"5 Tips for Keeping Your Garden Thriving While You're Away"
Every year my family and I take a vacation mid-summer to go back to our favourite place: the Rocky Mountains. But it always seems to happen that we get a huge heat wave while we’re away which does a number on my garden. It never fails, my tomatoes are full and happy, my zucchini is coming in and then we go on vacation and everything goes downhill. I was getting so sick of coming home to sad withered plants, especially after all the time (and money!) I put into creating a luscious garden.
Over the years, I’ve slowly worked out a strategy that helps keep my plants alive and thriving until we get back, or at least until my ‘garden sitter’ can make it to our house. I’ve found the two biggest challenges are keeping my garden watered and my produce picked.
1. Weed before you go.
Weeds are competitors for nutrients and water, so before you leave, make sure you remove any competition for those precious resources. Plus, if you pick them before you leave, you won’t come home to a 4-hour weeding job.
2. Harvest anything that’s ready.
Anything ripe, or close to it, should be picked before you leave to avoid over-ripening. If you let the vegetables over-ripen, it signals to the plant that the growing season is over and it’s time to go dormant. It’s very similar to why we deadhead flowers; to keep them blooming all summer. If you end up leaving right when your plants are in the full swing of production, it might be best to ask a friend to come over and harvest for you if you’re going to be longer than three days.
3. Water! Water! Water!
Right before you leave on your holidays, as in the night before or the morning of, make sure you water your garden A LOT! This will depend on what the weather has been like at your place recently, but you want to water enough that your garden will survive if Mother Nature’s taps suddenly turn off and a heat wave comes while you’re away. If you’re going to be gone longer than 3 days, I would highly recommend asking a friend to come over and water for you if it doesn’t rain while you’re away.
You can also use some DIY watering devices such as watering stakes you can put a clean pop bottle on or build yourself a temporary drip line on a timer!
Usually established plants such as perennials will do just fine without extra watering while you’re gone, especially if they are mulched. I’ve taken a hands-off, tough-love approach to many of my perennials and honestly, they’re tougher for it. My peonies, lambs ear, lilies, and hostas can all go a couple weeks without a substantial rain now.
4. Mulch.
Relating to the previous point, mulching your plants can have two positive effects on your garden: keeps weeds at bay and keeps moisture in. Since mulch prevents the sun from reaching the soil, it helps prevent certain weeds from germinating that use sunlight to ‘activate’ the seed. It also prevents moisture evaporation, keeping it in the soil where is most useful to your plants.
You don’t have to go and buy landscaping fabric or a bag of cedar mulch. You can mulch with lawn clippings, newspaper, or leaves from the lawn. These organic options can be left in the garden after your return and will improve your soil as they decompose!
5. Check the weather!
Knowing what’s in store for your area while you’re gone is important to help you plan appropriately. If it’s going to be overcast and rainy the whole time, you’ll probably be fine to leave your garden unattended. But if it’s going to be a scorcher, it’s best to organize to have someone come over and check your crops. You might even want to think about investing in shade clothes and timer irrigations if the weather is going to be extreme. Taking extra precautions like moving your container gardens to the shade will help them conserve water while you’re away.
I wouldn’t recommend leaving your garden for longer than three or four days, depending on the weather, without asking a friend to come over and water for you. Even if you’ve been training your plants to survive a drought, extreme weather can really take a toll on plants.
UPON YOUR RETURN
When you’ve returned from your fun-filled vacation, you’ll have groceries to buy, mail and laundry to catch up on, and a garden to tend to! Make sure you take a walk through the garden and try to get these four main tasks done the day you return:
- Pick and remove any ripe or overgrown produce and use it or compost it as appropriate.
- Water your garden if there hasn’t been a recent watering or rain.
- Check your plants for pests and bugs, removing any infected areas or spraying for bugs to reduce the spread.
- Weed! Those pesky plants have probably started to overtake your garden while you’re away so it’s a good idea to get at picking them soon. The first two are the most important tasks upon your return, but the longer you leave the weeding the tougher it’s going to be.
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