Gardening on the Road While RV Living
The Top 5 Ways to Grow a Garden in Your RV
Living in an RV full-time comes with a lot of great perks. The freedom of the open road, exploring the world, and meeting new people are just a few. With more and more people choosing to live in a home on wheels, the question arises: can you take your garden with you?
The answer, according to many creative and innovative RVers, is a resounding yes. They have come up with a number of ingenious ways to incorporate herb and vegetables gardens into what is generally considered a cramped space.
Below, we’ll look at some of the most inventive ways that you can add a garden to your RV and enjoy fresh, homegrown food while you’re on the road.
How to Grow a Garden in an RV
1. Save space with a shoe organizer garden
You’ll be amazed by how much space you save by making your garden vertical. Shoe organizers are generally cheap to purchase and can hang on any door in your RV.
What’s more, they are easily movable. So you can hang them outdoors when you’re parked and let your plants soak up some sunshine, then move them inside to your shower when you’re on the move.
Just make sure that you use a lighter potting mix with elements like peat moss to ensure the shoe organizer doesn’t break. You can also conserve water by placing potted plants below the organizer to catch any extra water, and prevent it from dripping onto the floor of your RV.
Shoe organizers also have many different compartments, allowing you to grow different varieties of plants at the same time. The only limiting factor is the size of the plants you can grow. Each pocket is about the size of a small pot, so you’ll need to limit your garden to herbs and small vegetables. Some suggested varieties include lettuces, strawberries, herbs, and stringless green beans.
2. Use mason jars to sprout seeds
It’s a well-known fact that mason jars have an endless number of uses - from canning to flower vases and more. What you may not know is that they are also perfect for indoor RV gardens!
You can grow a wide variety of micro greens and sprouts in mason jars. Plus, these ever-popular jars are easy to obtain and easy on your budget. You can use them year after year to grow your own little micro-garden while you’re on the road in your RV.
You can easily sprout many different vegetables to add to your favorite salads or sandwiches. Here are a few of the best sprouting plants for RV gardeners:
Mung beans
Lentils
Cress
Alfalfa
Chickpeas
Radish
Adzuki beans
To sprout seeds, you’ll want to first place 2-4 tablespoons of the seeds into the mason jar. Then, cover the seeds with water until they are submerged by an inch. Use a rubber band to attach a mesh screen to the top of the jar, then store the jar away from direct sunlight.
After 8-10 hours, drain the water and place the jar on its side in the same spot away from sunlight. You’ll then want to rinse the seeds twice daily by submerging them in water, swishing the jar around, and draining it. Repeat until they’ve grown to the point where you can enjoy them with your next meal!
3. Take advantage of low-light plants
If you’re an RV gardener who is often on the road and in your mobile home, then consider growing your garden indoors. There are several vegetables that can thrive in low light situations. Cauliflower, carrots, and Brussels sprouts are just a few of these.
Although they can survive with low light, they do need some sun. Just make sure that you place them outside whenever you stop, and they should do just fine.
4. Herbs, herbs, and more herbs
Herbs are some of the most versatile plants you can grow. They can fit in small containers, can easily be trimmed to prevent them from growing too big, and are easy to care for.
One of the things that makes them the best plants for indoor RV gardening is that they can be grown with artificial light if natural light is scarce. Here are some of the most popular herbs for mobile home gardeners:
Basil
Thyme
Oregano
Mint
Parsley
Rosemary
Lavender
You can add these small plants anywhere they will fit in your RV. Some mobile home gardeners build shelves on their walls, place pots on windowsills, or even hang herbs in the shower.
Another great spot to place plants is on your dashboard. Some RV gardeners will even put up suction cup shelves or planters on their windows to allow their herbs and other plants to get some sunlight.
5. Growing vegetables in your RV successfully
Vegetables are perhaps the most challenging type of plant to grow in an RV. This is because they generally need room to grow and access to lots of sunlight. However, this doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Each vegetable has different needs. For example, spinach and lettuces do well with low light, but tomatoes need a lot of sun, and beans and peas will climb. Fortunately, though, most veggies do well in pots, which is good news for mobile home gardeners. This makes them portable, which means you can easily move them outside to catch some rays when you are stopped.
Another helpful tip is to look for specific varieties that are bred to be small or contained, such as patio or bush tomatoes. This will prevent excessive or unmanageable growth.
As you can see, is it completely feasible to grow your own fresh food while on the road in your mobile home. You can enjoy the freedom and beauty of life on the move while also indulging in the wonderful hobby that is gardening.
From herbs to shoe organizer gardens to indoor vegetables, there are a multitude of ways to incorporate gardening into your RV lifestyle.
