Robert's posts are making me envious. The ground is still frozen here, and my short visits in the greenhouse to start tomatoes, peppers and some salad greens just aren't enough.
There has been some talk on a local plant e-mail list about using tires for raised gardens. I'm tempted. I'm tired of bending over to weed, and have access to tires and compost to fill them with. Cedar planks are rather expensive hereabouts. (There will undoubtedly be issues with the local aesthetics harassment, er.. by-law enforcement patrols, but that's a separate issue.) However, there is concern about using tires for food crops due to materials that will leach from the tires (e.g., zinc). There is material at SANET and http://www.paghat.com/rubbermulch.html etc. criticizing the practice. However, most (if not all) of that is specific to use of shredded tires as mulch. I could not find anything in the biofuel archive (after an admittedly quick search). So, my questions are: Is the hazard associated with leached materials from tires sufficient to be of concern for food crops? Does it make a difference if we're talking flowers? (The soil is still what's being affected most, right?) Is the hazard using whole tires reduced relative to using shredded tires due to reduced surface area, relative amount of tire being used or other factors? Other thoughts or comments? The idea of finding a viable re-use for old tires remains attractive, but not if it introduces a new hazard. -- Darryl McMahon http://www.econogics.com It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will? _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
