How to Keep Your Garden Alive While on Vacation
This post may contain affiliate links which might earn us money. Please read my Disclosure and Privacy policies here
If you love your garden, you may have a hard time taking a vacation. After all, a week without care can lead to a dead garden.
The last thing you want to do is come home to dead plants. If you’re lucky enough to have a friend stop by and check on things; that’s wonderful.
But, even if you don’t, you can still keep your garden alive while on vacation.
4 Ways To Keep Your Garden Alive While On Vacation
Train Your Plants to Take Water from Deeper in the Ground
Did you know you can train your plants?
This is an invaluable tip for those that want to get away during the summer months. Instead of relying on daily watering, your plants will learn to go longer in between those waterings.
To do this, give your plants more water less often. This will cause the roots to grow deeper and for the plants to become drought tolerant.
Even if you’re not going on vacation, this can be a great tip for allowing you to miss a day or two when you’re not feeling well or there are water restrictions.
Use Enough Mulch
Mulch is so important for your plants. Mulch holds water in the ground and prevents evaporation. Another benefit is that mulch prevents weed growth. Weeds are one of the worst enemies a gardener faces.
Not only do they suck up water and nutrients that your plants need, but no one likes to pull weeds. To truly prevent weeds, put cardboard down before you cover the area in mulch.
This is much more affordable than a weed barrier and is a great way to recycle cardboard.
Related Garden Posts:
- Composting Tips (3 Basic Tips For Beginners)
- Frugal Ways to Start Your Seeds
- Cheap Ways to Improve Your Garden Soil
Go High Tech
If you plan to do a lot of traveling throughout the summer, consider buying a wi-fi-enabled watering system. This is better than a system on a timer because it allows you to water the plants as needed.
For example, if it’s going to be a rainy day, you won’t need to water them. Of course, the exact features included will depend on how expensive the system is. With that said, you can get away with a less expensive model.
Protect Your Garden from Pests
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to think about pests. For example, you can use pinwheels to scare away birds. You can also use fake snakes and owls to keep away birds and mice.
A border of salt around your garden can keep out slugs. You can also invite beneficial insects to your garden to eat other insects and munch away at dead debris.
You don’t have to leave your garden and hope it’s okay when you come back. Instead, you can take measures to ensure that your garden will look just as lovely when you return.
Train your plants to rely on fewer waterings. Use enough mulch to trap water and prevent weeds. Consider going high-tech to give your plants water only when they need it.
And protect your garden from pests. These tips will not only help while you’re away but will also make caring for your garden easier all the time.
It’s been a few years since we had a long vacation but last time I asked a friend to check on my pants and water them. I think we were gone 10 days and I asked her to check twice. It worked OK for us!