subject: Garden In A Car [print this page] Car Garden or my attempt at converting my old car into a garden.
There were two reasons why i decided to construct a vegetable garden in the back of my old ford festiva hachback. One was upon a bet with a car pooling friend on our way to work. The second is, my discarded breakfast collects in the back seat often enough that the jump from toast and apple cores to grain plant and vegetable trees ( small ones )seemed natural enough.
Not a logical one i admit, but that is sort of the point. When it came to selling my car i new i wouldn't get much money for it, so i thought a vegetable garden would be an interesting and crazy idea. The very interesting part about it will be that - the car will still be drivable - yes that is the aim.
Here is a low down of the plan. First of all i will need to remove the back seats ( not the front ) either by un-screwing them or using welding equipment which my brother in law owns. I don't know how a car comes apart really Its not my area of expertise.
This might take a couple of evenings work. It might just take one evening if they unscrew. If there are sharp metal edges left i'll cover them with wood which is glued in place. Sanding it down probably won't work. To make more room for soil and planting i will then knock down the barrier to my boot.
With space prepared i can't just start to lay down soil. There might be leaks so i need to over cautiously seal any cracks or edges with sealant, and then lay down a thick plastic sheet which will cover the floor and rise half way up the side of the car, But i won't do this with out providing drainage. There will be a funnel connected to the plastic which is then attached to a pipe that in turn leads to the most convenient opening ( if i have to make one i will )
With that last piece of the bottom prepared, next i will fit the front of the car (where the back seats would have met the floor ) with a wooden divider or wall to raise the level of soil high otherwise the drivers seat would have to be knee deep in soil.
The wood will need measuring, and then i will cut something close to the right size but bigger in-order to re-adjust it several times. Afterwards some more sealant will do the job. There isn't much else needed Accept I have decided to put in place a rain collection tray on top of the roof with a pipe that can funnel down into a plastic collection barrel.
That's it now I just have to fill it with soil; possibly starting with a thin layer of clay on the bottom for an added water proof benefit. I'm not using blood and bone because I hate that stuff. The end result will be a healthy layer of soil at knee height.
I'm tempted to just have a smooth (very small ) hill of grass in the back, but then I wouldn't get to have any crops. So i will probably have A garden pea plant growing up the side of the car, which will be guided by twine and piping. Then some tomato plants, some strawberry bushels and maybe i will have a small orange tree. Next year i might try a lot of potatoes or maybe some vines; I really want to know what that would look like.
Another article will appear once i have built and tested the garden. I will have recommendations of what needs to be changed.
