My city farm

Here is another way to use bike wheels to make a bed or planter.
Im moving away from using these metal mesh/ bike wheel cylinders as planters and towards using them as crop cages.

Bogdan your ingenuity knows no boundaries,  good job!  This is something I can emulate,  as our local bike cooperative is a source for old unusable wheels.  
Just wondering, did you worry about the heavy grease that might be inside the bike hub? Did you wipe it clean first?  This might not be a problem,  that hub when tightened has a darn good seal, just curious about your thinking.  Please keep posting, your garden is making Ukraine more beautiful one leaf at a time, Godspeed my friend!

William Bronson wrote:I use deck screws for these, but I'm not really satisfied with that.
Even very short screws are usually too long for the 1/2"  pallet wood so I had to cut the points of with an angle grinder.
They would  better in a thicker wood like what you have there.
Edit: going forward I will probably use the pole barn screws that come with a washer.
They are designed for wood to metal connections and their heads drive just as well as torx headed deck screws.
I've also considered copper or stainless steel wire, with or without a groove or holes on either end of the wood.
I've even considered tile for the sides, since I can get 2' long pieces for  cheap or free.
Whatever the material the sides are made of, the  less cutting or drilling required, the better.

Using grape vine to secure your oak slabs the bike wheel would go hard as hell, really leaning into the rustic side.
On the other hand,my bike coop always has scavenged brake cables on hand, very strong and very corrosion resistant.

Rivets are what I would want to use if the the goal is a super permanent and strong .
They would add cost and moves away from the scavenger esthetic/ethos.

If I had slabs like yours I would try good old nails as the fasteners to affix them to the wheels
I would also try building with them full length.
This would be a half cylinder,  with as many hoops as needed, minimum two, laid down on the ground.
Keep the spokes and hub for the two wheels on either end of the bed.
Chock the bed with stones so it doesn't roll like a barrel, fill it with unfinished compost and plant it with sunchokes.
Over winter tarp it with a clear tarp, supported by the tops of the bike wheels.
When it's time harvest, lay a tarp next to the bed, remove the stones chocking it in place , and roll the entire bed upside down onto the tarp.
If you don't harvest, use the covered space for wintersown plant starts.

very cool, thanks for the idea, I will look for rims for a bicycle. And I think on the same principle you can use car tires to make massive barrels for flowers

Suzette Thib wrote:What about putting in shiitake spawn in some of that oak? We have found that to be a good use for oak. You have a nice huge haul of it, congrats!

good idea for this you need a sunny side or shade? there are just thick pieces that are difficult to use but it's a pity to just burn them)
P.s.I ordered mycelium, there will be a new experiment soon)

Rico Loma wrote:Bogdan your ingenuity knows no boundaries,  good job!  This is something I can emulate,  as our local bike cooperative is a source for old unusable wheels.  
Just wondering, did you worry about the heavy grease that might be inside the bike hub? Did you wipe it clean first?  This might not be a problem,  that hub when tightened has a darn good seal, just curious about your thinking.  Please keep posting, your garden is making Ukraine more beautiful one leaf at a time, Godspeed my friend!

Hi Rico, this is William's idea with the bicycle wheels, I managed to sell the bamboo and cane and I bought some nice oak scraps. People help me with ideas on how to use these scraps. I want to make something useful for the house and make something to sell.

William Bronson wrote:Here is another way to use bike wheels to make a bed or planter.
Im moving away from using these metal mesh/ bike wheel cylinders as planters and towards using them as crop cages.

very interesting, are these nets used for storing and carrying plants or do plants grow there? we grow zucchini in a similar way in plastic boxes, the horses are well warmed and ventilated

It rains here and the tomatoes in the barrel are reliably protected from it and at the same time by watering at the roots I achieve good humidity. So far the experiment is going well

bogdan smith wrote:

William Bronson wrote:Here is another way to use bike wheels to make a bed or planter.
Im moving away from using these metal mesh/ bike wheel cylinders as planters and towards using them as crop cages.

very interesting, are these nets used for storing and carrying plants or do plants grow there? we grow zucchini in a similar way in plastic boxes, the horses are well warmed and ventilated

I grow in them.
We have rodents that attack my mother's crops, so the vegetables and fruits we grow  at her house is grown in cages.
They can be half full of soil with the rest of the space for plants to be protected.
I often use another wheel to make a lid.

William Bronson wrote:

bogdan smith wrote:

William Bronson wrote:Here is another way to use bike wheels to make a bed or planter.
Im moving away from using these metal mesh/ bike wheel cylinders as planters and towards using them as crop cages.

very interesting, are these nets used for storing and carrying plants or do plants grow there? we grow zucchini in a similar way in plastic boxes, the horses are well warmed and ventilated

I grow in them.
We have rodents that attack my mother's crops, so the vegetables and fruits we grow  at her house is grown in cages.
They can be half full of soil with the rest of the space for plants to be protected.
I often use another wheel to make a lid.

great solution, manual or drip irrigation? This is a good solution for protection against chickens too!

Unfortunately all the chickens died, only two remained, it's a shame, but life goes on. I think the reason is that I didn't disinfect the eggs I bought. I bought more eggs and will try to correct my mistakes.

Sorry to hear about your chickens, 😞.
I have only ever adopted old(2 years plus) hens, losing a bunch of babies would be hard.

I have tried to implement automatic watering, but only my wicking /sub irrigated  containers have been successful.

the adventures of tomatoes continue

The situation is unfortunately getting worse, two days ago it was just awful, I just went out, sat in the yard in a chair and just looked at the night sky above me, it was like a movie, Star Wars, just a nightmare. But life goes on, the old boiler for the shower is cleaned, a stand is made, as a result, a summer garden shower with hot water under pressure was invented. A garden hose is connected and water is pumped in. Even if you turn off the supply, the shower produces 2 buckets of hot water under pressure autonomously. There is a pool for collecting rainwater and a supply of technical water.

the apricot survived frosts, the rainy season and drought, tell me what can be used to fertilize now, the tomatoes in the barrel feel great

Would the apricots like a compost tea or a weed tea? Can you add in some chicken manure to age too? I don't know about apricots- just thinking about what our fruit trees like in general. I do love some yummy dried apricots!

Suzette Thib wrote:Would the apricots like a compost tea or a weed tea? Can you add in some chicken manure to age too? I don't know about apricots- just thinking about what our fruit trees like in general. I do love some yummy dried apricots!

thank you, I'll do it today

The experiment with tomatoes in a barrel is going well, they grow wonderfully, and I see the difference in the cardinal directions, the smallest ones are on the southern side, the largest ones are on the eastern side, and the largest ones are on the western side. It is convenient to water, there are no problems with weeds.

Bending the branches of the plum tree gave an excellent result.

I paneled the bathhouse with oak scraps