How To Care For Your Garden While On Vacation

Garden Care While On Vacation

Summer’s almost here, and like most people, you’re probably excited to go on a beach trip to soak up the sun and just enjoy the breeze.

But if you’re a gardener, being out of town for a few days might make you feel a bit worried about your well-tended garden. After all, you’ve spent so much time and effort ensuring that every plant in your garden is healthy, well-watered, and well-fed.  

The good news is you don’t have to worry about coming home to a parched and withered garden. There are plenty of ways to keep your garden healthy and how to keep your plants watered while on vacation or while you’re away.

Plus, don’t forget there are lawn care companies, like TruGreen, that will keep your lawn and garden. They’re an excellent resource for lawn care while on vacation and for how to keep your plants watered while on vacation.

Today, we’ll be talking about how you can make your garden vacation-proof. Let’s get to it!

Find a Garden Buddy

If you’ll be away for quite a while, say a couple of weeks, you’ll need someone trustworthy to look after your garden care while on vacation. Find a neighbor, friend, or family member who knows their way around tending a garden.

You can also make things easier for your garden-sitter by placing plants with similar watering needs together. You can also set up any materials needed like watering cans or hoses where they can easily find them, so if you were wondering how to water outdoor plants while on vacation, this is an excellent way to do so.

Don’t forget to pick them up a gift from your travels as a thank you!

Tidy Up Your Garden

This is one of the first steps in garden care and how to take care of your plants while on vacation. Before you leave, make sure that your garden is free from clutter, too.

Pull out weeds, clip yellowing or dead leaves, and deadhead spent blooms. This ensures that your plants are free from any competition when it comes to water and will give them a better chance of surviving while you’re away.

Check for Pests

When thinking about how to care for plants when on vacation, one of the first things you should do is conduct a pest check before heading out. Look out for signs of aphids, slugs, rodents, and other hungry critters who might be interested in the contents of your garden.

Apply natural pest control methods like physical traps and barriers like mouse traps. You can also spray insecticidal soap and attract natural pest predators like birds and ladybugs.

Keep Your Plants Watered While You’re Away

While thinking about your garden care and how to take care of plants while on vacation, the first thing that comes to mind is watering garden while on vacation. Keeping your plants watered while you’re on vacation doesn’t have to be a big problem.

If you are away for just a few days, you don’t have to think too hard about how to water plants while on vacation. Give your plants a deep and good watering. Be sure also to add some mulch to help retain water. 

Though if you’re wondering how to keep outdoor plants water while on vacation for longer, as we mentioned above, you can have a garden buddy come and water your plants.

If you are away for a few days, you have the option of setting up a watering system so your garden won’t become dehydrated. One option is to use a drip irrigation system. There are inexpensive kits you can purchase at gardening stores or on Amazon. With this system, you simply need to put a timer on your spigot.

If you don’t want to spend extra money on a drip irrigation system, there is a cheaper way to battle the question how to water plants on vacation. You can take the DIY route and install self-watering jugs in your garden beds.

Just take old soda bottles and poke pin holes into them. Bury a portion of the water bottles near your plants, and then fill them with water just before leaving. If you were wondering how to keep garden watered while on vacation, this way is excellent to still be watering plants while on vacation.

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You can also set up a wicking system for your unmovable plants. All you need to do for this hack on how to water a garden while on vacation is to get some wicking material like thick yarn, scraps of natural fiber rope, or strips of old cotton shirts, as well as a container that can hold water.

Place one end of the wick deep into the water container and poke the other end into the soil of your plants. Moisture will travel from the water-filled container to your plants through the wicking material. This is also a great way to answer the question: how to water garden while on vacation.

You might also opt for adding some whimsy to your garden with watering globes. You can find them anywhere online or in stores. A water globe is a simple way to keep a plant well hydrated for days. This is yet another foolproof way for how to water your garden while on vacation.

Also, did you know there is such a thing as a watering service? Some companies will keep your lawn and garden well watered while you’re away. Just look in your area for watering services, and you’re sure to find at least a few.

Using a plant watering service while on vacation is the most popular way how to water plants when on vacation and for how to water lawn while on vacation.

Protect Potted Plants

You may wonder what to do with plants when on vacation. Plants in containers may be a bit more challenging to maintain when you’re away, but it’s not impossible.

First, ensure they are deeply watered and apply some mulch to keep the moisture in. You can also group potted plants together in a shaded area to create a micro-climate.

Another life-changing hack on how to take care of plants on vacation if you’ll be away for longer, place your plants in a kiddie pool or a similar large container and fill it with about an inch of water.

You Might Also Like: Ways To Water Plants When You’re Away

Create a Mini Greenhouse

For cooler weather or for when nights might get cold a greenhouse can be a good idea. Greenhouses are usually large structures that regulate the climate conditions in which plants are grown. You can do the same for container plants you have at home. 

A quick way to do this and take care of plants while on vacation is to use a plastic bag. Simply wrap a big plastic bag around your potted plants and secure it with a rubber band on the base after you’ve watered them. Leave your plant in an area that receives indirect light. 

This will act as a mini greenhouse that will capture water as it evaporates and let it drop back into your plants. 

Your garden doesn’t have to suffer while you relax and enjoy your vacation. With just a bit of planning and a few tricks, you can return to a healthy garden even if you weren’t around to tend it. I hope these tips for garden care while on vacation are helpful to you.

Do you have tips on how to vacation-proof your garden? Let me know in the comments below!

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