Market Farming

[Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>]

Hi, Folks!

The old tire discussion is heating up the community garden mailing list 
(almost everyone is against it, BTW).  I just wanted to make a quick point 
on Pat's.  The archives for the mailing list are at 
http://www.hort.net/lists//community_garden/ if you want to follow the 
discussion (or join in, as the list is pretty open)

Pat wrote:

> I see no reason for a tire sitting stationary in a garden to
> undergo further wear causing dust to be emitted.  There's
> just no reason why it would do this.  It is not being
> abraded, it is not under heavy pressure, it is not moving in
> any way.  It's just sitting there.

Well, according to the folks who I respect on the cg list, rubber is a 
great snack for microbes, so old tires in the garden aren't just sitting 
there, they are being munched on into dust (okay, this takes a long, long 
time to get nothing but dust, but munching is taking place).  Therefore, 
the tires are producing dust and since the microbes LIKE the rubber, it's 
the Zn and Cd that are in the little dust particles that are degrading off 
the tires.

We used to have folks use tires at the community garden, but after Rodale 
completely reversed themselves in the early 90s and published in Organic 
Gardening that the heavy metal contaminants DID actually leach into the 
soil, we abandoned the practice.  We have one old gentleman who does have 
two tires as flowerpots at his plot, but I think they are going to be 
disposed of on Friday when I have my adjudicated youth helpers. . . the 
whole thing is making me too nervous.

Dorene


Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA  19460