Tire Gardens

[Watchman]

This is one of those things that you cannot get a unanimous opinion or even a consensus. I have read tons of articles, pro and con. Do you have experience using tires as a garden bed? What do you think about the possibility of them leaching chemicals into the garden? Any truth to it?

[badwuf]

We tried to use tire gardens for a couple of years but did not have much sucess, we think because the black tire absorbed to much heat and got the soil and plants to hot. I must also say that in my travels I have seen some great tire gardens so I know it must work. I just dont know the secret. What we are finding to work best is working in lots of organic material. We have been taking all the grass and leaves from a yard man and friends with large yards. They are more then happy to have a place to get rid of the trimmings and our garden is the best its ever been.
As far as leeching, I dont know what to think, they say there is danger in railroad tie and treated lumber raised bed gardens but what do you use if you want the raised bed to last more then a few years? I cant imagine that the leaching could be even close to the toxins that are used on the food in the supermarket.

[Toepopper]

Tire gardens do not work very well here where I live because of the hot summertime temperatures. They cooked my plants, even potato plants were fried. The tires left little niches and crevices where they were stacked together which made ideal habitat for gazillions of sow bugs, ants, jeruselum crickets and other plant eating undesireables. Plus, I just did not like the way they looked. I don't want my garden to look like an auto dismantlers wrecking yard. As far as the tires themselves leaching any chemicals, I don't think they would leach because tires are relatively inert and once the vulkanizing process takes place there is nothing there to leach.