want to grow my own veg any tips please

[suzie1]

i want to grow my own veg and herbs, i want to grow them in old car tyres, but i wonder what i need to do and if its a good idea to grow them in tyres, the tyres will be painted and colourful scattered about my garden with a different veg and herb growing in it, i dont know which compost to use, is the grow bag one ok? and where can i get cheap seeds for different things?. also do i need to get feed for them and if so which one is right thanks in advance

[dothawkes31]

find a good book on the subject in your local library as it is doomed to fail if you are unprepared, would you not be better using raised beds bordered by railwat sleepers than rubber tyres, if yiu ever need to spray the planys you might corrupt the rubber. also, yo be successful you should grow spuds the first year, nowt else, it helps prepare the ground

[dothawkes31]

sorry, typosville here today : (

[suzie1]

i just liked the thought of getting some old tyres and painting them different colours (the veg colour)and placing them around the garden, i will have fresh veg and and a lovely looking garden, thanks for your answers, anymore would be welcome please

[alfiesgirl]

What a lovely idea, i saw an article some time ago which showed you how to convert tyres into planters and indeed they did look more attractive than perhaps they may sound to someone who is trying to visualise them.

As for growing things my son grows peppers, tomatoes and various herbs in our window boxes of all places and they thrive so i doubt that there's any reason why your own variety of veg n herbs shouldn't do the same in the tyre planters.

My son uses ordinary potting compost which he gets at our local Tesco supermarket and feeds them occasionally with a Baby-Bio feeder (there are various types for each thing you grow), i am told that the tiny bottles which they are sold in may seem a little expensive for such a tiny ammount of feeder but apparently it lasts for ages and ages as only a few drops are needed each feed. Good luck!

[suzie1]

hey alfiesgirl, thank you, your a great help, do you know where you saw the article, as i still need to learn to convert the tyres as well, im looking forward to doing this on my week off work

[carrust]

Dot's right about the car tyres. You can also have probs with old railway sleepers as they have been coated in creosote, tar & many other chemicals. These can contaminate the veg that you are growing.
Have you thought of making some containers out of decking timber say 3' sq. You could dot these all over the garden, & I think they would look a lot better that old tyres.

[suzie1]

i cant make containers with decking timber, id break a nail and i wouldnt know where to start, wishi i could though coz they would look nice too

[Clanad]

If you're concerned about braking a nail with simple lumber raised beds, you'd better take out nail insurance for tire (I'm in the U.S., so use ing the correct spelling) damage. Problem is, you'll either have to cut the tires in half making two equal halves (like slicing a bagel) and the depth for dirt on each half will be about 4 inches... not enough for most vegetables. Or... you could cut sections out of the arc of the tire, setting them with the tread side slightly buried in the garden. This will give you perhaps 6 inches of depth... again, not much for most vegetables... certainly not enough for root crops like potatoes, carrots or beets. Not only that but if you try to cut the "bead" part of the tire (the part that fits into the steel wheel, you'll need a hack saw and about 14 blades since the steel inside that area is made of several strands of cable...

In about two years when you're sick and tired of the tires (they won't hold the paint you desire... it'll peel off) if you were here in the U.S. you'd have to get a special permit from the government to dispose of them and then only at a regional recycling center... Go for the occasional broken nail and 2 X 8 inch lumber...

[carlton23]

If I were doing it I`d firstly dig a hole at least a foot deep in the soil where the tyre is to go and fill it with some well rotted manure or compost, then replace the soil taken out of the hole with a 1/4" sieve. Give it a week or two to settle before putting your seeds in. I`d buy or beg some small plants from friends rather than seed if I were a beginner to gardening, and I`d spray the tyres rather than paint them for longer lasting effect. Welcome to the world of horticulture, and a very happy Xmas and new year. Best of Luck.