How to Make a Tire Garden

Recycling old tires and turning them into a garden container base is a great way to help the environment and create a useful container garden at the very same time. You can use this tire garden for both vegetables and flowers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Used tire
• Piece of landscape plastic or garbage bag
• 15 to 20 plastic bottles
• Potting soil
• Garden trowel
• Vegetable plants
• Flower plants
• Garden hose and water

1. Place your tire flat in the desired location in your yard. Be sure to choose a location that has full sun.

2. Fill the bottom of the tire with empty plastic bottles three-quarters of the way to the top. This will create a base and filler for your garden.

3. Place the landscaping film or trash bag on top of the plastic bottles to create a liner for the soil.

4. Add enough soil to the tire to fill it just below the rim.

5. With your garden trowel, dig the holes for the plants 3 inches deep into the potting soil, and space them 3 inches apart.

6. Set the plants into the soil. Press firmly, but do not force the plants into the soil. Add extra soil around the plants to fill in the gaps between the plants.

7. Water the garden thoroughly.

Tips & Warnings

• Use acrylic paint to decorate the outside of the tire if desired. For a child's tire garden, you can personalize each one by painting their names or their favorite designs on the outside.
• Variate by combining both vegetable plants and flower plants in the same garden.
• Small vegetable plants, such as tomatoes, peppers and lettuce, work best in a tire garden.
• Variate by growing a herb garden.
• Use small flowering plants, such as impatiens and petunias, for your garden--they remain compact and won't overgrow in the garden.