We all need a break sometimes. Vacations give us a chance to get out of our normal routines, experience new thoughts and ways of life, and spend some much-needed time with family.
But I find that the week before I leave on vacation is one of the most busy, stress-filled weeks of my entire year. There’s just so much to get through and pack so that I can turn my brain off when I get to my destination.
Part of that busy week is setting my garden up for success while I’m gone. It’s worth the effort to me so I don’t worry about the garden constantly while I’m away (nobody should have to worry on vacation!) and I come back to a lush, green garden ready to be harvested instead of a brown, dead wasteland.
Since your time the week before you leave on vacation is especially precious, these tips will ensure you’re spending your time in a way that will have the most impact on your garden.
- Ensure your garden will be watered. Don’t leave this one to chance. You might ask one of your neighbors to water while you’re gone. Or lay down soaker hoses and connect them to a water timer that waters for a set amount of time every few days (<- this is my favorite method). If you’re gardening in medium or smaller containers, you could ask to relocate the containers to a neighbor’s yard for a week and have them water the containers along with all their other containers. You could even hire out watering to a neighborhood teen looking for some extra cash this summer. Get creative, but make sure you have a watering plan!
- Harvest as much as you can before you leave. Depending on how long you’ll be on vacation, the veggies that are almost ready in your garden might be past their peak when you come back. Rather than take the chance your harvest will be ruined or eaten by a critter, harvest what you can and take a few minutes to stash it in the fridge or gift it to a neighbor, family member, or friend. Even better, you could give your veggies to whoever waters your garden while you’re gone as a thank you!
- Remove as many pests and diseased leaves from your garden as possible. If you have an infestation of Japanese beetles or cabbage moths, kill as many of them as you can before you leave so they don’t cause damage unchecked while you’re gone. Remove any yellowing leaves, leaves with spots, or any other leaf that’s not perfectly green. While you might be able to find someone to water your garden, you likely won’t have luck finding someone who has enough extra time to also keep up on your pest management, so put yourself in the best position before you leave so your garden isn’t overcome with pests and diseases when you get back.
When you get back from vacation and have a second to breathe, go out into your garden and harvest everything that’s ripe. You should be able to pull a pretty massive harvest from your garden – it was thriving and continued to grow while you were gone, after all! You might even be able to sauté some vegetables quickly for dinner. Eating a home-cooked, home-grown meal after all those meals out during your vacation should be a bit of a relief.
Most of all, enjoy the fact that all the work you did before you left had a huge impact on the health of your garden not only while you were gone, but for the rest of the growing season. And then get back to dreaming where you’ll go next on vacation!
