How to Care for Your Garden While on Vacation

Often times our vacations line up perfectly with peak garden season. Kids are out of school, work often slows down and holidays are booked to visit friends, family and other countries. Going away for extended periods of time can be tough on our gardens but there are a few tasks that you can do in advance to help your garden survive.

Plan Your Watering

Think about how you can water your garden. If you only have time for one task before your vacation, this is it. The only thing your garden needs to survive while you’re away is water so this is the most important task you can do.

If you have access to your house water

Buy a hose timer because this will allow your garden to be watered for a specific amount of time, over certain days. You can attach your hose to a sprinkler that will overhead water, or you can attach it to drip irrigation, allowing your plants to be watered on a regular schedule.

Having a timer is incredibly helpful, however you should buy your timer in advance and test it for a few weeks before you leave town. It’s important to make sure there are no issues with your water since this can be a major issue with your home if there’s a leak or malfunction.

If you don’t have access to your house water

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There are a few ways you can water your garden if you don’t have access to your house water. If you’re growing in the ground, you can use a water jug (often used for camping), fill it up and place it near the roots of your plants. Ever so slightly open the spigot to drip out water slowly for your plants.

Another option is to fill old bottles (I use wine bottles) and flip them upside down and stick them in the soil near your plants roots and it will slowly water your plants. The downfall with this is there’s only so much water in the bottle and it will be used up fairly quickly. If your vacation is longer than an extended weekend, this won’t be your best option.

Finally, there are products, such as watering spikes, or water reservoirs that you can make (ex. two clay pots glued together to make a canteen) to water your garden. Generally though, water reservoirs are installed when you first plant your garden – so this is a better choice if you are planning ahead in spring for a summer holiday.

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Harvest Your Food

Harvest any food that is ripe or near ripe (but will ripen off the plant, such as tomatoes). Enjoy it fresh before you leave or process it so it doesn’t go bad while you’re gone.

Potted Plants

If you’re growing plants in pots you have a few options to help them not dry out too quickly. If possible, move your plants to a place that receives morning sun and afternoon shade. Add a water plate below to catch additional rainwater that will help water the plants on drier days. Finally place the pots near a sprinkler that’s on a timer, or add a water spike/wine bottle into each pot to help water the pots.

Move any potted plants that are on tables or at risk of falling from bad weather to a place that’s sheltered to avoid any broken pots or plants on your return.

Remove unwanted plants & pests

Before leaving on vacation, remove any weeds from your garden as they’ll compete with your garden plants for water. Deadhead any flower blooms that are finished to promote new blooms, then when you return your flowers will still be at peak bloom. Clean up any diseased or broken branches on your plants and do a final check for pests and their eggs.

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Mow the lawn

Mowing your lawn is a good idea to help keep your house looking maintained and occupied. This will keep your garden looking nice, make sure that you don’t have super long grass to mow when you return, and will ensure your house doesn’t look empty for any potential issues. Make sure not to mow your grass too short as it can kill the lawn if there’s no rain in the forecast, leaving you with a sad, brown lawn on your return.

Support plants

If you’ve been procrastinating or neglecting supporting your plants, now is a good time to do it. Supporting your plants allows them to continue growing strong and healthy and also prepares them for any bad weather that you might receive while you’re away. Often times storms can roll in quickly and your plants can use all the help they can get from strong winds and heavy rains.

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Fill up any bird baths and animal cups

Before you leave, rinse out and top up your bird baths or watering jugs that are left out for animals. Leaving a bowl of water out for squirrels or other ground animals may sound like an invitation for unwanted guests, however your garden is a target from thirsty animals. Providing water allows them to grab a drink and move along, leaving your garden untouched or with minimal damage.

Store away any furniture

It’s always better to prepare for bad weather on your vacation than to assume it’ll be perfect. Therefore, store away any patio furniture or cushions that can get blown away or ruined in the wind. The last thing you want to do when you return from vacation is to find a broken item or have to go on a search for your furniture cushions.

Prepare for potential storms

Storms can come unannounced and always seem to show up when you’re away. Assess your yard and garden to see if there is anything that needs to be moved, supported or covered while you’re gone, in order to protect it from the potential for bad weather.

By doing some, or all of these tips your garden should not only survive while you’re away, but thrive! We hope you have a wonderful vacation and come home to a garden full of delicious food and beautiful flowers!