Serious garden needs serious Garden Sitter...

...But where do we find one?
I tried many people out, and when they get here; it's "no thanks".
Where do you find good gardensitters? I will be gone for 3 weeks and will die if I have to let my stepDD do it!!!!

Christie.

Do you have any neighbors who have nice gardens? That's where I would start, although honestly if I was going to be gone for 3 wks I'd make sure I had everything on automatic sprinklers and then all they would have to do is doublecheck that the sprinklers are running like they ought to. The other thing you could do is hire a landscaping service to just come over and make sure everything is watered, I'm sure they'd be able to do something like that. If you have things that have widely varying water requirements you might have trouble since they're more likely to water everything the same, but that's the option I'd consider if there weren't neighbors who could be trusted.

My neighbours like grass. And some of them like it brown. That will not work....
Landscaping service could work, although most of them here a Mexican people who don't speak English and that scares me. They pretend they know what you say but do something else.... Happened to me before...

CC

I know what you mean about the landscapers, I wouldn't trust them with weeding and pruning because I know they'd do something I didn't want them to do, but if all you do is pay them to come a couple days a week and water your garden I think you're pretty safe, unless you have a wide variation in water tolerance and have to try and get them to only water the succulents once a week but water something else 3 times a week but most of the garden twice a week, that I don't think they could do reliably.

Do you have automatic sprinklers? That can really go a long way to solving your problem. If you don't, you can get the cheapo DIY kits at OSH, Lowes, HD, etc and install one real quickly before you go. It's really easy and can be done easily in an afternoon, maybe a little longer if you do drip tubing around each plant rather than the little mini-sprinklers. I did one in the front yard at my old house and it couldn't have been simpler--it won't be as nice as the fancy kinds that the landscaping companies would install for you, but it's very cheap and easy and it keeps your garden watered. Then if you've got the sprinklers, maybe you could trust your stepdaughter to check every once in a while just to make sure the sprinklers are running like they're supposed to.

I have no time to install the drips. DH is already gone and I follow next week.
I'll try to find a landscaper to do it.... CC

Go into Sloats or Sunnyside.
Speak to the nursery workers.
Most all of the nursery workers have garden maintenance accounts along with their nursery job.
Perhaps someone will have an opening for watering.

I live just north of you in Novato. The Sloats in my town is fabulous. Excellent assistance. On many many occasions I have found wonderful help via this store for garden assistance.

I agree with DD. When I worked at a nursery, all of us had small side gigs like watering for people in your situation. That's why it's good to get to know the staff at your local nursery, they can come in handy in cases like this.

Since there are few jobs for anyone in the area, I bet if you contacted high school groups or scout groups, you could find an attentive kid needing some summer money.

4-H?

Thank you for the suggestion; I asked a woman at Sunnyside and she said she would do it. She hasn't seen my garden yet, so let's hope she sticks to it!

CC

But remember, no one is going to do it as precisely as you would, so you'll have to expect a slight margin of error. Not trying to be negative, just realistic.
Hopefully, she'll do just fine.

Christie,

If I lived near you, I'd do it in a heartbeat. lol

I do all my neighbors while they are away and they have no worries, as they know I'm a gardener and take good care of my plants.
It's a good thing that I don't go away much, as I don't know who I would get to water mine. lol

I hope this new person works out for you.

Donna

I know nobody will do as good as I do, I have to admit I am over the top with my garden, I truly am a freak. Not kidding too!

A few years ago when DSD did it, everything was dead or on the way. It was so bad, even my fruit trees were laying on their side!

I get antsy when we leave and would rather not leave at all... How bad am I hey!

Christie

Ahh, if I lived closer I would because I know exactly how you feel!
I am leaving tomorrow for 3 days and initially asked my Mom to stop by as she is an avid gardener like me even though I have my grown married daughter and family living here. (they aren't gardeners, they think I am nuts) But Mom called this morning, she has to stay indoors because the smoke particles are really bothering her a lot and she is coughing too much. She is up against the foothills and I suspect the smoke is more concentrated there perhaps, it's bad here but we seem to get more of a breeze off Alviso. So now I have to instruct my DD, not just a casual watering, but look for those hidden pots, and get the hanging ones daily!

Why am I getting the distinct feeling that our gardens are like kids?

We worry about leaving them and have a hard time finding someone to watch out for them in our absence !

Maybe this is why I never go anywhere ! LOL

Sue, I would take care of your garden for you too! In 4 days nothing can go bad beyond repair I don't think, so don't worry!

Jasperdale; you hit the nail on the head! My plants are my family! And I have a human son, 3 cats, 13 birds and my DH. I feel very loved by them all!
( Now especially the by the plum trees that are heavy with fruit!!!)

CC

I have friends who've volunteered to do my watering so I can leave...I thank them and tell them that I truly appreciate the thought, but they have no idea how long it takes to water several thousand plants. There's been a death in the family and I would really like to be at the service in Vallejo, but it's impossible. Perhaps I should be addicted to something non-perishable.....