angsaidso

So today, being that I SO want to grow unusual tropicals here in zone 5, I decided to try something I had been reading about. After I was done setting this up, I realized I probably picked everything out wrong, but considering the back breaking (or potentially back breaking) work, I went small to start ... if it DOES actually work, next year I will fracture something to get it totally right. But if it fails, I will not be rubbing down with BenGay and sucking Advil like candy for no reason! ;-)

TIRES. There are tires everywhere in land fills and all over the sides of the highways in areas, and from what I read, Canada is great for culturing their potato crops early in mulch inside tires ... in zones as high up there as 2!! So, for those of you who haven't read about tires, just a quick summary ... the idea is to dig out a hole deep enough (in Canada anyway) to sit three tires on top of each other inside the hole ... the sun, being hotter than it feels in winter months actually heat up the rubber and start their little potato"lettes" growing way early in the year to extend their growing season by something like four months. It creates an open topped "hot house" of sorts.

So, Ang being the inventive and creative sort, thought ... if zone 2 can grow potatoes that early (and later too) in the year, why can't I winter over some of the corms, tubers and bulbs of my fave plants outside in tires in zone 5???? Right?? Seems logical. At least to me anyway. With a little extra mulching for heat retention and exposing the tire edge, it should work, right?

Well, I used an R14 tire (kinda small), and then like the rocket scientist that I am not, picked, of ALL things, Xanths, to plant in it. I used only one tire, not three, as I only had one on hand. Like most insane plant persons Helll bent on a project, I could not wait til tomorrow to acquire any more tires (although I will get more to do more beds tomorrow)! Xanthosomas being HUGE, with a small tire for a "bed", may not work out at all, and I realized this after I got everything done and stood back to admire my handiwork. What a dummy! But anyway ...

Visit my album to see the tire attempt as I have not figured out how to get photos embedded here yet. I will post a few pics as soon as I am done here.

I dug out and placed the tire with the sidewall at ground level. Remember, you have to rely on that tire to heat up in winter and it can't do that very well if it is totally submerged in soil. Then I filled in the entire tire itself with the dirt from the hole I dug, leaving the rocks and some assorted plant leavings from mowing the lawn. I packed it really well to prevent air pockets inside the tire to kill roots. Then I filled in along the tire's edge on the outside, making sure to fill it in tight. Included some rocks and debris then more soil from the original hole.

Next I mixed a batch of ProMix (my favorite soil) with very light spatterings of pebbles, heavy compost and some peat. Filled in the center of the tire, once again double checking to make sure the inside of the tire itself was packed full. Planted the Xanth in the center and then added about two to three inches of red cedar mulch over the top of the whole thing, including the tire sidewall, for summer "looks". When colder weather knocks the ears down, I will go and scoop the mulch off the tire itself and throw it to the center for added insulation, leaving the sidewall exposed to the sunshine. I have not decided yet if I will actually cover it further. Will have to do more research on that. Maybe a slighty raised glass pane or something.

Tomorrow I am going to do this again (time permitting) and plant some C. illustris in the tire. They are SO hardy, I would think they will surprise me. But then again, this whole thing might be me grasping at straws!!! :::sigh:::

Thoughts? Further ideas??

__________________
Peace ~ Ang

"Can you imagine a world without?"