Vacation Garden Maintenance....

After seeing lots of great gardens on this site, I have always wondered this: What do you guys do as far as maintenance for your gardens if you go on vacation for any length of time????? Not that I ever go on a vacation...!!!! Do you have someone you can trust to do things the way you like them done? What about watering??? If you're like me, you have a routine and stick to it...We all know that it only takes a few weeks of bad care to ruin what we've babied along for years...My garden is very small but there's a lot in it...and I'm very particular about how I do things....It would be interesting to hear what other people do when they are away....

Hubby (so far) tolerates my gardening mania and we usually take our extended trips in the off season. If we are gone for more than a few days when the weather is hot, I try to hire someone to come by and water plants.

I do try to make it as simple as possible for them by grouping potted plants into a common area. I also hook up my soaker hoses to timers during those times and ask the house sitter to just check to make sure that everything appears to be ok.

I have a disabled lady in my neighborhood who does an ok job most of the time, but have learned to live with a few failures when they happen.

One word of advise is to make sure that you show them how to water pots. Most non-gardeners think you just pass a little water over the top - - and don't understand to really water pots.

I also use a lot of LARGE self watering pots that can go a week or more without watering. As I can afford to, I'll be switching over to more of these pots.

If you are going to be gone a really extended period of time, you could arrange for a neighborhood teenager to housesit for you or a "professional" housesitter. Or if you are lucky, you might arrange for a local gardening friend to water for you (with the understanding that you will return the favor in turn).

Going on vacation is a nightmare concerning plants. Last summer I installed an underground watering system, which is on a timer and is fabulous. It does no good however for all of the many, many pots that I have on the deck. And then there are the plants inside the house. I have a handyman/friend that comes by to check on things, and water. He is however, not a gardener and although I've shown him exactly what to do, I always live in fear that I'll come home to dead/damaged plants. So far, not too much has gone badly......and I keep telling myself that they are only plants....only plants....only plants.

I'm retired now. Several years ago it was a bit hectic to leave for a week in summertime. I waited until the strawberries were done and the raspberries were not quite ready...ditto for corn, beans, and tomatoes.

Then I mowed the grass before leaving and got to mow as soon as possible after getting back...plus catching up on weeding and watering and picking ripe things. whew!!

I've hired neighborhood teenagers trying to save up for a car but too young to work before with good results--but I teach in a middle school so I can "size up" the reliability of the modern American teenager pretty well! lol But you might have some very dependable ones in your area--ask your neighbors who they use to babysit, etc.
Debbie