I came up with an invention for a van...the trailer hitch garden

[JDub]

"As for fresh green vitamins, it would be easy enough to do your own sprouts, even in a pretty small vehicle. I don't, but plenty of people do. "

I regularly grow sprouts - mixed radish (nice and hot), mung bean (for stir fry), and broccoli (for sandwiches and salads). It's ridiculously easy and the internet is full of instructions. The one thing I would recommend that doesn't appear in many site instructions - when you're soaking your seeds to start off, add a little lemon juice to kill off mold spores that may be in the seeds. It sucks to have to toss a whole batch that have molded. Also, if you want them nice and dark green, the last day of sprouting, put the container in direct sun or light (you grow em in the dark) and they turn a nice color.

 

[user 423]

Well, if Giggles wants to make sure she lives up to her name, she'll have to stick to growing the funny weed

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Oh lightin up you guys... I just thought of something to eliminate some of the issues with movement. I wonder if you layered weed matt. Like folded it in the tray. Take a strip of weed matt lay a section in the tray add soil, fold over add more soil fold over add more soil etc till you fill tray. When planting seedlings you cut through all layers and plant. The idea is that the weed matt would hold the soil in place stopping the roots from coming loose.

 

[crofter]

Oh lightin up you guys... I just thought of something to eliminate some of the issues with movement. I wonder if you layered weed matt....

Good idea. That would keep the dirt from blowing away while you drive. You will still lose some dirt though.
-crofter

 

[Ramblin McPete]

It's a fun idea to have a mobile garden. You could easily do microgreens like sunflower shoots, pea shoots and buckwheat. There are tons of different sprouting seeds and it's easy to set up a couple of small trays each week for a constant supply. Great added to salads. They don't need much light either.

I thought about a skylight and some shelving around the edges. Could be super cool. Just no succulents which are a waste in my opinion.

 

[Giggles]

Long-time plant-grower here - you'd get massive wind damage carrying your garden on the hitch. Wind can desiccate plants in a shallow soil bed in no time flat, let alone rip the foliage to sheds. You'd be subjecting your plants to gale-force winds every time you drove on a highway!

I've contemplated this many times. If I were going to attempt anything like a real portable garden as a nomad, it would be in something like a small open cargo trailer or the bed of a pickup - something that could support at least an 8-inch deep soil bed, plus the weight of the necessary soil moisture, and could support a greenhouse style superstructure tall enough and sturdy enough to protect against the wind.

It could definitely be done, and someday I might do it.

In the meantime, I keep my few photosynthetic pets in a tall, clear plastic tote. I cut most of the lid out to allow for air circulation, and line the opening with window-screen mesh to keep bugs and critters out. It's working well. When I'm not traveling, it lives outside the van in partial shade.

As for fresh green vitamins, it would be easy enough to do your own sprouts, even in a pretty small vehicle. I don't, but plenty of people do.

Well, like I said, it's meant for people who mostly stay put on BLM land and don't do much traveling. And if they had to travel, they could put a DOME over it made of plexiglass or luan, or something like that.

 

[Giggles]

Well, if Giggles wants to make sure she lives up to her name, she'll have to stick to growing the funny weed

Lol. Actually, I don't smoke the "funny weed", because it makes me paranoid as hell. 

Luckily, I'm giggly enough without it. (Unless someone pisses me off. Lol...)

 

[rvwandering]

I've deleted a bunch of posts in this thread. If yours was one of the ones deleted and you're not sure why please read Bob's post here - https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=15853

 

[GntlStone]

Well, like I said, it's meant for people who mostly stay put on BLM land and don't do much traveling. And if they had to travel, they could put a DOME over it made of plexiglass or luan, or something like that.

If you could build/buy something like this Small Greenhouse it would travel fine. Especially if you were able to add a pair of tie downs to your rear doors and strap it in place for travel. 
 

 

[GntlStone]

Deleted until I figure out how to post pics, lol.

 

[WanderingRose]

There are a lot of people out there with tomato plants in pots that they set out wherever they are.

If I had room to carry one, I might have it.

 

[Giggles]

If you could build/buy something like this Small Greenhouse it would travel fine. Especially if you were able to add a pair of tie downs to your rear doors and strap it in place for travel. 
 

Oooh, that is very cool!

 

[Vannautical engineer]

Just be careful with the weight. I'm sure you know that soil is heavy, and having all of it hanging off of the rear of the vehicle behind the rear axle may be very hard on the rear suspension.

But then again, people hang all sorts of stuff all the way up to scooters or motorcycles off of the back of their vehicles. So if your vehicle is up to it, go ahead. Just keep the weight in mind.

 

[BelgianPup]

Regular dirt is heavy, about 12 lbs per gallon.

To limit the weight, use potting soil, mixed with manure.

Don't try to take plants into Calif, they have agricultural check stations at the borders.

 

[Sofisintown]

Maybe put some chickens in the carrier too - if you are into meat and vegetables- they will take care of the fertilizer issues too.

 

[XERTYX]

What about an aero garden? Miracle gro makes the name brand one and there are plenty of knock offs nowadays. Most of them use LEDs now instead of CFL bulbs. Still youd need a good amount of power.

If you're not familiar they are a hydroponic growing kit that takes care of everything. Pumping the water, cycling the lights, measuring the levels of vitamins in the water and alerting you when to add more. Pretty nifty and allegedly grows plants like 3x as fast as soil.

They sell kits with tomatoes, hot peppers, lettuces, basil, etc. But you can also buy generic inserts and grow sponges and use any packet of seeds you like.

 

[XERTYX]

When I had my sailboat (1976ish Cal 26. 26ft)
I had dreams of planting a garden on board.

The mast and rigging had hurricane damage which is why I got it so cheap. I wanted to leave the sails off and install a wind turbine on the mast and enclose the rear by making a roof covered with solar panels and use my transom mounted trolling motor.

Then the forward area of the deck would be all raised beds and hanging plants. That was the dream anyway. It never happened. Surprisingly though the trolling motor I bought broken on Ebay and fixed myself would scoot her along pretty quickly, but I had no figures on wattage for it. It was from the late 60s.

 

[Giggles]

Oh, neat! I always had dreams of living on a sailboat. I even took a week-long sailing course in the Florida keys to learn how to sail a 40 foot keelboat.

All went well until we (us and the other boat) ran into a terrible squall. The other boat broke their mast and our boat's sails were torn and we were almost sunk. I remember our captain put me in charge of holding the wheel all the way over, while the guys on board tried to pull in the sails. I was standing on the metal railings and we were almost on our side! Crazy stuff....

I haven't been sailing since that experience (it was almost as scary as when my house got hit by a torrnado!) but I still think it would be fun to do someday..

 

[JasonMcD]

I love the idea. I think you're onto something. Once you experiment with what works and what doesn't i have no doubt that you're going to be successful. Please keep us posted, and i hope to see photos someday!

 

[Lorelei072]

Interesting! Just remember the cargo carriers have 400-500 lb weight limits. Also in my research of gypsy vardos, I’ve learned some of them were built with small chicken coops in the side!