[Pip Judgeford]

I'm unsure about whether growing vegetables in tyres really works.  I'm after some advice about if it works sometimes or for some vegetables. I have 15 tyres and any tyre shop in NZ will deliver a truckload for free if you just ask.  I'd like to be using recycled materials but only if they work.

So far I have

• a friend who grew spuds in tyres and they can out smaller than the wee seed potatoes she put in, but there was a confession that they didnt get watered much

• my own trial last year of growing kumara (sweet potato) where I watered at critical points (but not a lot), and got a good crop.  Kumara are pretty marginal for Wellington so I thought the warmth attracted by the stacks of tyres (3 high) would be helpful

And then there's the "do tyres leach anything into the soil and thus my food" question.  I really appreciate any wisdom or hints you can give me on this.

=Pip

[SUTTY1]

I've known people grow spuds with good success but plenty off watering needed.
As for leaching, i watched a TV documentary 2 yrs ago when they dumped used tyres strapped together into the sea to supply a structure for a coral reef. it grew well. As we hear coral reefs are very susceptible to pollution i'd have thought no problem growing your veg in tyres

[Goldfinger]

Now theres an idea.......

Potatos in tyres, (kind of towers).... Every time you need to earth up, just add a tyre then fill that!!


BRILLIANT!!! 

P.S. How high could you get though before the potato gets tired of growing upover??  (no pun intended) 

[Yorkie]

I wouldn't have thought you'd want to go much higher than 3, probably

[Elcie]

I grow herbs successfully in tyres.  I went through a phase of picking them up when I saw them at the roadside.  Haven't seen one for a while come to think of it.

[RsT]

Think I shall give it a try next year, neighbour has some in their garden that they dont know how to get rid of. Shall take them off their hands and experiment.

[solway cropper]

I grow strawberries in tyres as it helps keep them off the soil and also potatoes which gave a good crop. The stuff about toxins leaching is over exaggerated. You'd get more toxins inside you by spending half an hour in a city centre than you'd get from eating veg. grown in tyres.

[JayG]

Just wondering whether lining the cavity inside the tyres with heavy duty black plastic or similar would solve the potential contamination problem. Would have to be left open at the bottom for drainage of course.

[evie2]

A friends son uses tyres for his tatties with great success and the use them at school too

[1jim]

I read a tip of filling the inside ridge of the tyre with straw to reduce the amount of compost that you need to fill these up, will be trying this next year

[Swing Swang]

As you'll probably be taking someone's junk they should pay you to take the tyres and not just give them away free.

If NZ is similar to the UK they will have avoided paying your equivalent of landfill tax.

You then need to consider what happens when you decide to get rid of the tyres - my guess is that you'll have to pay and you won't be able to put them into the domestic rubbish one at a time (well, not legally at anyrate).

I think that there's something to be said for using what you've got , but unlike scrap wood/pallets etc that is no longer required it won't rot down over time and cannot be burned (?!).

SS

[madcat]

I grow herbs and spring onions and salad leaves in lorry tyres.  They do great - maybe a bit more watering needed but that is at least partly because the black rubber warms the soil and encourages growth, even in a shady spot.

[RichardA]

If you get the tyres for nothing does that suggest that at some stage if you want to get rid of the heaps of tyres it will cost you an arm a leg in dumping fees ?
R

[evie2]

I thought old tyres were shredded and used in soft play areas

[Pip Judgeford]

Wow, thanks for the ideas guys!  I feel heaps better about the contamination thing so thanks for some feedback on that too.    :DYes you do have a point about what do I do with the tyres when I am tired of this game.  But I have a few more years experimentation yet... peanuts would be way cool!

One thing I forgot to mention is that tyres can get claggy soil inside the lower rim, as water can accumulate there.  Maybe it would give a water reservoir to overheated tyre stacks?  I asked a friend with a core drill to drill me out 6 1 inch holes on one side of each tyre,  which became the lower rim of each tyre in the stack.  Seemed to work OK.  Cost me a jar of chutney but hey I do love that "green dollars" approach.

Any other ideas for crops that work or dont work?

thanx,  Pip