[Welsh Merf]

I have a plan; 'tis a cunning plan.

I have an area of grass between the shed and the first raised bed that I have decided to call AREA 51. It will be used for experimental purposes. And the first experiment is to try and grow a decent crop of Charlotte spuds in tyres - given that my spuds got decimated by blight this year! So, my questions to the panel are:

- Has anybody out there done this successfully?

- What are the key points that I should note?

- Can I use bags of general multi-purpose compost for this?

- After the harvest (if there is any), can I put the used compost onto some ground that I'm trying to build up?

Many thanks in advance!

[Kevin67]

Spuds like cool soil, so heat from hot black tyres won't help. Maybe paint the tyres white?
Compost gives a different feel to the skin, but can still be hardened off.
You can dig the used compost into the garden, but be aware that any diseases will also be dug in therefore you might want to crop rotate regardless.
I have seen this done on YouTube with reasonable success but I use the ground soil for growing spuds.

[mumofstig]

I wouldn't like the idea of chemicals leaching from the tyres, perhaps you don't worry about that.
They'll need regular watering.

[Welsh Merf]

It's looking more like I'll be planting them in the ground as usual - but I'll wait and see what other comments appear. Thank you both so far.

[sonnycbr]

 Hi Merf, there's a lot of information on YouTube about growing spuds in all kinds of containers. The one I saw about growing in tyres turned out to be a failure. I've grown 1st earlies in tubs for years but next year I'm going to grow all my potatoes in 35L  plastic pots, half submerged in my raised beds. I'll try half in the poly tunnel and half outdoors. I've just ordered 16 tubs,(less than £70 delivered) which will last a lifetime with luck. I'll post the results next year.

[solway cropper]

I wouldn't like the idea of chemicals leaching from the tyres, perhaps you don't worry about that.
They'll need regular watering.

If you live in Kent you'll have far more nasty chemicals in the air you breathe than you'll ever get being leached from old tyres. Every inch that a vehicle tyre travels leaves behind tiny amounts of tyre. Multiply that billions of times and that's what's floating around. You breathe it in, it lands on your veg plot and everything else so stop worrying.

[Mogman]

I've done it with pallet "greedy boards" (Sorry...don't know what they're called in English) with great success. I put a strong mixture of well-rotted farmyard manure and the peat from last year's pots/containers in the bottom section, in which I planted the tubers. I lined each section with whatever plastic I had,  A) to protect the wood, B) to keep in moisture, with a couple of inches extra to overlap the gap between it and the section below.

I stopped at four sections...using whatever compost I could beg, borrow or steal for the topping up. I had to water regularly, but the crop was enough to justify that! I'll be doing it again next year now that I have an allotment again!
Jon

[barley]

Hi merf

yep do this every year

I use up to 4 tyres - any tyre centre will let you have them willingly free of charge

put the first tyre down and fill with a mixture of compost and top soil , pop your spuds in and add a tyre at a time and keep topping up the soil as they grow

to harvest remove the tyres one at a time

I have had great results and not been poisoned by chemicals - there's probably more chemicals that fall in rain from the atmosphere 

I have some in tyres now ready for new potatoes for my Christmas  lunch 

[cadalot]

Before you do anything check with the owner of the allotment or your agreement or guidance document in the London Borough of Sutton car tyres are banned on all their allotments.

[fatcat1955]

They can still get blight though.

[JayG]

If you are concerned about leaching of chemicals from the tyres you could line them with a heavy duty plastic sack suitably perforated with drainage holes - a bit of fiddling obviously required as tyres are added to the pile but perfectly doable.
That would also reduce the amount of compost required by preventing it filling the tyre carcases, should reduce the transmission of heat from the tyres in sunshine, and with any luck make final disposal/recycling of the compost easier too if the bag is still in one piece.

[Welsh Merf]

Solway Cropper: what's the crack with the nasty chemicals in the air of Kent in particular? Is there something that I should know? You've got me a bit worried now!

However, the winner of the "competition" is JayG with his last comment. I have a friend who is a tyre dealer, and I also have a friend who keeps horses, and all the horse feed comes in heavy-duty plastic sacks. Looks like problem solved to me guys!

Thanks for all the advice though!

[Yorkie]

any tyre centre will let you have them willingly free of charge

To be honest, you may find that it is not that easy to find the tyres.  It's illegal, I believe, to dispose of tyres otherwise than through a regulated process - and that includes giving them away to others.

[3759allen]

i wouldn't worry about chemicals to be honest. tyres wear on the road, it rains, the water goes through the drainage system which then has even more chemicals added then we drink it or spray on crops. personally i think people worry too much about things like that. just my opinion of coarse.

most tyre fitters will happily let you take a few tyres, as long as they show they dispose of a high percentage no one will know or care. as the garage will have to pay upwards of £1 a tyre your as good as giving them money.

i would suggest you try and pick low profile tyres so there isn't so much side wall to deal with, makes lifting them off easier.

i grow some news in 25l drums with the side cut off then turn them out to harvest, i use previously well fertilised top soil. i'm sure i've heard of people saying spuds don't like to much manure, but a mix of top soil, compost (home made ideally) and manure would prob do the job

[barley]

my tyre centre said come back and take as many as I want    he has to pay to get rid so he's more than happy to loose some


re the rims you can fill with straw or old newspaper so it doesn't fill with compost making them less heavy to empty at harvest time