3 Tips for RV Gardening

When you’re traveling in an RV – full time or otherwise – you may feel as though you must give up all the traditional practices of home, such as gardening. But if you love adding fresh herbs to your favorite meals, you don’t have to sacrifice that small pleasure while you’re on the road. Now, the concept of actual gardening will be slightly different in an RV, especially if you’re frequently on the move. But there are still ways to cultivate plants and maintain your green thumb in your rig.

Here are three tips you can use to begin gardening in your RV:

• Start with indoor plants – A great way to ignite a passion for gardening while traveling is to start caring for a few indoor plants in your RV. You may have to get creative with where your plants live – consider growing things in containers that can be hung on rods over the sink, tucked into a canvas shoe organizer, or placed into a larger basket or holder. Some of the easy-to-maintain indoor plants that travel well include herbs, ferns, ivies, snake plants, peace lilies, succulents, and bamboo.
• Try outdoor container gardening – If you’re on the move enough, gardening in the traditional sense isn’t possible, but you may still want to harvest fresh vegetables of your own. That’s where container gardening can come into play. You can sow seeds and plants in pretty much anything – five-gallon buckets, plastic storage containers, and wooden pallets or bins. You’ll just need to prepare the containers for proper drainage by drilling a few holes into the bottoms (if there aren’t any already), adding a layer of rocks or pebbles (to ensure that roots don’t become over saturated when watered), and using a potting soil appropriate for the seeds or plants you intend to use. Try cultivating tomatoes, lettuces, vegetables, strawberries, and more outside.
• Discover planting without soil – While it may be weird to consider not using soil at all to garden, you may find that gardening hydroponically, or with just water, is the right option for you. Growing herbs and other small plants hydroponically could help you avoid dealing with soil contamination and the potential infestation of pests. There are plenty of hydroponic systems out there that you could try, or you could even create some do-it-yourself options.

Of course, gardening in your RV will pose some unique challenges: It’ll be easier for plants to get stressed, so they will need a lot of attention and care. You may have to water plants more often than you’re used to, especially if they’re in smaller containers. And, you may have to contend with inspections of plants when you cross borders, as certain states and countries (such as Canada) want to ensure that pests and diseases are not brought into their regions. Regardless, the satisfaction of preparing dinner with veggies you grew yourself will make any gardening challenges worth it in the end. If you’d like to learn more about RV life and travel, contact us today!