Growing potatoes in tires is quite a controversial subject in gardening. It’s like the Marmite of the gardening community: you either love it or hate it! This post is about how to grow potatoes in tires so you can grow more food in less space.
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You can listen to this episode on the Homesteading & Gardening In The Suburbs podcast below or read on for the step by step instructions with photos.
Why Grow Potatoes In Tires?
Tires are readily available to most people in urban areas and in lots of places you have to pay to have them disposed of.
Tires are easy to stack making them a great way to grow potatoes as you can keep adding tires on top when the haulms (the leafy stalks) grow up over the tire.
Many permaculture gardens and sites use tires as pathway mulch, building materials (like earthships), and lots of other things.
Tires are able to retain soil, water, and mulch and can be used as worm farms, potato towers, flowers, herb gardens, chicken dust baths and more in your backyard. They are also cheap and easy to come by plus, you can paint them.
Why Not To Grow Potatoes In Tires
There’s lots of conflicting information about the safety of and the gases evolved as they break down and the heavy metals which may be present. You can read about that right here.
Tires are manufactured with hazardous chemicals and there are even OSHA Standards that apply for safety to those manufacturing the tires but there isn’t a lot of well-documented studies to categorically state if they are safe or not.
I’ve heard of people who say that the potatoes taste of the tires too. Ultimately you need to decide if you want to take a chance on the potential for hazardous materials leaching into the soil and your food.
How To Grow Potatoes In Tires
I don’t grow food in tires anymore. I use them to grow flowers that attract pollinators into the garden instead. But, if you choose to grow food in tires then growing spuds in some tires is really easy.
You will need:
- Tires
- Compost or raised bed soil
- Potatoes
- Cardboard (if you are growing on grass or a weedy spot).
Step 1 (Optional)
Place the cardboard down if you are growing on the grass. The cardboard helps to smother grass and weeds.
Step 2 (Optional)
Clean the tires with soap and water and a good stiff brush. This will help to remove grease and road grime from the tires, if you wish you can then paint your tires to match the design of your yard and home.
Step 3
Place tire on the ground or cardboard and fill about halfway up with compost or raised bed soil. You can use less soil by stuffing the tire inside the edge with straw which will rot down and feed the plants.
Step 4
Plant potatoes inside the tire by placing them rose end up. This means placing the end with the most shoots or buds (known as eyes) upwards. Cover the potatoes with a couple of inches of compost and be sure to water well.
Step 5
When the leaves grow a few inches, add more compost on top, leaving a little bit of green leaves. You can add a second tire over this and continue adding compost when the leaves grow up a bit more until you have the tire stack as high as you want it to go.
Step 6 (Optional)
Cover the soil with straw or leaves as a mulch to retain moisture. Keep your potatoes growing in the tires with regular watering and occasional feeding with a liquid fertilizer.
Related Post: How To Grow Potatoes
How To Harvest Potatoes Grown In Tires
Once the leaves (known as haulms) have yellowed and started to die back, you can remove the tire and compost using a large tarp to catch the compost and potatoes. Potato tubers should be found in the lower tires and can easily be found with your hands. Once you have harvested your potatoes, you should cure your potatoes before storing them for winter.
Do you grow in tires? Do you not grow in tires? Let me know in the comments!
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