Using Your RV
Gardening on the go in your RV
By Brent Peterson

You don't have to leave your gardening at home when you RV!

Talking about the virtues of RVing is kind of like preaching to the choir, right? It's hard to dismiss the freedom and flexibility to do what you please whenever and wherever you choose. However, let us consider the lifestyle's one dark side, the fact that you can't take it all with you. In this case, we're talking about your garden.  

Suppose for a moment that you're the type who always looked forward to January because that's when the seed catalogs come. Is your green thumb your best feature? Is August pointless without tomatoes to harvest? Are you lost without the chance to "work the land" and feel the Earth beneath your fingers? I feel your pain. How does one possibly hope to reconcile the freewheelin' life with their desire to plant something come spring? The surge of interest in "small gardening" on balconies and patios has given rise to some very interesting new products that RVers can easily adapt to their specific needs. We aren't just talking about some ho-hum house plant on a windowsill, either. If you crave herbs and vegetables like tomatoes, strawberries and even corn, then you can have them with just a bare minimum of space. And yes, have them in your rig. Let's call the phenomena "mobile gardening." Catchy, huh?  


Named the "2005 Best Garden Product in America" by Readers Digest and heralded by Time as one of "America's Top Inventions," the aptly named Topsy Turvy Planter (865-241-1611; www.topsyturvys) has turned container gardening (literally) upside down. These planters are actually cylindrical bags filled with a planting medium, and here's how it works for the RVing set.

The plants are placed in the bottom of the bag with the roots pointing up and are held securely by a foam clamp inside. Now stay with us here, but the roots grow up and the plant grows down, meaning now worries about staking or caging your tomatoes or dealing with soil-borne pests or fungus are over. And you can say goodbye to aching knees and back muscles from bending over to harvest, too. These nifty planters can be hung just about anywhere and quickly taken down if you're moving to a new campground. The company also offers a Gro Pole hanging system, which is simply a 41" tall stand and base, complete with fold-out legs for stability and four hanger arms to hang your garden. Set-up is a cinch, taking less than five minutes, delivering the kind of convenience that lets you turn any sunny spot in your campsite into a lush garden patch for tomatoes, strawberries, or flowering annuals.  

Although somewhat less mobile, the EarthBox is another revolutionary new product. Measuring at a modest 2 1/2 feet long and fifteen inches wide by twelve inches high, this growing system really delivers at harvest time without taking up precious space. While it may not look all that different from other containers on the outside, the EarthBox actually has all its bona fides on the inside. It's the unique layering of potting mix, fertilizer band, aeration screen, and self-watering reservoir that makes EarthBox something genuinely new under the sun. 
   
The fertilizer band releases nutrients to your plants just as they need it so the guesswork is gone, which allows your vegetables to reach their maximum potential without the watery leggy growth overfeeding encourages or the wilted underproduction of plants starved for nutrients. It's the proper and consistent level of fertilizer in the container that makes it possible to grow large crops like corn in a space you never would have though possible before. The aeration screen combines with an ample 2.2 gallon reservoir for self-watering which puts the last nail in the coffin for many common container gardening headaches like mold and root rot. And the reservoir holds enough to let you get away for a few days without worrying about plants drying out or having to ask friends and neighbors to water for you. The container itself is UV resistant and holds up to even strong desert sunshine for years, and is topped off with a patented mulch cover that prevents weeds, conserves water, and gives young plants protection from storms. So no more moving your containers inside when skies threaten.

EarthBoxes with empty reservoirs and young plants are relatively easy to move. However once plants begin to produce and reservoirs are filled, these containers can weigh up to 50 pounds, so you probably need to plan on staying put for part of the growing season. The payoff for just "sittin' awhile" though can be big. EarthBox gardeners report almost unimaginable results: hundreds of tomatoes, cukes, beans or peppers from just one box. In fact EarthBoxes are suitable for just about anything you'd grow in your backyard garden and by putting a few of them side by side, you'll keep you and your RV neighbors in fresh veggies all season without picking up a hoe or pulling a single weed. You can check them out at www.earthbox.com or call at 888-917-3908.  

If this all sounds like more than you're willing to commit to but you'd still like a little greenery around your rig, then there are some nice, less intensive alternatives. At www.herbkits.com there are several sprouting kits that include small greenhouse dome trays and Jiffy peat pellets along with seeds for herbs or salad greens. These can then be transplanted into traditional containers of just about any size. If transplanting is one step too many, then you can also buy kits like Garden In-a-Bag herbs or flowers from www.gardenguides.com, which are completely self-contained.