Growing Potatoes in Tyres

I'd read/heard about this lots of times and finally gave it a go.

You need:

• About 10 sheets of newspaper
• 2-3 tyres
• Seed potatoes, or ones from the pantry
• Straw (about $5.00 for a bale)
• It started when I had to have a tyre on the car replaced - wondering whether they would give me some tyres for free, and they did! So head on down to your local tyre place if you don't have any laying around.
  
  Instructions:
  
  
  • Place the newspaper on the ground, use quite a lot of sheets to stop the weeds coming through
  
  
  • Position one tyre on the newspaper
  
  
  • Put a small amount of compost in the bottom, add fertiliser if you like
  
  
  • Place potato on compost
  
  
  • Cover with straw to the top of the tyre
  
  
  • As the potato grown up through the straw add another tyre and more straw
  
  
  • When the plant flowers and then dies, kick over the tyre and reap what you have sown!

28 March 2004

My first attempt wasn't very sucessful, one plant poked its head up throught he straw so I piled on more straw never to see the plant again :(

I've started this again, this time using seed potatoes and layers of potting mix and straw. Let's see how this attempt turns out.

8 April 2004

5 weeks later and there's no movement at the station in the newest tyre. I put some Dynamic Lifter on the top (pelletised Chook Poo for those that don't know - smelly stuff!)

Sometime Early June

One plant poked its head up, and a few weeks later another, growing very slowly - I think because this tyre receives less sun than the first one I tried.

17 July 2004
A third plant poked up its head a few weeks ago and is growing faster than the first two (pictured above). You can't tell from the pic below but there is a fourth one that has only just started to make its way through the straw. Been wondering whether to try putting more straw on, then read on a web site to wait until the plants are 30 - 40cm tall before doing so, so more waiting.

1 August 2004
Decided to put more straw and another tyre on. Gardening Australia on Friday night they put the straw on quite loosely, I've been fairly cramming it down. So put straw on more loosely and ensures a fair amount of the tops of the plants are above straw level. The fourth plant that poked its head through the straw didn't do anything, so I doubt now that I'll see that one again. So, loosely placed straw, and some more Dynamic Lifter for good measure - let's see how that goes.

14 August 2004
Tyre number one is progressing very well, the plants seem unchecked by the addition of the extra straw. The plant in tyre number two is also looking good. The light is a bit weird in the pics as it's early morning.

22 August 2004
Both tyres are progressing. They've grown quite a lot since I took these pics - only problem is I haven't any more tyres! Time for a trip to the tyre shop for some more freebies methinks!

October 2004 - Harvest Time!
Wow that took a long time, methinks I planted them way too early, or late, or something!
For the effort I didn't get as many potatoes as I thought I would get, but get some potatoes I did:

Prologue
The ground where the tyre had been was very enriched and yummy, unlike the surrounding sand.

I didn't harvest one of the tyres and the potatoes it had grown also shooted (shot?) and grew, and then I harvested. They were smallish, but yummy none-the-less.

Nothing like home-grown produce; give it a go!