growing in tyres danger?

[andiewill]

i am going to grow poatoes in tyres and posibly strawberrys, which i think is a brilliant idea to get the kids together working in the garden.

my question is the odor / chemicals from the tyres (old), will this effect the nature of the potatoe/ fruits ? or any other danger to be worried about?

[Mainer in Exile]

According to what I've been able to find out, the tyres are pretty much inert. There are some heavy metals in them, but apparently they are bound up in the rubber matrix and present no danger.

[MKG]

I can tell you with no doubt that there is no odour or taste problem. Other people will no doubt have more to say on the chemical stability of old rubber.

[andiewill]

thanks people that has put my mind at rest, and wacth out kids here we go.

[hedgewizard]

I did some research into this when I made my worm bins out of tyres, and found that tyre rubber is inert until you burn or powderize it. No worries!

[frozenthunderbolt]

it weathers and wears in the uv, used tires from cars have got little bits one 'em enough to be toxic i dont know, but on the basis of the toxicity of cadmium im personally disinclined to plant any root or leafy crop in them.

But as they say: Horses for courses. If you feel the risk is negligible then they are free readymade elevated gardening containers . . .

[Clara]

This question was posed to permaculture god Patrick Whitefield at a talk I attended once at the BGG. He said that they had done tests and they had not found pollutants in the soil. If I´m gonna take anyones word it would be his.

Clara x

[hedgewizard]

There's links to some research in the article I pointed out before.

[theabsinthefairy]

Nothing to suggest toxic leaching from tyres to the soil contained by them or to the veg grown in them - I've done potato crops in them and certainly not noticed any taste or smell issues.