When the rubber hits the Pallets.

We've wanted a flower bed on the East side of the house.  The problem is that during the winter the snow slides off the roof and gets very deep,  necessitating removal via skid steer.  A process that wrecks havoc with flower beds.  Leaving the snow there isn't an option as it will melt and invariably seep its way into our poorly waterproofed basement. But wait.  There's more.  We are Re-Tired!  And we have the raw material:  tires and soil.  And thus is born the inverted tire bed on removable pallets.


 When winter bekons I just pick them up and move them over to the safety of the re-tired garden.

I collect pallets from the local hardware store.  They are a very useful item.  And the  people at various tire stores in the area are happy to see me show up and deplete their used tire pile.

I make the soil from compost, old horse corral soil, sand from our own pit and a bag or so of perlite.  Sifting the mixture through the Blomm-omatic 2000 soil sifter ensures a light, rock free mix.  The Pebbles left over find their way to the driveway.

There is a trick to turning tires inside out.  And I had forgotten it.  Even with my friend, RT's help,  it is nearly impossible to do it if the tire is ornery.  The trick is to find a "sweet spot",  a place an inward bulge can be made and then working that ever larger until the tire "flips" on it's own.  Trying to completely turn the tire is a losing proposition, that even the strength of a gorilla will not overcome.  We even tried to do it by running over the edge of a  tire with the skid steer.  No hope there.

Patience, persevereance and several litres of water later:

A little paint and voila bump proof cat litter boxes.  Er, flower beds.  The green on on my left is right side up.  The others are upside down awaiting paint, some geotextile for drainage, and soil.

 The flowers are growing rapidly in the green house so we may even see some blooms before it snows.

Speaking of "the hair of the dog that bit you:"

Well Cleo isn't doing any biting but surely appreciated losing about a pound of hair, during our week long summer season..

It's 13C today, the grass still wet from yesterdays showers.  The rain seems to have cleared the air of forest fire smoke.  A great day for a sweat which my friend, Chief Joseph is having at 2:30. today  Drop by for an "aboriginal sauna" if your in the area..

Comments

Denise E said…
Busy,busy,busy! Always making something aren't you. I have one of those tire planters also. The person who made it left the rim on the tire, cut it so it has a flared rubber base. Kinda cool.
art said…
The only rimed tires I have are logging truck tires. I have never been able to turn them inside out. I keep looking for bias ply tires - they are the easiest to turn.

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