Growing Veggies On The Road In A Motorhome!

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by Too Country, Jul 28, 2016.


  1. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.

    Here's the thing, I will be going on the road this spring and will be gone for a year. I have this crazy idea of trying to grow a few fresh vegetables while on the road. And was just seeking ideas of what might be possible, how and so on. The motorhome has a places for great sunlight. But what do you fine folks think might be hardy enough to take the riggers of the road? I figure it will be a great experiment and maybe some good eats.....
     
  2. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    Whelllll, Spring is long over and we are entering the Fall months. If you are traveling in the Southwest, I would suggest you could grow patio tomatoes in a pot somewhere close to the front window of the MH. Anything that produces a vine like squash or melons, cucumber and potatoes are right out. Radishes will grow in shallow soil. I'm sure the gardeners will have other suggestions.
     
  3. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.

    This will be spring 2017 I should add. Tomatoes are a favorite, wonder how they will take to the road and hold up. Will definitely give that a try!
     
    Seepalaces likes this.
  4. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Pollination might be problematic with plants that have to flower to bear fruit.
     
  5. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    The question might be how much will you be in transit vs. driving a day or two and park it for a couple weeks? If most of the time is parked, you could do a garden in buckets. Load then in bedroom and aisle, drive, park and move them onto the patio area for a good while. You might also be able to do something on the roof with some wind protection while in transit.
     
  6. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.


    Great Question, we will be traveling a good bit and then parking 5-7 days at our destinations. I thought of something like a green house pod on top the the RV. Might be an interesting build... Thanks!
     
    Seepalaces likes this.
  7. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.


    Okay???


    Anyway if house plants will grow and be healthy then we can grow some thing to eat, not sure what will do best but we will grow. But hey, thanks for the comment...
     
    3M-TA3, ditch witch and Seepalaces like this.
  8. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

  9. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    Last edited: Jul 29, 2016
    chelloveck, arleigh, 3M-TA3 and 4 others like this.
  10. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    Not something I had thought of!! Most tomatoes self pollinate, so far, so good...
     
    Mindgrinder likes this.
  11. Seepalaces

    Seepalaces Monkey+++

    The square foot gardening guy, Mel Bartholomew took his 4x4 garden on the road with him to showcase, so I'm sure the depth won't destroy you, but you probably want to remember how heavy soil is and use potting mix instead. If you made a small cut and come again lettuce bed in one or two self watering bins, you could probably make it happen, assuming you can give it enough sun within the rv somehow and then put it out when you stop overnight. Square Foot Gardening Foundation - Square Foot Gardening Foundation
     
  12. Sgt Nambu

    Sgt Nambu RIP 4/19/2018

    As an experiment, fine! :) But you are going to be motoring past fruit and vegetable stands, galore! Top notch stuff, locally grown, cheap! Hope you have a great trip!:D
     
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  13. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.


    And yet its still not the same as growing it yourself. Beyond that, i cant grow a full garden or fruit trees so i will still be buying some produce. At least with what I grow I know whats been used and so on....
     
    Seepalaces likes this.
  14. marlas1too

    marlas1too Monkey+++

    kale.Swiss chard.collards and mustard greens should do good in planters just water them good
     
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  15. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Start with lettuce. It is the easiest to grow. Kale also. But for a real garden, IMO will not happen. Living in a motor home will be cramp and the space it takes up may not be worth the yield. But if you want nutrition, look @Ganado's post. Most plants are easy to sprout but getting them to grow and produce is the hard part.
     
  16. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    This is something I kicked around a while back, before I got married and was getting attracted to the idea of a tiny house or converting a school bus to an RV and going all gypsy nomad.

    The idea is quite romantic. Unfortunately the reality of growing things makes RV gardening extremely tricky. It's hard enough to grow enough fruit and veg on an apartment balcony to really make a difference in your food supply and your space will be even more limited than that. Plus you'll have the additional consideration of needing to move it around, and soil is heavy.

    Mindgrinder's link to the foodie towers is, IMO, probably your best bet. The plants that will take to the traveling lifestyle the easiest are your salad greens and herbs, bush type cucumbers, and some varieties of tomatoes if you stake 'em well and prune them HARD. Of all our maters, the Romas are the ones that take up the least amount of space. My Champions are pushing 7 ft tall right now and the cherry tomatoes are just beasts that sprawl out as much as up.

    I had this idea to build a sort of planter box along the outside of the RV, running lengthwise, with a sort of cattle panel trellis going from it straight up, attached to the side of the RV, to try to grow vine type stuff like pole beans or even sugar baby melons. The problem is the design meant once it was there, it stayed there. If you get on the road, the wind will just shred them.

    I just had this image of one of the big 5th wheel toy haulers pop into my head, with the toy hauler section converted to an aquaponic greenhouse. Wonder what that water weight would do to the axles?
     
  17. Gray Wolf

    Gray Wolf Monkey+++

    A few EarthBoxes would work. If OP was close to Phoenix, I would donate a few.
     
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  18. Too Country

    Too Country Jack of all trades and master of none.

    great idea, I really like that.
     
  19. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    I think the trailer is by far the best idea.
     
  20. Mindgrinder

    Mindgrinder Karma Pirate Ninja|RIP 12-25-2017

    The tower garden will also look totally bad ass when you plop it outside in an RV park.
    100% sure to get asked a LOT of questions from folks.
    Kale, spinnach chard, fast and furious lettuce...anything "cut and come again" would work well between 5.5=6.9 ph.
     
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