Here is a picture of a couple of the swans I have made from tires. - Jase
Information on making recycled tire planters. Post your own ideas here.
Christopher Lowell's Tire Planter
I have instructions for a tire planter from the Christopher Lowell Show. (Outdoor dynamics for Dummies show).
Materials
Old tire with/without rim
Sharp kitchen knife
chalk
potting soil
spray paint
Directions
Draw pattern with chalk along side wall on one side of tire. Space scallops/ or ^^^ evenly around tire. Start at tread and end close to rim. Cut out with knife, using straight up and down motion, pointing blade away from yourself. This wil separate the tire into two pieces. Place your foot in center of rim and pull one scalloped edge toward yourself, this turns it inside out. Continue until it forms planter with pedestal. Fill with potting soil. Can spray paint planter to jazz it up.
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences has great insturctions for making a tire planter: "Finding the right tire is essential in making a tire planter. The tire you select should be well worn, and pliable in the shoulder area of the tire (what Felder calls the "sweet spot"), just below the tread. You can tell if the tire is a good candidate by pushing in on the shoulder area with the palm of your hand. If there is plenty of "give" in this area, the tire should be easy to work with. If not, you should find another one to use."
You can make a swan planter out of a tire. At RonsSwan.com they have a PDF with step by step instructions. They recommend using a scooter tire:
Type of tyre The kind of tyre you use is important. An ordinary car tyre
has steel belting so is near impossible to cut and will
have sharp edges. I made Ron from old Vespa motor scooter
tyres as they are easier to cut. If you could source some
very old car tyres which are textile belted, they would be
suitable, but still very hard to cut by hand.
To downlod the PDF go to http://www.rondswan.com and click on the "AboutRon" page. At the bottom of the page is the how-to.
I have been rolling around on the ground for 4 hours trying to turn a tire inside out. I have cut 2" back from the bead on both sides. I want to use this as a pedestal for a rain barrel. Looking at some of these, I must be missing something.
Someone who is more creative than I came up with the idea I'm using this year. I got tires, painted them terra cotta color and painted inside the zigzagged treads with turquiose, yellow, orange and red. Viola -- they look like Mexican pottery!!!
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