Mid-Atl - July 2018 - Vacations

What do YOU do for vacation when someone else is taking care of your garden?

Had decided early in the year to let my garden go fallow because I was going to be gone so much this growing season. Then the local community college asked me to teach a "Square Foot Tomatoes" class in 2019 so I decided to at least grow tomatoes so that I could get some good photos.

Instead of watering by hand, I needed to make it easier on those taking care of my garden while I'm gone. I have watering grids on my 2'x23' SFG and drip hoses strung across my table top, containers and along the FOUR 1'x12' beds along my THREE squash arches.

It worked well during the time I was gone to NC and my daughter-in-law and son took care of it. Now I hope it's as successful while HUBBY takes care of it late this month and early next month while I head to Kenya. Now that the tomatoes are growing faster and faster, he'll also need to prune and sucker the plants AND take photos.

Great thread.  

I actually water all in well, and watch the weather...

Then i leave a hose out in the yard to the SFG.  All she has to do is turn it on and off.  My south annex is usually OK.....

I hate it.  But love vacation:roll:

The SFG does pretty well without tending -- for short vacations during average weather. And my garden isn't 'friendly' for tending -- narrow paths (not SFG standard 3ft), large, with a complicated arrangement that includes unusual plants/intentional weeds, and a wonky gate... So I figured I'd just water the SFG well, and cross my fingers.

But my sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) need water nearly daily, especially with the heat we had the other week. The zucchinis in particular were just guzzling the whole 2.5 gallon reservoir every day. They weren't going to survive if I just left them. I have about a dozen SIPs, and the hose doesn't reach them. Carrying watering cans to them is genuine work (and someone who is being paid is less likely to forget to do it), so for my vacation last week I ended up hiring someone to fill them for four days. As a result, the zucchinis look great for this time of year -- I should get a few more before the inevitable squash borers. (I can't bring myself to cover them - the squash bees are way too cute to deny their food and livelihood.) Paying someone was worth it to me, and I'd do it again.

I know, Beetles.  I am dreading the SVBs inevitable appearance.  My one and only patty pan got destroyed by (?neighbor dog/derecho winds?) so just have my 2 Delicata in the annex.