GOING away on holiday is something most look forward to at this time of year – but your gardens don’t. Indoors it’s relatively easy – pop your potplants into the bath or laundry tub, put the plug in and run a couple of inches of water, this keeps them cool and damp while you are away. But outdoors, it’s a different story. For pot plants, make sure you find deep dishes or saucers to put under the plants – move them out of the sun and into dappled, shady areas to help preserve them from being dried out once the sun hits, especially if the plants are in terracotta pots. As with your bedding plants, mulch around base of the potted plants and don’t be afraid to sprinkle in a few water crystals – not too many as you don’t want to stop air getting into the soil by waterlogging the crystals. The morning you go away, give your potted plants a really deep water from the base of the plant, before finally giving them a good misting on the foliage. This should last them a week to 10 days at the most – if you are going to be away any more than that, ask a friend to come and give them a watering. For bedded plants, there are two things you can do. Mulch first, because this helps keep moisture in. Harvest any vegetables that are close to being ready. Give the garden beds a really deep watering the night before you leave – as with all plants, when you water, last thing in the evening, or first thing in the morning is the best time to do so. Once the sun is fully up, water is often wasted because of heat evaporation. You can also these days buy a water timer that can be set to go off at regular intervals every day usually up to seven days ahead. The problem with this though, is that there may end up being a water shortage whereby you need to not water your gardens – and you do have to be very sure you have a strong hose that won’t burst, leak or become detached from the tap. Either way, you are usually best having a good friend come in a take care of your gardens while you are away.
