You may not think that you can garden if you’re living out of an RV or tiny house. But you’d be wrong! A small home garden can travel right along with you.
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Container gardens are the perfect solution for people who’re living out of an RV. Nothing beats picking fresh veggies and herbs outside your front door!
Let’s take a closer look at small garden design and how you can take yours on the go!
What Is A Tiny House Garden?
So by now, you’re saying “but I don’t have a yard”. Oh yes you do! When you park your tiny house or RV, there’s space along the side of your home just waiting to be used. Do you have an extendable shade? Then you have a porch, too!
And let’s not forget that indoor plants are always an option. If you’ve got plenty of light indoors, your mobile home garden can flourish.
All it takes is a little creativity to get started. With a little tender loving care, your garden can be ready for both its small space and your travel needs.
Why Grow A Small Garden?
Perhaps you love the taste of a vine-ripened tomato. You enjoy cooking, and always want to have fresh herbs at hand. Or you might adore the bright, cheerful look of flowers in a window.
Living in a small space can seem crammed. Adding plants helps make the space seem larger. It doesn’t have to be a lot of plants, and they can be low-maintenance varieties. The greenery brings the outdoors in and makes it into a real home.
Even larger garden spaces are an option for the mobile dweller. A mobile home garden expands your living area, and forms a nice boundary, even the sense of a yard. Of course, you’ll want to have something that can be adjusted to your available space!
This garden can save you money, too. Anyone who’s gone herb-shopping at the market can attest that it’s expensive to get fresh herbs. A few small pots can easily supply your kitchen!
Gardening is a wonderful activity. There’s tons of reasons why plants improve your physical and mental health. And no matter where you live, there’s a way to garden in that space.
Mobile Home Garden Ideas
Let’s explore a few of the options you’ve got. Mind you, this is nowhere near an exhaustive list, but it’s a great start for gardens on the go.
How To Build An Indoor Herb Garden
Herbs are a whole lot cheaper if you grow them yourselves, and they’ll liven up your cooking. An indoor herb garden doesn’t have to be elaborate to be effective!
Start by deciding which herbs you want to grow. Choose varieties you’ll use often to maximize your space. If it’s not something you’re likely to use, you can skip it.
Consider your lighting. Do you have lots of window space that will receive sun? Then use it. The dashboard of an RV can be a great sun location when you’re parked.
If you’re limited on window space, consider adding a grow light under your kitchen shelves. This can serve dual purpose by being a countertop light when you need to cook and a grow light the rest of the time.
Many herbs, like thyme and sage, grow very well in smaller pots. Dwarf varieties will grow in more compact forms than other varieties.
Don’t have a lot of counter space, but want a wide selection? Take a look at hanging shoe storage. If you select a plastic one that can hold water, you can fill the shoe holders with potting soil. Plant your herbs in it and hang it on a door while in transit. Once you’re parked, hang it on hooks outside to let the plants get sun.
Interior Garden Designs And Ideas
Whether edible or decorative, plants are always beneficial in the home. But there’s some helpful hints you should follow when growing in a mobile environment!
When you’re parked, place your plants where they can get sunlight. Some houseplants prefer indirect bright lighting. Others want lots of pure sun. Don’t forget that different places will have different lighting availability. Make the most out of the light you get!
It’s essential to be sure your plants are getting the right amount of water, too. Some, like tillandsia air plants, don’t need a lot of watering. These are excellent in small house gardens. For those which do need regular watering, consider saucers or trays under the plants.
When you’re on the road, your plants will need to be secure. You don’t want to arrive at your next destination and find potting soil everywhere! Placing non-skid mats underneath the pots can help them from sliding around. You can also secure many pots together with rubberbands or bungee cords.
Do you have a lot of windows in your tiny house? If so, consider building shelves in front of them. You can add a rail that prevents your plants from moving in transit, and they’ll always have access to light.
Small Patio Garden Ideas
If you have a place to spread out an awning at your parking spot, you’ve got room for a patio garden!
The sky is truly the limit with a garden like this. Your only consideration should be the weight and size of the containers you’re using. Make sure you can move them indoors when you need to travel.
Five gallon buckets are a popular choice. Drill holes in the bottom of one, then place it inside an un-drilled one. This creates a reservoir that will prevent water from seeping onto your floors. Fill the drilled bucket with potting soil and plant away!
There are self-watering planters that work wonderfully, too. These also have a reservoir in the bottom that will hold water. Be sure to pick smaller sized ones, as the weight of the water and soil together can be significant.
Once you’ve parked, you can arrange your larger plants to form a patio boundary. You’ll be able to relax in the shade, surrounded by your own portable garden.
Other RV Garden Concepts
Are you a fan of upcycling? If so, you can build a hanging garden out of upside-down 2-liter bottles.
Cut off the very bottom of the bottle, and make 1.5″ deep slits around the bottom. Fold those into the bottle and hot-glue them in place to create a rolled top edge. Heat the end of an old coat hanger and pierce holes in the doubled plastic to add twine to hang your plants.
In the neck of the bottle, place a piece of landscape fabric or old window screen. This prevents potting soil from coming out. Fill with potting soil and plant your plant. Take off the bottle cap when you water to allow for drainage, but don’t lose it! You’ll want to put that cap on when you’re on the road.
Hang your bottle planters outside when it’s sunny. And when you’re on the road, you can hang them from cup hooks in the ceiling. Be sure to use something heavy tied to the bottom bottle neck as a weight. This will prevent them from swinging around as you drive!
Another option for hanging plants is window boxes. You can add some supportive bolts to the outside of your RV, small house, or caravan.. Then, it’s easy to carry your window boxes outside and pop them into place once you’ve parked. Don’t forget to bring them inside before you move again!
RV And Small House Garden Tips
Do you have plants that prefer it humid? Use a shower caddy with hooks to hold your plants in the shower. They’ll love the humidity in the air after you get clean!
Consider grow bags or recycled-material shopping bags as planters. Root Pouch grow bags are high quality, long-lasting bags that travel well. The handles make them easy to move around. Be sure they’re sturdy!
Looking for something lightweight? An old styrofoam ice chest can be a great planter. You also won’t be adding it to the landfill after you’ve used it for its original purpose!
If you’re into DIY, building a portable tower garden might work well for you. You can use the center core as a composting worm bin to reduce your waste. Your plants will benefit, and so will you!
Do you have lightweight plants? Consider a shelf that sticks with suction cups to your window. You can pop it into place and let your plants happily sun themselves.
Limited on windows? No worries. There’s plenty of plants which like it darker. Some types of coleus are tolerant of low-light conditions. Persian shield also likes partial shade.
If you want something a little unusual, you might want to think about an aquarium. Get one that’s much deeper than you would expect, and keep the water level low so it doesn’t slosh as you’re in transit. You can grow java ferns and raise fish at the same time!
Need something that’s easy? A moss wall in the bathroom or a succulent frame can give you living plants right on the wall. They’re easy to care for and don’t need much more than regular misting!
Having a tiny home garden is an easy way to brighten your life, inside and out! Use what you’ve learned in this piece and take the first step today. One step at a time, you’ll develop the perfect small space garden for your mobile lifestyle.
