds will first appear darker brown when they're wet and then take on more of a silvery patina as they dry. Many of my clients actually seem to prefer the final color over the wood in its untreated form.

For those of you who prefer the original wood tones, what you could do is only treat the interior of the bed. Even leaving the exterior of your raised beds untreated, you can still increase the durability of your beds, especially if you've used a durable wood like cedar.

Can I use stains or sealers over Eco Restore?

Stain isn't recommended by the manufacturer, and you won't need to seal your beds after you've applied Eco Restore. If you want to change the color of this product, you can add 5 ounces of any water-based tint from a paint store per gallon of Eco Restore.

When will I need to reapply Eco Restore?

Eco Restore does not need to be reapplied or maintained. That's because it doesn't chip, crack, fade, or wear off. A single coat is enough to protect your wood for years.

What should I do with any leftover product I've mixed up?

You can keep remaining liquid in an airtight jar. It should last at least a year this way. Eco Restore lasts much longer in powder form, so try to measure out how much you'll need and only mix that amount. You can always mix more as you go.

Whenever I have excess product mixed up, I like to pour it into a spray bottle and then do a second application on areas of vulnerability on the interior of the raised beds, places like corners and edges, just to make sure every grain has been coated thoroughly.

Feel Good About Extending Your Raised Beds' Life Expectancy with Eco-Friendly Wood Preservative

The lumber you buy to build your raised beds is anything but cheap these days, so protect your investment with a food-safe sealant. You'll be able to enjoy your wood raised beds for many years to come. If you've used 2-inch thick cedar boards and placed your raised beds on a dry surface, you can expect your raised beds to last 20 years.

Here's to extending the durability of your raised beds with something that's safe for you, your garden, and the planet!

Sources

• USDA
• US Forest Service