[Oscar the dog]

Anyone grown squash (or pumpkins and courgettes) in car tyres?

On a brand new allotment site, created last year so really first full year of growing season -  but area at back very damp and is wet at a spades depth - already got raised beds for carrots but also have 6 old car tyres.

Thinking about growing squash in the tyres with a mix of horse manure, top soil and compost - what balance?

Anybody success stories re this?

[Aunt Sally]

Never tried it myself but Bob Flowerdew is a firm car tyre grower.  They don't have to look ugly either.

http://sweffling.wordpress.com/tag/tyre-towers/

[compostqueen]

I just typed a comprehensive reply to this post and lost it 

So I'll have another go. Yes you can. I'd use a rich mix of poop, soil and homemade compo. I would use mostly poop as they like a rich planting medium as they are greedy feeders.  The whole thing will slump considerably as the muck usually continues to rot down so you will find the lot could suddenly disappear back down into your tyre stack, so make sure you put plenty in.  I'd top the lot off with a mix of soil and homemade compost to plant your squash in as pure manure is a bit hot for the stem of your plant and could kill it if the muck is a tad fresh.   Also topping off with soil will help keep blackbirds from chucking all the manure about, which they love to do

If you can't be bothered with a tyre stack you can grow them on a heap of muck/soil/compo or just make a 3 footish hole, fill it with muck etc and plant in that. Mark the point where you've planted your squash, as once the plant romps away you won't be able to find it for watering purposes. They don't need watering unless we hit a dry spell    Have fun 

[Goosegirl]

Saw a very recent post about using car tyres, and remember my mum using them to make a flower container. She turned them inside out and stacked them three high.

[spuriousmonkey]

Never tried it myself but Bob Flowerdew is a firm car tyre grower.  They don't have to look ugly either.

http://sweffling.wordpress.com/tag/tyre-towers/

This is a bit worrisome though (at the end of that blog post).

PS  Shucks!!  I have just been alerted to the fact that toxic chemicals can leach out of tyres into the soil and thus the vegetables grown therein.  I must do further research.  And I was so excited.

[JayG]

How about lining the tyre pile with plastic sheeting?

Would need holes in the bottom for drainage if bags were used - apart from preventing any possible leaching from the tyres into the soil mixture, it should save wasting soil by avoiding having to fill the carcases of the tyres.

[Oscar the dog]

PS  Shucks!!  I have just been alerted to the fact that toxic chemicals can leach out of tyres into the soil and thus the vegetables grown therein.  I must do further research.  And I was so excited.

Guess it could be different as he was talking about potatoes as in grown in stacked tyres? - where if only roots  in tyre (and fork the soil under tyres for drainage) only really using them as a border for a raised bed perhaps.

The ground is too wet to put plants straight into ground so worth 3 plants: 1 courgette, 1 squash & 1 pumpkin as an experiment I think



edit to clarify quote

[solway cropper]

You can forget about toxic chemicals leaching out as the amounts will be so small as to make no difference. If you live in a town you will be breathing in far more toxins from car tyres every day than will ever leach into your fruit/veg from growing them in old tyres.