Question ? Garden on van swing hitch

Amir

Amir

New 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.
 
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I'm rooting for ya (no pun intended), this would be rad af. Love hearing ppl's wingnutty build ideas. It's fun to do something different
 
I feel sorry for the poor bastards driving behind you when the wind wake from your van starts throwing your vegetable harvest at their vehicles. The dashcam footage would probably be funny.
 
Those swing away hitches are crazy expensive, if bought off the shelf. Looking at the cheapest one (with 12.5 cubic foot box), it’s a grand and can only hold 200 pounds. A cubic foot of soil weighs about 100 pounds give or take.

I don’t see it as viable. The weight, the cost, and the fact that nothing would be edible because it’d be getting bombarded with fumes and road debris.

Micro greens and sprouts inside the van is much more doable.
 
Amir said:
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.
Click to expand...

The plants would not do well on a switch hitch. The wind would tear them to pieces. A few plants inside would be nice you can grow some herbs for cooking. A lot of plants might interfere with your living space. California and Arizona have agriculture inspection stations when you enter the state so you would have to stay clear of them. Good luck 😁😁. Most edible plants need sun so you could set them outside when you are camping.
 
I think that road speeds are going to be rough on plants. And likewise any sort of protective cover.

If you have a regular rotation of sleeping spots, you might do better to do stealth gardening in each of those areas.

You might also want to learn about foraging. The natural world can give you a lot for free.

A lot of tiny house and permaculture forums also have vehicle dweller threads where you can find lots of ideas and information.
 
With as much of a garden as you want to plant your best option would be to make a greenhouse trailer, although I can see that option getting pretty expensive pretty quickly. It'll protect the plants while you are moving, although any time you role down the highway you risk killing all the plants. Polycarbonate or plexiglass would be the most durable option. As far as plates go, I don't know what the rules are where you are, but I know folks near me that take the plate off of their truck and put it on their trailer. They've never had any issues. Obviously, that's not legal advice. Follow your local laws... if you want.
 
Honesty, I would say start out with a few potted herbs in your van, and see how it turns out. Hard breaking will be your nemesis. Buy a dust buster. Hydroponics is an absolute no go on a mobile system. Not even kratkey. It'll just make a wet mess.
 
V4 had a good idea with foraging, if you're in the right area it can provide many of your calories. If you've got something like sugar pine around you consider getting a little pellet gun for knocking cones down, very good for food. Plants outside the van are gonna get mangled up and plants on the inside still might not like all the forces involved w/ driving
 
There are some good points here about wind and road contaminants. Indoor outdoor potted herbs would be my solution to the problem. There is a good book called "the bountiful container" which you might check out its all about small container gardens that could be moved in and out of the van when you stop. If you are relay married to the idea of keeping something outside all the time you would need a fully enclosed box system I'm thinking a very lightweight soil substitute mix of mostly coco core and perlite. In self watering containers. Inside of a clear tuftex (this is like plastic corrugated roofing ) box with an aluminum frame. Hydroponics might actually be a solution. But not traditional hydro units. I might go with an aeroponic misting system using a large sealing bottle as your solution reservoir You could pull the tubes out and seal the bottle when your going to actually drive. That why theirs nothing to slosh around and spill. It would be tricky and delicate. But anything is possible with work. We are growing plants in orbit these days so it can probably be done in a van. Message me if you want to chat about this more. It sounds like a cool project.
 
(Vertical hydroponics tube) D.I.Y. with 3 inch cutouts and maybe bug nets or tarp cover for moves. It might be convenient if you had 4in diameter pipes and maybe 4 or 5 pieces to assemble 4.5 foot vertical sections to create a row, built off the hitch or bumper. Could use a water pump from a terrarium/aquarium and Line up your garden herbs, vegetables and other plants in the tube cutouts.
A simple wire frame around the tube will prevent loss of your garden or damages while making trips or traveling. And if it's light enough you might be able to stand it alone away from your van while situated for a while.
 
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