Gardening in Old Tyres

As people keep on driving, rubbers keep on wearing out, resulting to mountains of old hoops piled in the wasteland. So, on your next gardening project, why not used old tyres instead of pots?

If you are concerned about heavy metal content, worry not because they are tightly bonded with the rubber compound and cannot penetrate the ground. And in fact, one of the material's components, zinc, is essential for plant development. So, get your tools ready for a new backyard project—tyre gardening. Here are some tips you might find useful.

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1. Lay the hoop where you want to place it. After which, get a utility knife and cut the sidewall of the upper side. This will provide you more planting space to work on.

2. Once the upper sidewall is removed, fill the rubber with earth, preferably a compost on top of a fresh 6-inch layer manure. It would be great if you can get some earth worms.

3. Once your soil is ready, plant your seeds then. To ensure that your seedlings get off to a healthy start...

Tamp them down to ensure that they are in direct contact with the soil. You can use a pestle or a glass to press them down to the surface. Seeds germinate fast if they are in moist earth.

Avoid overcrowding plants. Do not sow a lot in one hoop.

Keep a record of when they are sown as well as their germination date and success rate. This information will help you ensure that your plants are growing under optimum conditions.

Prevent ants and other crawling insects from getting into your greens. You can do so by applying grease on the lip of the tyre.

Protect your plants from disease by providing proper airflow and water drainage systems. To remove excessive soil moisture and hinder the growth of disease-causing pathogens, sprinkle it with some chicken grit or sphagnum moss.