Shou Sugi Ban / Yakisugi Organic Raised Beds 1 year Update - DID WE SUCCEED?

We are excited to share our successes and failures with fellow gardeners who are eager to grow their own food organically, in a safe food-grade environment. This ancient but newly rediscovered technique of burning wood to preserve it longer undoubtedly looks attractive but does it really help to preserve the wood much longer? We received a ton of messages after our first video, as well as useful suggestions and other people's experiences with this technique, would love to share all of it with you here, and show what our beds look like after a year of "harsh" Florida weather abuse:)
Update: do not use linseed oil for sealing the wood, it gives minimal protection. Use pure tung oil instead - it's natural and gives a strong, non-fading seal. MILK brand sold on Amazon is the best in our experience. We used other brands and they turned out to be fake, not drying but making the wood sticky for life.
Regular untreated beds last about 2 years here before succumbing to termite damage and rot. We have not found anyone who has had these sugi ban beds longer than a couple of years since the technique hasn't been around for long, so if you've had your beds longer than us please share your experiences and videos! we'll be updating yearly following the progress of our beds, as well.
Another Update: we were so curious that we emptied one bed to see how much damage happened in 1.5 years. You can see it here: • Why Shou Sugi Ban / Ya...
Update July 2023: still going strong! None of the beds are showing any damage after yet another Florida summer.
Update May 2024: • YAKI-SUGI / SHOU SUGI ...
If you like our videos, remember to subscribe, like, comment, and share. We are working on establishing our farm from scratch, planting trees and building the house, all at once - shooting, editing and publishing videos is harder than ever, so we would greatly appreciate your kindness and thank you for your support at this crucial time of big change in our lives. 🙏
Soundtrack: PURE IMAGINATION - FUTURE JAMES ROYALTY FREE MUSIC R&B
0:47 - CARD - FIRST SUGIBAN VIDEO
To learn more about our garden and our non-profit, watch videos in our GARDEN playlist.
Track: Traditional Japanese Copyright-free Music
• Traditional Japanese C...

[@jfour6591]

The tip on the shape at 0:50 is awesome! I will certainly try this technique next time I do some, Thank You!

[@MC-oc2xv]

thanks smart to use it on graden beds!! i was thinking of the same but you did it already! nice demo!!

[@VirginiaFruitGrower]

Those beds look great. You put a lot of effort on preparing them and it shows👍

[@growpuravida]

thank you 🙏 hope they last!

[@rogerpalmer3522]

Many thanks for this! I was thinking about doing this for my own untreated raised beds after seeing how much they have deteriorated in only two short years, and this is helpful. Best wishes.

[@angelacanales1470]

Thanks for the information!

[@MsFishingdog]

Good job. Very nice looking. Thanks for sharing.

[@growpuravida]

Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏 we also made borders for an arch "tunnel" for passionvine, have a garden table in the making, just can't stop 😜 interesting to see how the technique works in these extreme weather conditions (just had 10+ inches of rain over the last couple days 🙈 )

[@DPerk_76]

Getting some Chronotrigger vibes.... :)

[@mrscpc1918]

Fantastic Hat !! I need one !

[@MrSjowdy]

Thanks Osho!!! I will be doing this to Doug Fir next weekend!!! 🪵🪵🪵🔥🔥🔥🍅🍅🍅

[@growpuravida]

Good luck!

[@JAW88]

I am looking at this for my raised bed garden also. I am up in Idaho where we get all 4 seasons. I will probably try it out in three different ways for our making soil boxes first then go from there.

[@growpuravida]

good luck! Please share how they hold up.

[@8Ryanaugust]

After much research, I’m copying your beds, so thank you for the vids.

[@growpuravida]

Let us know how it goes!

[@kkss6409]

Hi! I'm Japanese so I noticed you read the kanji in a wrong way. The correct pronouciation is "Yaki Sugi", not Shou Sugi. We also call it "Yaki Sugi Ita" . "Ita" means a boad or timber. Yaki Sugi lasts for decades when it's made in the correct way even without coating.

[@growpuravida]

Thank you for the info, in the US it was incorrectly translated as shou sugi ban, this term became popular and that is how the technique was promoted for a long time. This is an old video, the confusion and the correct term has only become explained recently, so i have the term “yakisugi” in the title, but cannot change it in the video that’s already published. Hopefully as we move forward, the confusing terms get resolved in the mainstream media.

[@kkss6409]

@@growpuravida I see. Thank you for your quick response.

[@jishaku38]

ショウスギバンとも言うそうですよ。

[@lolawalsh9187]

Douglas fir about and what was the second? Oh. Cedar.. Please include link to other video showing how. Beautiful. Are those 2 X 4s?

[@growpuravida]

They held beautifully over this summer, no damage at all. The last one i did (dragondruit concrete support with wooden tops) didn’t shed a single shade, is as dark as it used to be a year ago, and it got its first fruit ripening:🥰 All the videos from this series are in the GARDEN playlist on this channel.

[@viliusmarcinkevicius4747]

Caroenter here - to apply tung oil use a roller, it's gonna create a thicker surface once hardened.

[@growpuravida]

I tried it with a roller but since i’m not a professional i made s lot of mess:) wide brush gives me better control, i just apply a couple thick layers and dry in between.

[@StacksUrbanHarvest]

I was so glad to see this update. I was wondering how it was going for you. How are they holding up now that it's been almost another year? Mine that I used the Shou Sugi Ban method on Pine and raw Linseed oil are not holding up well at all. I did not reapply the oil. It good to know about the Pure Tung oil.

[@growpuravida]

Hi David, long time no see! 🤗 We are very grateful that you introduced us to this wonderful technique! With a couple of modifications, it's working great for us. The raised beds are looking strong! 💪 I think the modifications are really what makes all the difference for our climate, it's been a life saving hack! tung oil instead of linseed oil is a must in our opinion, it dries solid and makes wood virtually impenetrable. It's natural, made from a seed of a tree, so you can use it for organic beds. The second modification was how you burn wood, I think I mentioned to you before that we bought a weed torch, and it's been a breeze to burn wood, we build ergonomic "fire tunnels" and one side burns in under 2 minutes. We actually shot another update recently :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5-2iKJqfbqph8k it really makes a difference.

[@StacksUrbanHarvest]

@@growpuravida I'm glad it's holding up for you. I've been planning to do an update on my beds, and when I do I'll mention your modifications. I've been enjoying your mango videos.

[@growpuravida]

Sounds good! Did you start your Fall veggies yet? I’m about to plant brassicas, didn’t do any tomatoes this year, will probably get starts from a nursery, my own seedlings from Baker’s didn’t make any fruit, whereas the seedlings that we got from a friend were fruiting all winter.

[@StacksUrbanHarvest]

@@growpuravida This weekend I'm planting my leafy greens bed. A couple weeks ago I planted my herb bed. And in the middle of October I'll plant my tomato bed. None of those beds are exclusively herbs, left greens of tomatoes because I included companion plants. I also have been growing my seedling indoors under LED lights since July.

[@lauralee7289]

Question, I am confused. I am referring to the INSIDES of the cedar raised bed. 1)Burn the wood. 2)Apply the Tung oil.3) Allow to dry. 4)Lightly Sand the Tung oil into the burned wood to create an ash like finish. 5)Apply more Tung oil. 6) More drying. Is that correct?

[@growpuravida]

No, with tung oil you don’t need to scrape or sand anything. You just cover the burnt wood with tung oil and wait for the soft burned wood to solidify. It dries hard and prevents lots of labor

[@lauralee7289]

@@growpuravida Thank you much for the correction .

[@growpuravida]

You are welcome, let me know how it goes

[@SuperAmazingAnt]

how it hold without any oil ? you should try tar aslo, it is burned wood oil .

[@growpuravida]

Without oil they get a bit discolored /faded but i think it’s due to the fact that we scraped the ash off. With the woods that we haven’t scraped the ash, the oil sealed the ash in and it formed a very hard solid surface. Doesn’t fade, doesn’t rot (so far).

[@TheRainHarvester]

Two years later...How does the inside of the beds look?

[@growpuravida]

same as in the video, they keep amazingly well

[@TheRainHarvester]

@@growpuravida wow!

[@MatthewCuba]

Hi there - interesting technique. I would expect the exterior sides to look fine as they are exposed to the air and sunlight. What does the wood look like on the inside of the boxes where it is in constant contact with (generally moist) soil 24/7/365? Thanks!

[@growpuravida]

it's too early to disassemble & check. When it's time to disassemble we'll document it! one note, our beds aren't on irrigation, so probably less exposed to water than usual.

[@patrickrheaume9260]

HI Matthew, I'm a builder of log and timber frame design/wood. Japan has used this method of curing wood for 1000's of years with those houses still standing. I built a 8x30 additin onto my cabin using this method for the foundation, along with the raised beds I'm currently building, scortched inside and out.

[@TheRainHarvester]

Does it keep termites away?

[@growpuravida]

That's the whole point of this tedious process:) in the 2 year update we're showing the difference between non-treated wood (completely eaten by termites) and treated with sugiban (very minor termite damage). I guess termites don't like burnt wood!

[@annasullivan4719]

Can you do this with oak?

[@growpuravida]

It's not the first choice but if you have no other options you can use oak as well. Here is a good reference page: workingtheflame.com/best-wood-for-shou-sugi-ban/

[@reddsmorris7053]

Did you start with pressure treated wood?

[@growpuravida]

No, that would defeat the purpose of building organic raised beds. Pt wood isn’t used for organic growing.

[@halfassranch8363]

No one uses pressure treated wood for garden beds....if you don't want to treat the wood yourself but cedar......get your wallet out.

[@marie-nd7yw]

Can you use Pine wood?

[@growpuravida]

Yes you can use pine. I used pine for the taller stacked beds and cedar for the shorter flat wall beds. Will be updating yearly to see how they hold up. All good until now, both cedar and pine alike.

[@hereusethis]

@@growpuravida Any chance you have a newer update? How are they holding up?

[@rayforen]

Hi. After assembly, burn the interior to get the "Alligator Skin" look. Then, spray the interior several times with a compost tea to inoculate the char as is done with biochar. When dry, fill with soil. This will release nutrients as needed and store nutrients when available. Do not oil the interior, it defeats the purpose of the biochar. Buildings constructed in Japan utilizing this method are over 1,000 years old.

[@growpuravida]

Hi. Thank you for your opinion. The purpose here is not to feed the bacteria with biochar on the walls of the wood but quite opposite to preserve the wood with oil from bacteria and fungi getting into the wood and destroying the structure of the bed. It would be better to use biochar in the soil mix to give extra space for bacteria to grow. If you inoculate the walls with microbes and fungi, your beds won’t last long as those said fungi will keep eating the wood beyond the biochar border, as they do with regular wood. So the purpose of making long-lasting beds will be defeated. The method wasn’t used for raised beds in Japan, it was used in soilless conditions for wall construction. Have you used this method yourself for raised beds specifically? If yes, how long have they lasted so far with inoculation of biochar?

[@maverick9300]

This process does not create activated char. They would have to spray with water or compost tea immediately after burning. It still wouldn't be great for nutrient release. It would also accelerate the breakdown of the wood, defeating the purpose.