31-08-2003, 09:12 PM
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Final Report - The Grand Tire-Gardening Experiment (LONG!!)
writes:
Final Report - The Grand Tire-Gardening Experiment
August 31, 2003
This season's garden continues, of course, and will until
really cold weather (December probably), but the season is
far enough advanced that I can now make this Final Report.
Also, we are probably moving soon, so I thought I'd better
write this before we get involved in moving and I have no
spare time.
[snipped the meat of the post]
Thank you, Pat, for your informative message. Though I've not yet read it
completely, I've saved it for future reference. I had almost pretty much
decided to put certain things in raised beds, either tire or block (since
I scored all those free blocks last spring and more again a few weeks
ago), but your experiences have convinced me it is definitely a good idea.
I'm also fortunate enough to have a limited supply of corrugated
drain/culvert pipe in larger diameters (18-inch and 24-inch) available to
me which I'm seriously considering putting around my tomato plants next
year. If it works well, I'll be purchasing a full length of the
appropriate size pipe. For those you don't know, the pipe is black and
has "rings" on it about an inch wide which are filled with air (or water
if there is a slight hole that catches the rain) to add strength to the
pipe; it seems to me they would work much the same as a wall-of-water but
be much more long lasting. This year, I placed a few rings of it around
certain plants. It holds in water while it absorbs into the soil directly
below the plant before dispersing into the surrounding soil (depending on
how deep the ring is set into the ground). It also absorbs heat because it
is black as well as providing a border for both mulch and for using a
weed-trimmer. My main intention was a container for extra watering and a
border to keep me from damaging the plant's stem/truck when mowing, but
now the additional advantages of heat and mulch are apparent. For the
roses I transplanted, I placed the rings about four inches in the soil and
four inches above the ground line, and it has been working very well. I
also put larger rings around my kiwi plants but must wait until the plants
are dormant this fall to place them into the soil so as not to damage the
roots.
The advantages for me in using this culvert pipe a
- the rings on the pipe are evenly spaced and make it easy to keep all
widths (heights after in place) the same size for a neater appearance
- because the rings are parallel, cutting between them is easy (I use a
pruning saw though there are surely better saws to use)
- the black color absorbs heat into the soil directly around the plant
- the rings (borders) will hold mulch in place (and not allow my chickens
to tear it up!)
- the rings direct water straight down to the plant's roots
- black more readily "blends" into the surrounding areas and is less
noticeable than other colors
- damage from use of the grass-trimmer is eliminated (if you keep the
string below the top of the ring)
- consistency in size of borders around plants
- for decorative plants, spacing them a lawn mower's width apart reduces
maintenance time
- when cages are used for veggie plants, it helps hold the cage in place
- I had been using planter tubs and cutting out the bottoms for this but
they are short-lived and only last a couple of seasons before starting to
break; these are permanent
- when set deeper into the soil, they work well for containing invasive
plants such as mints
- no bottoms eliminates drainage problems that might otherwise exist
The disadvantage to some might be the green stripe on the pipe which is
there for the workers to line up when it's being laid in the construction
ditch. That isn't a problem in my yard but some might consider it
unsightly to have that green stripe on an inch of their borders. I guess
if it bothered me, I'd spray paint the stripe black before putting it
around a plant.g
If my boss with whom I had worked for over 20 years were still living, I'd
ask him to order a couple of lengths of large diameter (3 or 4-foot)
culvert pipe for me for raised beds when he was ordering pipe for a job.
That would allow me to have the contractor's discount and free delivery.
But then, I'd be spending many hours cutting the rings for the individual
planters unless I wanted to also borrow a power saw. Or, if I was lucky,
there'd be enough left over from various jobs that I could glean it from
the finished job sites in smaller amounts.
Yes, I'm one of those unconventional people that is always looking for
something to use that might be better (or at least as good) as marketed
items. Those vinegar/soy sauce 55-gallon barrels I picked up earlier this
summer ($5 each) could also serve as "hot-houses" over tires to allow
planting before the last frost has happened. Last year and the year
before, I used heavy duty commercial clear plastic bags over tomato cages
which worked well but the plastic would sometimes tear in the
mornings/evenings when removing/replacing it; the barrels would not. Of
course, those would be used on only a few plants rather than dozens as
were the plastic bags, but, heck, anything that gets something bearing
earlier in the garden is nice!
Those huge planter tubs the nurseries sell trees in . . . I have three of
them I use for yard clippings. It saves me having to cut branches/vines
into shorter lengths. They have drainage holes so will not hold water.
They can be left in the containers to take to the dump when we have our
free yard debris cleanup each spring. They can also be nested for storage
(or even stacked when being used depending on the contents). I have
several containers in smaller sizes so nesting them together for storage
takes up only the footprint of the largest one. Two years ago, I used
them to haul chicken manure which kept us from having to shovel the manure
out of the truck which would not have been pleasant!
I love this group! There are so many wonderful ideas I've read here as
well as the more conventional gardening wisdom. :-)
Glenna
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