Comments on: My Growing Garden: Potato Tire Project

By: Homesteading Hannah

Homesteading Hannah — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 05:50:00 +0000

I loved reading your post. I decided to try this for the first time last year and it worked better than I could have imagined! I used one tire from my husband’s lifted truck (so it’s huge) and one more car tire and left it at that. I’m thinking of doing two of these this year. Did you have a problem with the potatoes at the bottom being soft? I had to work in better drainage this year because mine were. I’m not sure how to correct this, or if it is truly a drainage problem.

By: Sayward

Sayward — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:10:32 +0000

@ Virgil – I haven’t found compelling evidence to convince me that the heavy metals present in tires will manifest in the vegetables. After doing my research, I’m confident in this method, for now. I would of course encourage everyone to do your own research and follow your own intuition.

By: Virgil

Virgil — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:39:03 +0000

Color me skeptical, but aren’t tires made of nasty toxic chemicals and things, and over time these will leech into the ground, including the soil your potatoes are growing in? Surely the better approach would be some sort of paper/cardboard stacking tube system, rather than something which was destined for a toxic waste dump.

By: Sayward

Sayward — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:55:52 +0000

@ Jenny B. – Yeah, it’ll probably answer a lot of questions! =)

@ Meghan – Your balcony sounds AWESOME.

A little sporadic rain won’t hurt them. I think it’s more a matter of getting them out of the ground before it’s terminally soggy. It’s rained a bunch here since I’ve planted them, and I’m not worried. I’ll just make sure they’re out by the time the real weather shows up, around Hallowe’en.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:14:23 +0000

COOL.

I will totally do that when I have a house. (my poor balcony is already a jungle!)

In your instructions on the first post, you say to harvest before the first rain… as someone who used to live in the Pacific Northwest, that makes sense, but over here on the wrong coast in rains (occasionally) all summer. Will my future potatoes rot? :-(

By: Jenny B.

Jenny B. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:45:09 +0000

cool, I’ll check it out, I haven’t read that one one.

By: Sayward

Sayward — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:43:39 +0000

@ Meghan – Fixed! Thanks for the heads up!

By: Meghan

Meghan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:41:13 +0000

Hmm.. That link keeps sending me right back here!

By: Sayward

Sayward — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:22:24 +0000

@ Jenny B. - I got my tires free on Craigslist. =) Have you read the original potato tire post? I go over everything in a lot more detail there. I think you could start now, if you hurry! You may get less of a yield but I think you're still within the window of opportunity.

By: Jenny B.

Jenny B. — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:03:01 +0000

ok, questions..a) where are you getting the tires, cause usually tires are expensive and would cost more than the organic potatoes…..?? Also how do you know when they are ready to be picked and how do you pick them…do you have to start planting in say like april when you did, or could you start this now? Thanks..love the pix!