Modifying a Pull Trailer for Food Production

Hi to all,,

Here is a new project, I recently bought a 26 foot pull trailer and I'm in a trailer park which is otherwise in a very rural area. Hordes of whitetail deer descend on the place (tracks are evidence). Id like to use every trick in the book to modify this trailer home for food production, emphasis on nutritious greens, tomatos peppers and culinary herbs. Any great ideas for this?  Remember they will need protection from deer. PS I am not as agile as I was in former days, the roof will no doubt house my solar array when I can get it together but Im not up for any rooftop agriculture.  Additional parameter, should feed 2 people or at least shoot for that goal.

Many thanks..M

Michael, I feel our members might need some additional information.

I am not sure what a pull trailer is, maybe you mean pull behind trailer?

Since you say it has a roof is this a travel trailer?  If so are you wanting to use it as a greenhouse?

Hi Michael, I’d love to see a picture when you have one available.

I am assuming your trailer would be static for this, as in, staying put.

Container Gardening:  hanging baskets, pots etc.  In a trailer park, will the deer actually come between the trailers in such close quarters?  

Gutter gardening:  Using water gutters (for roofs) attached to the sides of the trailer, above deer height, can make great "planter boxes".  They can also be mounted on a rack that allows for elevation via pulley, up the side wall when not being tended.  The rack can also be built so that the gutters  swivel in a box frame.  As you lift/elevate the bottom edge on legs (top is attached to trailer) so that it sticks out, but the gutters swivel so they are elevated and at head height.  Think over head pergola made of gutters.

Elevated gardening:  an A-Frame with suspended bed on pulley's that can be elevated, then lowered when needing tending.

Roof  Gardening:  likely not an option, as it sounds like climbing onto the roof regularly is not ideal.

Fencing:  enclosing the garden area in portable fencing, such as plastic (I know, but for this purpose, due to its lightweight and portability...) snow fencing or bird netting and bamboo stakes could make for an easily portable, and stowable deer barrier.

Here it is. Im presently thinking of externally mounting some septic type pvc pipe with precut openings just under my windows. Deer will stand on their hind legs but maybe I could scare them with some noisemaker? Perhaps plantings heavy with garlic and onions which are so useful anyway would help deter and protect my greens too. Maybe...

I love what you’re doing Michael. I’m think this is a blank slate that you can do great things with. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when finished.

Thanks for everybodys feedback, you know I love the ideas of using gutters, I am going to look more into that, PVC pipe is implicated with gassing out carcinogens when exposed to higher temperatures, Im hoping the gutters are either steel or ABS plastic which does not have those characteristics.

Yes a rooftop water diversion setup seems the way to go.

Somebody asked if deer really do constitute a problem--there are hundreds of deer tracks in the soft mud around the camper site, I estimate 20 individual animals on a particular morning.....we have a healthy local whitetail population.

I also searched for some deer resistant vegitable varieties for my trailer garden it looks like these are the lead contenders:

Basil
Carrots
Chives
Cucumbers
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Mint
Onions
Parsley
Peppers
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon
Thyme
Tomatoes

Thanks again!

Mike

Hi Scott thanks for the likes, Ive had to delay buying land for a year opting for the trailer home this year which I can move onto a suitable property next year but I have to do my little agriculture wherever I can. I was thinking about the weight of these planters when full, Im also presently thinking of  2/3 vermiculite or wood chips and 1/3 good soil.  Also keeping a pair of goldfish and feeding the fruiting plants like tomatos and cucumbers with fish poop water. Any thoughts on any other soil amendments not too heavy?

High Michael. For growing medium in planters I would probably use slightly less vermiculite and add some perlite. Vermiculite holds moisture while perlite wicks it away. Depending on the containers you may need to experiment. Until a few years ago I used pine bark harvested from my property as drainage for pots. It was very labor intensive. When I friend move he gave me a small bag of perlite. It works so great that I won’t stop using it.
Goldfish poo water does work really well. I made airlifts for my diy aquaponics that worked for years with hardly any maintenance. Then my greenhouse collapsed in a storm. An airlift doesn’t filter out the fish solids but takes them directly to the plants. By the time it trickles down through the beds it’s clean once again.
I use comfrey, sow thistle or weed teas for all of my fertilizer needs. Comfrey is great because it regenerates very quickly. Other than that I cannot tell a big difference in how it feeds the plants vs weeds.
If you’d like to see the airlift in motion let me know and I’ll post a short video.

Aluminum downspouts are cheaper than big diameter pvc and they can be crimped upwards at the ends instead of buying a cap or other fitting.
You can also use concrete to seal the ends.
Steel gutters and downspouts are more expensive/harder to find.

I would recommend putting the gutters/downspouts/ pvc tubes on a rack that leans against the trailer, rather than screwing them too the trailer itself.
Hanging clear plastic sheet  or mesh around the plants should keep the deer off, but it won't stop smaller animals.

Since most of what you are planning to grow is annuals, consider planting in cardboard boxes.
At the end of the growing season you can still take the soil with you , if you want, but you can skip the containers.
Load the growing medium into contractor bags or tarps for transport.
Put the boxes in the compost or burn in the charcoal grill.