Grow Potatoes in a tyre

We have planted many things in many places in our small block in the inner city of Melbourne, so when my mum rocked up to my place about a month ago with 8 seed potatoes that were excess to her needs, I was a little dumbfounded as to where I could actually use them.

6/5/2012 Please note:: I used this method once (for this year 2009) and have since found out that it is not such a good idea to use tyres for planting (or compost), even though they are so effective.  The reason why you should not use them is because of the possible lead leeching that may happen.

We do have some old tyres that I had picked up for free from the tyre shop that I had previously used for composting (very successfully), but now we have built a big compost bin, we don't need them. So I decided that I could use the tyres and do the old "stack-as-it-grows" method, hopefully giving us a greater yield of potatoes in the end.

I have actually combined a bit of the no dig garden bed theory in here as well with layering a thick wad of newspaper down on the bottom as I did put them straight onto concrete. I then pulled out the compost from the compost heap and combined it with some sheeps manure that had rainwetting agents through it. I filled up just one tyre high. I then place one potato at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock inside the tyre (not right on the edges though). Then I waited, until the week before last.

I was very excited to see some green foliage which is the signal for me to get the next tyre and some hay to layer around the foliage. I have done this and it is all looking really good, in fact, I am now going to have to get another bale of hay as it is already peeking through with all this great rain in the last week.

If you live in a temperate zone in Australia (Melbourne), you could plant potatoes in August for eating in Nov - Dec

We did just eat our first broccoli tonight! It was delicious.

Other vegies to plant now in July in a temperate zone in Australia:

Beetroot (seed) to eat in September - October

Broad beans (seed) to eat in October - January

Cabbage (seedlings) to eat in September - November

Lettuce (seeds or seedlings) to eat in September - October

Mustard greens (seed) to eat in September.

Onion (seedlings) to eat in January - March

Parsnip (seed) to eat in November - December

Peas (seed) to eat in October.

Radish (seed) to eat in September.

Shallots (also Eschalots) (seedlings) to eat in October - November

Snow Peas (also Sugar Peas, Mangetout, Chinese Peas) (seed) to eat in October - November