Growing Tomatoes in Tires
It is getting to that time of year when we all start thinking about sowing seeds, especially those of tomatoes. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a warm climate, there never seems to be enough warm, sunny days to get tomatoes to ripen. However, I did come across this idea which should help to speed up the process, and hopefully allow tomato plants to mature quicker.
My friend has been growing tomatoes in tires for several years. She sets out hardened-off tomato plants by early June ( about the 10th if weather permits) in well-prepared soil. For ease of transplanting all the tomatoes are grown singly in milk cartons. The milk carton should be cut in half and well disinfected and washed before using. Fill the milk carton to the top with a good quality soil mix prior to planting. Make a shallow trench around the tomato plant, and place the around it. Soil is then hilled all around the edge of the tire to prevent erosion, after watering is done.
A mulch of grass clippings or old rotted manure is added around the plant inside the tire to prevent excess water loss during hot days and, as is the case with old manure, to add extra nutrients to the plant when watering. A good water-soluble fertilizer (organic of course!) is given during watering several times in the growing season.
The black rubber of the tire acts like a solar collector and absorbs heat quickly, slowly cooling off during the evening. The rubber channels the heat to the soil in which the plant is growing ,stimulating growth even more.
Tires are spaced about three inches each way, and by the summer’s end the growth completely covers the tires. If one finds the tires too much of an eye-sore from the start, apply a deep mulch of old straw around the tires to hide them a bit. This will also help to conserve moisture, and certainly cut down on weeds as well. In addition ,tires can act like a mini- greenhouse and if frost threatens, the tire can easily be covered for the night.
Some people grow their tomatoes the easy way, in a small temporary greenhouse placed right in the garden. Grown as staked plants inside the warm greenhouse, plenty of ripened fruit is obtained throughout the summer and well into autumn.
For those of us who cannot afford this method of greenhouse culture, growing tomatoes in old tires presents and encouraging alternative.
Leave a Comment