Garden expansion

I dislike weeding a garden, along with the rest of my family. I had given up on a garden until I had extra time on my hands last year. I put stacks of tires, with at least the top sidewalk cut out, filled them with decomposed horse manure, and then forgot to water regularly... so most of the garden burned up. So this year I planted some, then decided I needed some more room. There used to be a slope on the left side of the pictures( forgot to take pictures before I got to work with the tractor). It was too steep for the mower to not slide down, so I wanted to put a retaining wall in. The local tire shop loaded up my trailer with 30 semi tires, so let’s see how far they go. The bottom row will be 12 tires long, as I have to move septic lines before going further in either direction. Tomorrow I am heading over to a friend who is giving us a bunch of asparagus starts(they have 3 acres in a u-pick patch) and those will be planted in the spaces at the front of each tire. More pics to follow as I get this project moving.
Charles

 

Around here are a few places that have tire retaining walls and they seem to work well.

 

I’ve helped build several tire retaining walls before. The most important things are compacting the full and fastening the tires together. 16D ringshank nails from the framing nailer are the most cost effective method. Removing the top sidewall with a 5 TPI sawzall blade makes compacting the fill MUCH easier: instead of a tamping rod, you can use a plate compactor. Semi-truck or tractor tires work the best, as they have thicker sidewalls. Car tires don’t work good, as they flex too much.

 

I've seen a neat method for growing potatoes where they are started in a single tire and additional tires and light soil or mulch are added as the vines grow. When it comes time to harvest you disassemble the stack and harvest the spuds.

 

I’ve tried the stacked tires for potatoes... it was more hassle than anything. It’s a good idea, but you have to closely watch the temperature inside the tires and the moisture level. I had fried plants because I was gone for a weekend.
I have made some more progress. Hoping to put the last of the tires I have on here before Monday. Otherwise, it will have to wait until the Dr says I can pick up more than 10lbs- getting C4-5 and C5-6 scraped on and fused. It has gotten to the point that I can’t even drive with my left hand anymore, so I am biting the bullet and getting it taken care of.
Charles

 

Good luck with the surgery and do what the doctor says when it comes to recovery. You want to move forward not backwards with the recovery.