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I was looking at 'Freecycle' today and amongst the stuff someone was offering was a tyre which they said was 'good for potatoes'.  Any idea how a tyre would be good for potatoes?  I'm particularly interested as I had a flat yesterday and the tyre is beyond repair.  It would be good to find a reason to hang on to it rather than get rid.

We've got a lottie friend who swears by her tyres while the rest of us swear at them  >:(
We had a plot holder who gave up, leaving our self-managed site with a huge bill for the removal of about 80-100 tyres .
Sorry Seabea I don't think your couple of tyres would impact but tyres are a dirty word in my book :(

I presume they mean you could stack up a few tyres and grow spuds in them as in a pot or bag.

it's one of those "Bob Flowerdew" type things. You plant potatoes in a tyre and as the plants push through, you stick another one on top and fill that with soil etc  etc until you get a ghastly great pillar of tyres you can sell to Tate Modern  ;D

there's some debate about whether nasties in the tyres may leach out into the soil..........

i am using a tower of 4 tyres his year to grow various squash in.   I've jammed lots of paper at various levels to retain moisture and good quality soil and planted an upside down water bottle to act as a watering reservoir direct to the roots. The idea is he black rubber retains a great deal of heat to warm the roots.  Going ok so far I think.

Quote from: Seabea on June 13, 2010, 11:05:25
I was looking at 'Freecycle' today and amongst the stuff someone was offering was a tyre which they said was 'good for potatoes'.  Any idea how a tyre would be good for potatoes?  I'm particularly interested as I had a flat yesterday and the tyre is beyond repair.  It would be good to find a reason to hang on to it rather than get rid.

I use some Tyres on my plot as Planters for Tomatoes, Herbs and Fruit Bushes... and other used them for forcing rhubarb and planting potatoes as you mentioned.

Many people dislike Tyres being used but I have found them rather succesful :)



Regards,

Isleworth

Isleworth  -  are they frost proof ?

Enough to plant out early toms inside with a glass/ fleece lid maybe ?

The tyres can be filled with straw to help against frost

I use them for my strawberries.

squash june 1st this year  ;D

Thay are not allowed on our site..reason is the rubber leaches into the soil and eventually contaminates it.

XX Jeannine

Ah well, I only have one.  Not a lot of use on it's own it seems, and also don't like the idea of leaching.  I just wondered how they could be used.  Hadn't thought about stacks.  Will give it a miss.  Thankyou for all the comments/explanations.

for those interested in sustainability http://earthship.com/ - houses using disused tyres.

Interesting RE the leeching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_recycling#Environmental_Concerns - seems to be focusing on the effects to other wildlife rather than explicit toxicity of produce.  Interesting but is it worse than using treated timber raised beds or using other chemical nutrients/weed killers.  Interesting debate.

i have a large tyre for my mint  ;D

stops its spreading,also looks good

Tyres can be stacked and used to raise water butts off the ground.

Best with a stong rope through it and tied to a tree.......

XX Jeannine

Best placed in a secluded spot so it can be sat on, with a bucket under, some (soft) newspaper torn into 4 1/2" square pieces and with some handy reading material at hand (ie "Manure and its uses").  

Tyre size should be selected for maximum comfort.

;D

4 1/2 inch  :o

XX Jeannine