Tire Gardening: Syracuse, NY 6/12/10

Yeah, Legit mon. Michael, In" Permaculture, A Designer’s Manual", tires (tyres) are mentioned in the Aquaculture section on page 468 (or is that 486? haha). Also in "Introduction To Permaculture", tires are illustrated twice on page 43, shown as a hedge/windbreak on page 99, on page 106 as potato boxes, and as artificial islands on page 164. I believe there are similar illustrations in Permaculture 1 & 2 but my sons have those. If this is an option for many people, then it might be a good idea to check other options that might be available, rock, bricks, stones, other building materials, etc. From what I read, there is even a chemical in tires that gasses out and is an endocrine disruptor type. The effective doses of that rather large family of substances is quite small, some in the microgram and even nanogram range. Rodale also has a history of pretty much telling the truth, unlike other rags like Mother earth News. It is too bad Whole Earth isn’t around anymore. I used to work in the Warren county NYSDOT residency for 15 long and draggy years. There were a lot of tires laying around for much of that time in the storage yard. Saw a lot of rusting of the steel belts, which are on the inside of the tires. Acid rain probably helps the process as it does in breaking down blacktop roads. Over the years, the tires did break down, and not just the ones directly in the sun. Ground up tires are the same material as whole tires. It didn’t take long for the outside surfaces of the tires to crack, flake and become pitted. The only difference is the surface area of the two. Are the steel belt layers ground up too? Probably yes they are. Ground up or whole, they are subject to the same stressors and processes. Ground up tires will break down faster than whole ones. Some of the sites I visited said they would not use tires in any form. The only useful thing I can see using them for is beating jars of mushroom spawn against them to disperse mycelium for faster engulfing of the grain. And that is done inside in a dry room. I apologise if I made anyone (presenters??) angry, but I feel in this case it is a good idea to be cautious and think seven generations ahead.

On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 10:05 AM, Franklen <franklenraymond98> wrote:

Legitimate indeed. Far from condoning or disapproving this method, it
is an option for many people. And honestly, based upon my own (albeit
not comprehensive) Internet research, and that published by others, I
have yet to find any published research that provides the scientific
basis for the leaching concerns related to whole tires. Ground up
tires – yes, burning tires – yes, neither of which I would suggest.
Any citations that could be shared here would be invaluable. ~Frank

On Jun 8, 10:00 am, "Michael Burns"

<mich…> wrote:
> > Michael et all: This might not be the best workshop to attend or
> > advertise. Back in 1986, when I took my Permaculture Design Course from Dan
> > Hemenway at Genesis farm, we learned that Mollison is not always correct.
>
> I’m not sure how Mollison connects to this issue, but yeah… sure.
>
> > Dan noted that tires should not be used for islands in ponds, in gardens, or
> > in house foundations because they contain cadmium… [snip] VOCs…
>
> This is a very legitimate issue.
>
> > magazine. This is something that needs to be taught. Word needs to get
> > around so people do not do things like this. Maybe we need a workshop on
> > dangerous practises that only seem harmless, and a screening program for
> > workshop ideas that can spread ignorance en mass. This is a case where what
>
> Email lists like this can "screen" or discuss ideas and methods.
>
> MB

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