Will concrete and clay pavers between raised beds leech any harmful chemicals into vegetables?

Question

I have four 4 ft. x 4 ft. raised beds with a 3 ft. path between them forming a +. The raised beds are made from 2x8 untreated pine boards. The layout looks like this...

____   ____
|  |   |  |
‾‾‾‾   ‾‾‾‾
____   ____
|  |   |  |
‾‾‾‾   ‾‾‾‾

I have a mix of concrete and clay brick pavers from last year's patio project that I would like to put in the middle to keep the weeds down and provide a nice hardscaped path between the planters but I'm worried they will put harmful chemicals into the soil that will leech into our veggies. Should I be concerned about leeching chemicals off of the pavers? Are there any other concerns to consider such as acidity from the concrete?

Answer 1

I think you are worrying about nothing here. Concrete and clay bricks are essentially rock. They don't have any "chemical additives" in them.

In fact concrete is alkaline, not acid. If it does have any (small) effect on the soil chemistry, it will be beneficial in the same way as using agricultural lime.

Calcium levels in soil are gradually depleted because calcium is removed in the crops you harvest, and applying lime restores the correct balance. Of course you can overdo this to get an unsustainable short term benefit if you use lime and nothing else - there was an old English farming saying, "lime and lime and no manure makes fathers rich and children poor". But a few concrete slabs won't cause that sort of problem!