Spotted: Bicycle Wheel Trellis
We love offbeat gardening ideas around here, and this bicycle wheel trellis is just a stunning example of creative reuse!
Bike wheels are pretty durable, but a big accident can mean that your old wheel goes kaput. Maybe it gets cracked or bent too far out of shape to be trued again. Whatever the reason, once a bike wheel is dunzo, it's...dunzo. It's not easy to recycle, but just because it's not useful for pedaling anymore doesn't mean it's not useful at all!
Over at the Kirksville Permaculture Education Center, they shared a gallery of photos of this beautiful trellis. What a lovely way to reuse kicked bike wheels!
Of course, most of us don't have a a bunch of bike wheels sitting around our house, but I bet your local bike shop has lots of spent wheels laying around! Next time you're in the neighborhood, pop in! Chances are they'll be happy for you to take those off of their hands. In many places, businesses have to pay to dispose of trash and recycling, so there's a good chance you're helping them out as much as they are helping you.
The Kirksville Permaculture Education Center site didn't have instructions on how to build this trellis, but it looks super simple. Here's how I think it went down:
Materials
- Wooden H-frame - you can buy one or build your own from reclaimed wood
- 8 used bike wheels
- zip ties or popped bike inner tubes
Directions
1. Stake the frame in the ground wherever you want your trellis. Make sure it's nice and secure, because those tires and the plants that grow up them are going to add a lot of weight.
2. Use your zip ties or the inner tubes to link the tires together and link the tire grids to your frame.
3. Plant something that climbs - like grapes, luffa, or beans - at the base of your structure, and watch it go!
Want to see lots more photos of the bike trellis? Click here!