16:27 - 10 August 2011
The very best way to keep your plants watered and nurtured in your absence is to ask a gardening friend or neighbour to step in and help. Choose your helper carefully; paying a teenager pocket money is unlikely to be successful unless they have a little plant knowledge and are enthusiastic, overwatering is a dangerous to your plants as under watering. Ask around, you may find you can do a successful exchange with another keen gardener by offering to tend to their garden and greenhouse while they are away as an exchange. Whoever you choose, if they have done a good job remember to reward them generously on your return. If they have kept your plants thriving they will have saved you money and of course if you want them to help you again they will be more likely to take up the challenge.
If you can’t persuade a plant or garden sitter to assist then you need to employ a few other tactics.
In the Garden
Most garden plants that are established will be perfectly ok for a week or two without additional water providing they have a good root system and that the weather isn’t a heat wave. The chances are during your absence there will be some rain anyway, which will keep most plants healthy. If however you have especially precious plants that may not endure a prolonged dry spell then you need to consider installing automatic irrigation. For garden plants this can either be a system of individual drippers positioned at each plant, for example newly planted trees and shrubs, or you could use a specially perforated hose that is laid between rows of plants or beneath the soil, this is particularly effective for rows of vegetables and fruit. Automatic watering usually requires an outdoor tap although there are now one or two systems that will run off a water butt. It also needs a timer to ensure that the watering is carried out during the evening or early morning.
The Patio
One of the biggest problems to the absent gardener are pots and containers, since these are more susceptible to drying winds and hot sun. The plants are reliant on contents of the pot to thrive and as soon as the compost starts to dry out they become stressed.
The best way to water these in your absence is with a micro-irrigation kit. They take a few hours to set up, but once installed they will save you hours of watering time. They can look a little unsightly with thin black tubing everywhere, but this can be concealed with a little planning. You need an outside tap and a timer and then you can place a dripper or two per planter and set the water to come on for a few minutes each day. If you can move pots into the shade during your absence this will also help. When planting up containers use large planters, quality container compost and pot saucers to help reduce the watering needed. Choose plants more resistant to hot weather including silvery leaved plants and add water retaining gel or crystals to the compost.
Greenhouse plants
The greenhouse plants will need particular attention in your absence. Use self-watering trays that can be easily refilled or install automatic micro-irrigation to water your plants. Most kits can be extended so you can usually run enough drippers off one tap outlet to water the greenhouse and the patio.
Indoor plants
If you only have a few indoor plants then place them on a damp towel in the bath. Don’t put the plug in, but leave the tap slightly, very slowly dripping onto the towel so that it stays damp. Water your plants well before you leave and place the pots onto the towel. If you have a lot of plants then use self-watering trays to water them in your absence, or take them to a friend to look after them for you.
