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

[Giggles]

So, I love to garden in my little apartment patio, and I realized that that is one thing I will miss when I go full time.

But then.... I thought, why not invent a mobile garden?

Then.... I thought of those trailer hitch luggage racks. They are about 6 inches deep and six feet wide, and they would be PERFECT for making a trailer hitch garden, especially if you were mostly stationary on BLM land.

All you would need to do is put some luan on the sides, and then fill it with dirt and seeds. And when you need to change locations, just get a pllexiglass or plastic dome to go over it.  Or you could even build a wood dome to go over it using 1/4'' flexible luan.

Just an idea I thought I'd pass on...

 

[Giggles]

Here is the type of trailer hitch luggage rack I was thinking of. This is new (and expensive!), but I saw one for sale for $131.00 on Craigslist today.

I might just have to make one someday......

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo-Carrier/Surco-Products/52018F.html

 

[crofter]

Could also line with coir mats for drainage. 70 mph petunias. Link to article.

https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/composting/coconut-coir/

In some national forest areas you are restricted from bringing in plants and soils, due to spread of plant and soil diseases to the wild plants.
-crofter

 

[Giggles]

Could also line with coir mats for drainage. 70 mph petunias. Link to article.
-crofter

https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/composting/coconut-coir/

 
Good idea!

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I doubt it would work the vibration from driving, would shake up the earth like liquefaction good luck though,

 

[Sofisintown]

Here is the type of trailer hitch luggage rack I was thinking of. This is new (and expensive!), but I saw one for sale for $131.00  on Craigslist today.

I might just have to make one someday......

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Cargo-Carrier/Surco-Products/52018F.html

Harbor Freight beats them both: $62 and less

https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html

 

[GntlStone]

I've considered this in the past. You might be best off planting in Rubbermaid type totes with drainage holes drilled in the bottom. Lay down some weed block (Dollar Tree) over the holes and tape in place with duct tape. Gover with about an inch of packing peanuts or broken up styrofoam. This will allow for airspace and drainage. Cover foam with another layer of weed block taped in place. Then put in your soil and plant. You can do a wind guard/greenhouse out of 1x2s and coroplast. It will help with evaporation and light filtering.

I'd love to see what you come up with.

 

[RoamerRV428]

I like your idea

but wouldn't do for us, we use our hitch for all kinds of things LOL

of course like you said being mostly stationary is key here. but for us we 'use our truck' and it would make getting into the bed of the truck hard and since we do haul other things etc.....just not doable for us in any way with using up hitch space for sure.

but for someone who could....worth a shot

 

[Giggles]

I doubt it would work the vibration from driving, would shake up the earth like liquefaction good luck though,

That's why I said it would be good if you stayed put most of the time on BLM land.

 

[Giggles]

I've considered this in the past. You might be best off planting in Rubbermaid type totes with drainage holes drilled in the bottom. Lay down some weed block (Dollar Tree) over the holes and tape in place with duct tape. Gover with about an inch of packing peanuts or broken up styrofoam. This will allow for airspace and drainage. Cover foam with another layer of weed block taped in place. Then put in your soil and plant. You can do a wind guard/greenhouse out of 1x2s and coroplast. It will help with evaporation and light filtering.

I'd love to see what you come up with.

Thanks! Great ideas!

 

[Giggles]

Harbor Freight beats them both:  $62 and less

https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-deluxe-cargo-carrier-66983.html

thanks!

 

[highdesertranger]

Good luck going to California. I wonder what the BLM would say about this? Highdesertranger

 

[JDub]

Something like that planted with fast growing lettuces, radishes, and sprouts in the spring and fall that you could pick everyday would go a long way towards correcting that lack of sunlight induced vitamin deficiency...

 

[jacqueg]

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.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Giggles said this about wind and moving the vehicle: need to change locations, just get a pllexiglass or plastic dome to go over it. Or you could even build a wood dome to go over it using 1/4'' flexible luan.

so that was thought out but those vibrations from travel into the earth and roots??
thing is it might help them LOL in that people swear talking to plants help with vibrations from voice and carbon dioxide on them and more? so maybe that little movement of shaking up the plants improve them? ONLY someone doing it would know....mad scientist time at work here

 

[user 423]

Lots of roads into and thru BLM land are super washboardy. There will be plenty of shakin' goin' on. Vibes,too.

 

[jacqueg]

Giggles said this about wind and moving the vehicle:  need to change locations, just get a pllexiglass or plastic dome to go over it.  Or you could even build a wood dome to go over it using 1/4'' flexible luan.

so that was thought out but those vibrations from travel into the earth and roots??
thing is it might help them LOL in that people swear talking to plants help with vibrations from voice and carbon dioxide on them and more? so maybe that little movement of shaking up the plants improve them?  ONLY someone doing it would know....mad scientist time at work here

 
At highway speeds, a superstructure would have to be pretty sturdy. We're not talking about a lightweight plastic dome held down by a few tent stakes, or a plastic tarp held on by bungee cords here. Structural damage to regular buildings can happen at 45-mph winds. (https://www.weather.gov/mlb/seasonal_wind_threat)

Interestingly enough, studies have been done on the effects of regular shaking on plants. Can't remember all the details, but plants that were tested  reacted by staying shorter and developing sturdier xylem* - which makes them tougher. If these are food plants you're growing, this might affect their palatability. And tomato flowers (and others) actually require vibration to produce fruit. Check out youtube for "buzz pollination", it's fascinating.

*Xylem - a plant's central core of fibrous vascular tissue that acts as an internal "skeleton" in land plants.

 

[user 423]

"Buzz pollination". Growing pot legalized in AZ now. My landlord is preparing his dirt as we speak.

 

[bullfrog]

Does anybody else remember the old VW bug that the guy drove around with the body covered with rye grass. I believe he welded angle iron all around the edges to hold the sod on. I had little sprouts pop up in the front floor boards of my dune buggy after the sand had built up!

 

[jacqueg]

"Buzz pollination". Growing pot legalized in AZ now. My landlord is preparing his dirt as we speak.

You know, the last few months, I've been asking myself what the functional difference would be if I made AZ my permanent address, and spent my summers camping out in the PNW, instead of the reverse. Now this is a good reason to have a permanent address in Arizona.

Yes, it's legal to grow pot in Washington, but only on a commercial scale.