Tyre growing

[jackyspratty]

Hello all, school garden advise please!!!!

Twice now we have been allocated a space to grow only for it to be withdrawn days later. A theme of the school is recycling, and a parent has approx 50 motorcycle tyres.

Now I know its not ideal container growing, but we have limited options here now and the school has agreed we can use them.

So what would you plant in them (we were originally aiming to grow a mix of veg flowers and fruit)

Also we have no soil/compost, so can we lasagne plant in them easily? We are doing this on an existing neglected bed already. Do we need to line them?


Cheers me dears
Donna

[Hilary B]

Last year I built a tyre wall, and grew spuds in it. This year it will have the runner beans and sugarpod peas. I used bought compost, which worked out expensive in the 10 large car/van/land-rover tyres of assorted sizes we used. The difficult bit is getting compost fully into the tyres.
If all your tyres are the same size, I would be inclined to make individual stacks (perhaps 10 stacks of 5?) and grow something different in each. Can't help with the Lasagne bed idea, but I suspect the complications from the shape of a tyre might prove a serious difficulty there....

[oldie]

Hopefully Zazen will be along with her voice of experience, but my local school has banned the use of tyres.The usual health and safety issues.

[Hilary B]

Hopefully Zazen will be along with her voice of experience, but my local school has banned the use of tyres.The usual health and safety issues.

What is the problem with using tyres for growing things?

[chris]

I think it's the argument that they leech toxins from the tyre into the soil?

[jackyspratty]

Yeah the argument is that the toxins leak and some allotments have banned them too. Also thee was a concern over kids climbing on them too.

However, many people do use them. Plus we dont really have an option. No money, no raised beds, no land really.

We have one bed in situe, really old, brick built by the gate and car park so not ideal! But we are lasagne planting that, and will do flowers and veg. But he tyres will provide us with much needed growing space.

Im quite lucky in that the school has yet to raise too many H&S concerns.

[Alison]

I use tyres for growing strawberries in. They were very old tyres which had been left on the side for ages. Not tried piling them up but find them good to contain the plants (3 per tyre)

[jackyspratty]

I use tyres for growing strawberries in. They were very old tyres which had been left on the side for ages. Not tried piling them up but find them good to contain the plants (3 per tyre)

Yep we have jackiej's strawbs that will go nicey in them

We potentially have a few. Any one know if I need to line them?

[taff]

I havent lined my three since I've had them, and they've all grown courgettes and squashes successfully, and I'm not a bit strange from eating them at all, oh no oh no oh no : )))))))

[jackyspratty]

He he! Gonna go ahead until we are told not too! Actually the way the garden grous going thatll be tomorrow! Goalposts are changing one day to the next! Luckily not in terms of what we can grow yet!!

[Dottie]

Have you tried using search on this site? As there are quite a few threads about tyres, think there was 1 only a month or so ago.

[Florence Fennel]

I do pumpkins in my four old tires, but they're on earth, will yours be on concrete?

[jackyspratty]

Yep theyll be on concrete unfortunately.

Ill have a search, but wanted advise especially about a school setting. Ill have a look see.

[greengas]

Nothing wrong with using tyres I have grown courgettes very well in them.

[Florence Fennel]

You could container grow spuds in Asda flower buckets (they're free), earthing up with grass clippings, newspaper and the like instead of expensive compost? Maybe if you tell a big supermarket what you're doing they'd offer you some free compost? Just a thought.