Another reader posed the following question: "I have been following your tire garden adventure since the beginning and have been really impressed with how well it worked for you on your previous property. I would like to try them out where I live (outside of Houston, TX), but my only concern is if the black tires will soak up the sun and get too hot for the roots. I would be curious to know if any of your readers in the southern U.S. have tried tire gardening and if it was successful for them. Thanks!"
Unquestionably the black color of the tires played a factor in our garden's success at our last home. In North Idaho, extending the growing season by even a little bit – by having raised beds to capture heat – is an advantage.
However the opposite is true in hot climates such as Texas. The first solution to come to mind is to paint the outside of the tires white, to reflect sunlight.
Has anyone in southern climates gardened in tires? If so, please let us know your experiences (good and bad) with this resource.
You could also lay mulch up against the sides of the tires. I mulch around my young trees here in the Desert Southwest to give their roots a fighting chance against the heat. It would probably keep the heat off the tires as well.
ReplyDeleteWe did try growing potatoes in tires (several deep), and it was a dismal failure in central N Carolina, we felt because of the heat. Perhaps painting them white as Patrice says may make a difference.
ReplyDeleteHere in SW FL we plant in Earthboxes (a rectangular container) and had dismal luck from early May thru Oct until hubby painted them all white. The soil, even 4" deep was very warm before the painting. We now plant all year but do shade them from late June thru mid Oct.
ReplyDeleteI live in South East Arizona and have grown both squash and beets in large tractor tires with no problems .
ReplyDeleteAbandon the idea. What is the purpose of using tires if you then need to mitigate the advantages?
ReplyDeleteIf your dirt is hard as adobe brick, full of gophers and ground squirrels, if your property dotes on rabbits... I could go on all day...
DeleteOrrr, if you have rocks held together by clay so much so that your shovel can't even penetrate but maybe an inch on an entire 14 acre plot. I have been using tires in N Idaho with no problem. I would think in the south the heat would be the main problem. Use wood boxes, I also use those with no issues.
DeleteI am just outside of Houston. too. I have not tire-gardened like Patrice has but I do have a rose bush planted in a tire and it has seemed just fine these past couple years.
ReplyDeletepatrice debunked that stuff years ago, look it up. mother earth news and progressive kid are not real sources of facts or science.
ReplyDeleteI'd say car tires might be too hot, simply due to size. Tractor tires could be better in hot locations. Also besides painting them white as others mentioned, I've seen tires painted silver - aluminum paint often used for LP tanks and such?
ReplyDeleteI've seen conflicting information on the chemicals that leach out and how far into the bed they reach, I wonder if insulating inside the tires (with what though??) and then adding a lining of heavy garden fabric or plastic would solve both issues - temperature and chemicals?