Growing potatoes in tires.

[Lulabellx1]

Hi all

I am growing potatoes in old tires this year for the very first time.

Has anyone had any experience of doing this before?

I have planted up the first tire and the potatoes are popping their little heads up and are ready to be covered over again. Im just a little confused...

I have decided to go 3 tires high. This is very high for the first plants to grow to dont you think? However, while researching how to do it, most people go 5 tires high! Do I plant new chitted seed potatoes into each tire that I add as I go, or is it all just for the 4 seed potatoes that I planted in the first bottom tire?

I hope this makes sense to everyone, kind of wishing I hadn't started this process now and just stuck to the ones Im growing in black sacks, they are thriving!

LOL

Lu x

[Hans Mum]

you dont add anymore chitted potatoes just keep covering the growth up as it comes through and adding tyres as necessary, its really that easy, although you might need to water them.

[Stacey Steve]

The idea is to plant your spuds and where conventionally you would earth them up as they grow, in this case you then add another tyre and top off with soil. As the foliage grows, you then add another tyre and so on.

[Lulabellx1]

OK, I just thought it was very high and quite far for the plants to grow. I cant wait to uncover them all and see just how many spuds I get! I love experimenting.

Lu x

[funstuie]

There is a "tractor" shop near me and there back yard is about 300 meters long and it's full of old tractor tires. I was walking by the other day think that a tractoy tire would be perfect as a raised bed. They are huge.

[NOG]

I wpu;d not go 5 high. and don;t forget you need to let the tops have a bit of a grow above the tyres

[rob the roller]

Potatoes grown in tyres need plenty of water and feeding. I try growing by this method every year, but never have much luck, although I can grow potatoes in conventional beds. I cut the sidewalls off the tyres and plant five seeds in each. With tyres you can end up with masses of thread and few or no tubers. I have always grown main crop, this year I am trying earlies, maybe they will be more successful. Theoretically there is no limit to the height, but this year I will not be going higher than 3, exceptionally 4 tyres. They are not easy to keep up higher than 4, as the higher you go, the harder they are to keep upright, and eventually will topple over if not supported.

Tractor tyres sound great, you could grow pretty well anything inside something that big.

[snohare]

If it seems to good to be true, often it is...

http://http://www.wasteonline.org.uk...pes_tyres.html

They won't kill you I don't think, but what quality of DNA do you want your kids to end up with ?

Sorry, I really hate to rain on your parade !

[rob the roller]

I was unable to use the link above Snohare, but assume it connects to one of the sites that says the cadmium and other additives to the rubber in the tyres contaminates any plants grown within them.

I have been growing vegetables and fruit in tyres for at least 10 years with no obvious harm suffered. I accept this is no guarantee the method is entirely safe and that any adverse effect is likely to be long term.

Have you obtained independent verification of these assertions? There are many similar references on the internet but all appear to be repetitions of one another. I have tried raising the matter with Defra and my local authority, neither of which could confirm or deny whether there was anything to be concerned about. I was finally referred to the Royal Horticultural Society, but did not want to pay their rather high membership fees in order to put the question to them.

Does anyone out there belong to the RHS, and if so, would they be willing to put the question of safety using this type of cultivation to the RHS experts? It would hopefully settle once and for all a very vexatious question.

[Maximillian]

I got some tyres from my local garage and he said i should line all the tyres with black bin bags to prevent any nasties leaching out into the soil

[Kane]

Try :-

wasteguide | waste - management & history | types of waste

For the link - nothing in it about the dangers of growing plants as far as I could see though