Raised garden beds generally allow you to be much more creative than with normal garden beds. They can be made from many types of materials, and can be fitted to the exact needs of your garden. One type of planter that has become increasingly popular are the so-called tire planters. Simply put, this a planter made from a tire, filled with soil and in some cases painted.
The concept
There are plenty of great designs for raised beds, but tire planters are perhaps the simplest. That doesn’t mean that they cannot be fantastic additions to your garden, however. The basic idea is to use a tire as the structural basis for your planter. It is then filled with high-quality soil and seeded. A lot of people choose to cover the bottom of the tire in order to insulate the contents from the soil below. This prevents the spread of weeds and makes sure your plants stay healthy.
Incorporating tire planters in your garden design
Tire planters can come in many varying sizes depending on the tire you use. Some people like to use a big tire, for example from a tractor, and have it as the centerpiece of their garden. Other people place several smaller tire planters along the edges or their gardens or in the corners, as smaller decorative pieces. The tires may also be painted if you want them to stand out more, but make sure you use a paint that will not seep into the soil and damage your plants. This is especially important if you plan to plant anything edible, like vegetables or herbs, in the tire planters.
Are tire planters the best choice for you?
Tire planters are perhaps less versatile than raised beds made from a more common material such as wood or stone. This is because the tire limits the shape and size of the planter. Granted, there are plenty of tires you can use, but they will generally all be circular, which means they won’t fit snugly into the corner of a fence for example. These planters do however have several benefits that explains why they have gained such popularity.
Easy to get started
A tire planter can be set up very little time and does not require any special tools or equipment. A normal raised garden bed often requires precise measurements and materials. A tire planter, in this regard, takes little time and effort to set up.
An inexpensive alternative
These planters can be very cheap depending on what you compare them with. Basic planters made from car tires are generally inexpensive compared to fancy garden beds made from high-quality wood. You can usually grab some used tires, unfit for cars, from eBay or Craigslist or even at your local scrapyard.
Improve the look of your garden
There’s no shortage of great garden designs incorporating tire planters. They look fantastic as the centerpiece or as decorative additions to your garden. Another idea is to use them to border off two sections of your garden.
Separating plants
Using several tire planters can for example be a great way to organize your herbal garden. Use one tire planter for each type of herb. This will even serve as a natural border to limit the overgrowth of certain dominant herbs and plants.
