Tire Planters – Reusing some unusable for something wonderful

I have a tendency to binge watch homesteading videos on YouTube. My husband and I will sit and watch for a couple of hours with our blankets to keep us warm (the basement is chilly!) and a nice big bowl of popcorn.

One channel we binge watched recently was Starry Hilder. What an amazing lady! Plus she totally cracks me up, which is a nice plus. In one of her many videos she shared her technique for using old tires to make planters. We immediately fell in love with the idea and started sending out messages to family and friends asking them to keep any old tires they had.

Well it seems fate, in a cruel joke, knew our desire for tire planters. When my husband went to get the snow tires put on, the garage wouldn’t do it because they felt the tires were unsafe. Not so good for the pocket book (oy!) but in an effort to turn our frowns upside down we kept the tires for planters.

Not only is this a great way to reduce waste in a world that wastes so much, but it’s a fantastic planter for root vegetables, potatoes and so much more. Plus you can control your own soil!

Materials:

  • old tires
  • very sharp pointed knife
  • serrated blade of some kind (we used a knife)
  • gloves (this was a hindsight thing as I did cut my finger in the process… silly mistake)

Instructions:

  • Using your sharp pointed knife puncture a hole either in the side or very close to the side
  • Make the hole large enough to fit your serrated blade in
  • Bracing the tire with your foot and using some elbow grease, continue to cut along the outer edge or lateral side of the tire until you are all the way around
  • Repeat on the other side of the tire

Side Note:

Depending what you plan to grow in your planters you may not need to cut them at all, or perhaps only one side. If you plan to grow root vegetables you will want to cut both sides, but if you just want to grow some annual flowers you can save yourself the work.

And for your viewing pleasure I’m sharing Starry Hilder’s video on recycled tire garden planters.

Enjoy!!