Amir
Member
I've been wanting to set up a garden on the back of my minivan for a while and I wanted to see if anyone here has any ideas, tips, or experience with this.
My Garden Goals:
1) Stuff I want to grow: 5-10 different herbs, small root veggies, and salad greens (1-3 gallon size pots required), 2-5 medium size veggies plants - grape tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (5 gallon size pots probably), and 2-3 large plants at a time - mini berry bushes, mini potatoes or other root carbs (7-10 gallon pots).
2) Moveability: I want to keep my garden on the back of my minivan on a hitch or a trailer (preferably something that doesn't require an additional license plate). I want this attachment to be easy to move out of the way of the trunk door. I'm thinking maybe a swing hitch or a trailer that is balanced on its own wheels even when it's not attached to the vehicle.
3) Stackability: Rather than having all of the plants on one level, I want to use vertical space by using some kind of shelving, tower, or staggered stacking that doesn't squash any of the plants.
4) Climate Control: I need to make some level of climate control and rather than building a greenhouse with glass panes, I want something that isn't so prone to shattering and easier to cut with an oscillating multi tool. I'm thinking either a simple plastic sheet covering that's used on a lot of personal size greenhouses that sell on the internet. That or plexiglass maybe? It should be sturdy and relatively inexpensive. I'm also interested in fans and rain collection. For cooler times, I'd probably want a small heater so I could probably go for a fan that has heat and no heat options. Also, uv lights maybe?
5) Sturdiness: Basically, I don't want my shit to fly off when I'm driving or when it's windy, break from fallen sticks or other small tree pieces, or collapse from rain pooling on top of it.
Some things I've looked into:
1) Various Plant Pots: I know there are pots made of plastic, wood, metal, or terracotta but my favorite is fabric plant bags. These are good for moisture retention without drowning your plants and you don't need to drill holes. Literally just don't water your soil with puddles of water and these things are really good. They tend to be damp on the bottom which should be fine on a metal grate or another surface that doesn't rot from water.
2) Swing Away Basket Hitch: I just today found out that there's a hitch that swings out without detaching complete so I can easily open the trunk still.
3) Soil Blends: Back when I was living with family, I decided to start a potted garden and learned that the soil blend is important in a container so the roots don't drown, dry out, suffocate, or get stifled from being able to move and grow. I measure with my eyes: some kind of dry mulch (ex: crunched up dry dead leaves, wood mulch, coconut coir - good for making the soil not clumpy), perlite (good for regulating the amount of water in the soil), and the regular dirt (hopefully not full of too much sand or clay).
Thanks in advance for tips!
I'll probably make edits or comments on this thread to help with others who come across this and want to make a garden.
My Garden Goals:
1) Stuff I want to grow: 5-10 different herbs, small root veggies, and salad greens (1-3 gallon size pots required), 2-5 medium size veggies plants - grape tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (5 gallon size pots probably), and 2-3 large plants at a time - mini berry bushes, mini potatoes or other root carbs (7-10 gallon pots).
2) Moveability: I want to keep my garden on the back of my minivan on a hitch or a trailer (preferably something that doesn't require an additional license plate). I want this attachment to be easy to move out of the way of the trunk door. I'm thinking maybe a swing hitch or a trailer that is balanced on its own wheels even when it's not attached to the vehicle.
3) Stackability: Rather than having all of the plants on one level, I want to use vertical space by using some kind of shelving, tower, or staggered stacking that doesn't squash any of the plants.
4) Climate Control: I need to make some level of climate control and rather than building a greenhouse with glass panes, I want something that isn't so prone to shattering and easier to cut with an oscillating multi tool. I'm thinking either a simple plastic sheet covering that's used on a lot of personal size greenhouses that sell on the internet. That or plexiglass maybe? It should be sturdy and relatively inexpensive. I'm also interested in fans and rain collection. For cooler times, I'd probably want a small heater so I could probably go for a fan that has heat and no heat options. Also, uv lights maybe?
5) Sturdiness: Basically, I don't want my shit to fly off when I'm driving or when it's windy, break from fallen sticks or other small tree pieces, or collapse from rain pooling on top of it.
Some things I've looked into:
1) Various Plant Pots: I know there are pots made of plastic, wood, metal, or terracotta but my favorite is fabric plant bags. These are good for moisture retention without drowning your plants and you don't need to drill holes. Literally just don't water your soil with puddles of water and these things are really good. They tend to be damp on the bottom which should be fine on a metal grate or another surface that doesn't rot from water.
2) Swing Away Basket Hitch: I just today found out that there's a hitch that swings out without detaching complete so I can easily open the trunk still.
3) Soil Blends: Back when I was living with family, I decided to start a potted garden and learned that the soil blend is important in a container so the roots don't drown, dry out, suffocate, or get stifled from being able to move and grow. I measure with my eyes: some kind of dry mulch (ex: crunched up dry dead leaves, wood mulch, coconut coir - good for making the soil not clumpy), perlite (good for regulating the amount of water in the soil), and the regular dirt (hopefully not full of too much sand or clay).
Thanks in advance for tips!
I'll probably make edits or comments on this thread to help with others who come across this and want to make a garden.
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