What do you do with all those useless black rubber tires lying around in your garage? Simple, you transform them into planters for your garden. Not to worry for this is a simple DIY project that can let you utilize these otherwise useless tires in the best possible manner. Here are the items you would need for the same as well the steps to make rubber tire planters for your garden.
Materials Needed
- An old rubber tire that has a soft spot
- A sharp knife, strong enough to cut the tire
- A chalk or crayon to make markings
- A cleaner or degreaser
- A cup with large rims to trace circles on the tire surface
Steps
1) Locate the soft spot in the tire aka the area where you can easily push in the tire with your hand. If the tire is large, use your foot to press it and find out the soft spot. The more flexible the tire, the easier it would be for you to work on it.
2) Clean the tire nicely to remove any dirt or grime that might make it hard for you to draw the shapes and then cut them out later. You may use water for the same, but make sure to dry the tire before working on it.
3) Use the cup and chalk/crayon to draw circles throughout the surface of the tire. Draw the circles close together to make them look like flower petals.
4) Cut out the starburst from the tire with the knife. This would take some time and effort to perfect, so don’t be surprised if you need to replace either the tire or the knife during the first few attempts.
5) Start cutting out the circles that you have drawn, but make sure you cut only half of each circle. Don’t cut into the belt, rather cut up to the belt and then gently pull the cut portion upwards and backwards to form a petal. Follow the same procedure with every half circle that you cut. Cut neatly so that the petals don’t look disconnected. And move along the tire with each petal that you cut rather than trying to pry the entire tire inside out first.
6) Once all the petals have been cut and formed, spray a good degreaser on the tire to clean it out. Use a small brush to remove minute dirt particles. Rinse the tire properly with water and let it dry.
7) Turn the tire over so that the petals face upwards and outwards. Paint the tire using spray paint or canned paint. There is no need to paint the inner areas, as they would be covered with soil anyway. If you want to keep the rim intact at the base of the planter, you can paint it in another color for a beautiful contrast. Wait for a day for the paint to dry nicely before filling up the planter with soil.
