Full Timing with the Western Garden Book

[Ray Eklund]

Full timing in an Airstream, RV, Bus or a cardboard box are all the same to me when you plan to full time at one location that has FOUR Seasons. Or like Missouri with two seasons... Hot and Humid, Cold and Humid. Sorry folks in Missouri... I lived in Missouri for more than fifteen years. In "dog years" that is probably closer to one hundred years.

The Sunset Western Garden Book is broken into zones for 24 CLIMATES. I figure if a plant that has evolved to handle a climate extreme... I can too.

Had I any incentive to make a killing selling books... it would be the Full Timer Trailer Guidebook. I would have volumes for four regions of the USA and then expand into Canada, Alaska and have a new edition every two years.

The Western Garden Book has been revised and improved over 55 years or more. These people are so slick, they do not even have a copyright date to be found. This copy could be 1979, so make it even older than it looks.

Taking the individual States and the "Climate Zones" for various plants, anyone on the Forum for Full Timing can figure out if an area fits their needs. Obviously Zone 11 in Southern Nevada in June, July and August are great for Cacti and Palms, but unless you wear little clothing, this is zoned well for people and plants exposed to serious sunburns.

The problem with most writers is their imaginations mirrors their lack of common sense. Plants = People, People = Plants. It is too difficult a concept to grasp that if Pomegranate ( Punica granatum) thrives in great heat, lousy soil conditions that would kill most plants and will NOT FRUIT in cool coastal areas (i.e.: San Diego), maybe you would prefer not to Full Time in your aluminum hot dog warmer.

I know after two weeks of enough heat and sun to KILL a Pomegranate, or at least shrivel its male reproductive system so no fruit would ever be possible!

San Diego, California... Climate Zone 24 in the book:

"Winters are mild. Summers are cool. Limited sunshine due to fog. Plants from Chile, New Zealand, Canary Islands and South Africa will do well..."

Twenty year temperature ranges... 24F to 44F for the coldest with some areas NEVER recorded a freezing temperature. All time highs...105F. (Inland temperatures reach 111F to 115F.) I am all for plants, but make some room for me and my Full Timing Trailer. OK?

As a bonus you will be given numerous plants and fruit trees that love the climate as much as you will, might or could. Pruning. Hardware. Water requirements. You may not know a grapefruit from a wine grape, but you will.

Think like a Fruit. Peaches like hot. Apples like cold. I am sure you are thinking fruit right now. Right now in southern Nevada... more of a hot pepper but I will have to check its Climate Zone.

I am sure there is someone reading this as I begin to imagine my Pomegranate bush/tree growing in my desert landscaping, picking them tiny seeds out of my gums and teeth. There are hundreds of plants to aid your search.

Surrounded by Palms... look it up. Living in a corn field... or near one? Do you have strawberries or melons or rag weed or... dandelions? If your plant will not survive a winter or summer where you live... it could be a sign you just do not know a plum from an acorn. But... check it out. Someday you will send to me a case of fresh Grapefruit from your Zone 11 full time site.

May the green thumb bless you and your decision to think and live like a plant. Sure beats listening to a sales person who pays someone to mow his lawn.

[Ray Eklund]

After almost a month on the road, our two weeks Full Timing at a RV Park was a great education.

The RV Park we stayed for half a month was divided into Full Timers, weekly and daily full hookup sites. Maybe 175 sites, each with a small tree for some shade.

Most of the Full Timers had been parked for a year or more. One for seven years that had a boat he had been working on for several years. Most have pet(s), but usually two dogs, maybe a cat or two that never left the RV.

Many had a boat on a trailer. Sofa or similar furniture outside. ATV, bicycle, a plant or two, a pen for their small dog(s) and almost an even number of out of State or local State plates on their trailers or vehicles. Some placed decorative concrete blocks in their outside living space. Several trailers were parked backwards into their site... how or why, I never asked to find out.

It was a community, as most of the Full Timers knew one another. Air Conditioning ran 7 days 24 hours and rarely came out of their RV or Trailer during the day. (75-85F evenings and 95-110F days) Before sunrise and After sunset was the popular time to be out and about. Cost was $560 a month which included power, water, trash service and conveniently placed shower/restrooms and a swimming pool. We paid $26 a day with five day minimum or $36 a day for a single day as an option.

One couple were from NW Montana (County 7 plate) and worked in town as a teacher during the school year and appeared that they stayed full time. Fifth wheel. Personal pickup, a car and a school system pickup alternated each day. Probably retired and hired in Southern Nevada with a teacher shortage... as the school system advertised every day for young or retired teachers to apply.

Most were retired and comfortable with the costs and the RV Park. Others, like myself, used the campsite as a convenient location for whatever activity was required of them. One Full Timer made nicely carved walking sticks and was selling them to those who inquired. I would say the majority were just comfortable with the WiFi, television cable offered for free and this was home.

After several weeks of living out of the trailer and commuting doing the business we had at hand... I found ourselves becoming less and less active. Almost as if you had a routine that you followed each day, no matter which day. The Full Timers, many needed to exercise as they were not physically active and overweight. One fellow was much underweight, but would be seen often during the day and would disappear into a trailer somewhere within the park.

Rental RV's of all nationalities stopped for one or more days. A Dutch couple with their two sons remarked about the signs in the grocery stores were in English and Spanish. I recalled in Europe where signs were in FOUR languages, and non were English!

So how does this tie into the plants in the Western Garden Book? Before you decide where to Full Time... I discovered that you need a personality to fit the climate and seasons. After several weeks camped in a RV Park... I have no dream of staying at one place on an annual basis.

Full Timing? No. Nomadic Seasonal Timing? Possibly but with a home as an anchor. You have to have a personality type that I do not have for Full Timing. I have to have a purpose to keep myself entertained and busy. Running a RV Park? Nope. Never. It is tough for the Park owners and the Residents at times to keep the place clean and organized. The RV Park was run as well as one could expect.

So... grab yourself a copy of this book and discover the one or more possible Full Timing Climates that fit YOUR personality and needs. This just was not our kind of Full Timing. When we do find a Full Timing routine... I will have more to say.