I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......

in researching lasangna gardening they use newpapers in layers with
organic material to create some planting medium.

anyway......I am planning on filling my garden beds with a lot of waste
paper as i can find, but i might be comming up short. I plan to fill
the topmost part with commercial potting soil.

I was thinking, the local thrift store sells grocery bags full of
paperbacks for cheap, and was wondering if i cold use this stuff as
filler/drainiage/wick/moisture holding material. anyone have some
thoughts?

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......

in researching lasangna gardening they use newpapers in layers with
organic material to create some planting medium.

anyway......I am planning on filling my garden beds with a lot of waste
paper as i can find, but i might be comming up short. I plan to fill
the topmost part with commercial potting soil.

I was thinking, the local thrift store sells grocery bags full of
paperbacks for cheap, and was wondering if i cold use this stuff as
filler/drainiage/wick/moisture holding material. anyone have some
thoughts?


Well, normally, you would want to avoid the slick/colorful colred paper
material. Due to plasticizers and maybe dye made with metallic
salts/oxides. But, the use of 5-6-7 layers of newspaper, or even
cardboard, is to kill the grass at the location you want to create the
bed. Use of Roundup before placing compost or topsoil,etc. in the are
would work about as well. I suspect the interior pages of paperback
books would degrade about the same as newspaper OF THE SAME NUMBER OF
LAYERS, but most of those books are too thick in their normal form -
even if opened in the center and layed out. I suppose, if the paperbacks
were beneath quite a few inches of soil, such that they did not
interfere with plantiing, it might be OK. But at that point, one wonders
if that much thickness of soil would'nt be sufficient to kill the grass
anyway.

Here's my humble attempt at a modified lasagna-type bed construction;
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/651950/#new

I do think, if the covers were torn off first, shredding paperbacks and
placing them in a compost pile would be OK. Not sure what kinda adhesive
is in the spine though.

Carl


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Tater wrote:
I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......

ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?

Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......


ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?


A quick 'google' indicates tires tend to be a problem for most plants
(high zinc in the rubber and some heavy metals from any exposed steel
belts) and are actually considered toxic waste.

Carl


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to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......


ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?


Perhaps if you tell the group, as precisely as possible, what you'd like
to accomplish in the garden, somone can guide you to some books and
websites. Do you'need' raised beds?(if it's a question of bending down
or working from a wheelchair - there are alternatives like 'earth boxes'
and straw bale gardening) Do you want to grow vegetables or ornamental
plants? How many plants? What zone do you live in? etc.

Carl


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to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote:

Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......



ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?


Perhaps if you tell the group, as precisely as possible, what you'd like
to accomplish in the garden, somone can guide you to some books and
websites. Do you'need' raised beds?(if it's a question of bending down
or working from a wheelchair - there are alternatives like 'earth boxes'
and straw bale gardening) Do you want to grow vegetables or ornamental
plants? How many plants? What zone do you live in? etc.

Carl



lots of good links in this article;
http://tinyurl.com/ymzbyr


Carl


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to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

"Carl 1 Lucky Texan" wrote in message
...
Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......


ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?


Perhaps if you tell the group, as precisely as possible, what you'd like
to accomplish in the garden, somone can guide you to some books and
websites. Do you'need' raised beds?(if it's a question of bending down
or working from a wheelchair - there are alternatives like 'earth boxes'
and straw bale gardening)

suitable for earth boxes as you call them or growing potatos, tomatos etc.
They could also conceivably be used as edging for a raised garden, similar
to using tyres of build rammed earth houses. It would take up a lot of room
mind.

rob

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote:

Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......



ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?


Perhaps if you tell the group, as precisely as possible, what you'd like
to accomplish in the garden, somone can guide you to some books and
websites. Do you'need' raised beds?(if it's a question of bending down
or working from a wheelchair - there are alternatives like 'earth boxes'
and straw bale gardening) Do you want to grow vegetables or ornamental
plants? How many plants? What zone do you live in? etc.


Try searching on http://groups.google.com Some people have
mentioned (here and on rec.gardens.edible) using tyres/tires for
potatoes. Planting in the middle, and then stacking up more as
the summer proceeds.



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Tater wrote:

Tater wrote:

I am planning some modified sqare foot gardening and am looking for
some advice......


ok, I realized that I could make rasied beds with boards, carboard
boxes and whatever, I have a lot of tires the previous owner had
abandoned and was wondering if I could use them for my raised beds?
black rubber tends to absorb sunlight to help heat the earth in the
early spring for ealier planting times, they cost nothing for me to use
(and cost $2.50 each to get rid of).

someone want to tell the pros and cons?

Here's a link to a magazine article that may be helpful:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/sanders98.html

I've had very good results using car tires as planters for Gardenias
and tractor tires for giant flowered Hibiscus.


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