How to Prepare Your Garden Before Going on A Holiday

It’s summer and everyone’s getting ready to go on holiday! Don’t let your garden wilt at home. This guide will show you how to prepare your garden so they stay thriving while you’re out getting some sun:

How to Prepare Your Garden Before Going on A Holiday

It’s summer and everyone’s getting ready to go on holiday! But jetting off means you have to leave your beloved garden to wilt at home. If you don’t have anybody taking care of watering and pest control for you while you’re away, you may return to find your prize marrows to become a slug’s dinner.

But with the right precautions, you can ensure that your holiday relaxation won’t be interrupted by constant worrying about what’s happening to your garden back home. This guide will show you how to prepare your garden so they stay thriving while you’re out getting some sun:

Get on Top of Routine Jobs

The first step on how to prepare your garden is to get on top of your routine jobs. Weeding can quickly become unmanageable when you decide to leave it until you’re back. No one wants to come home to discover a rainforest in your backyard, so it’s best to do a thorough weeding job before you go.

Weed the flower beds and borders, neatly clip any edgings and mow the lawn a day or two before you leave. If the weather is dry, set your mower blades to high to stop your glass from yellowing. Make sure you also lock your shed and keep any garden equipment out of sight to stay safe from light-fingered locals.

Preparing Your Pots

Ideally, your friendly neighbour or a good irrigation system will provide enough water for your plants while you’re away, but if you don’t have those, no need to despair. You can sink your containers partway into the soil in the area of your garden that gets shade. Then water them thoroughly and drench the surrounding ground too, preferably mulching with plastic to conserve water.

This should keep your pots watered for at least a week. If you think you’ll be away for longer than that, drape a damp dishcloth between it and a bucket of water to serve as a wick. Make sure to pull any beginnings of weed out of pots too.

Neaten Your Beds

It helps to deadhead your bedding plants before you leave to keep them tidy while you’re away. Do this for your flowering plants too and remove any flowers that are fully open to prevent them from running to seeds and ensure the buds are flowering when you get back.

Pick Your Kitchen Garden

Summer is a terrible time to be away if you’re gardening because this is usually the time where you reap the rewards of your edibles. If you’re not away for too long, you can harvest anything you can, freeze and enjoy later. Plants like runner beans and courgettes will become tough if you let it grow, so popping them in the freezer is better. Fruits, berries and herbs can also be frozen or preserved.

If you’re going to be away for a few weeks,  it’s better to ask a friend, neighbour, or family to help themselves with the harvest to avoid it from being wasted. It helps you and they’ll be grateful for the fresh produce too.

Ready the Greenhouse

If you have a greenhouse, remember to leave all ventilators open if it’s not automatic if you don’t want to come home to crispy plants. If no one is available to water it for you, soak the border soil so your crops have plenty of moisture. Plants in pots will fare better if they’re moved off from staging and sink them to a moist stand while you’re gone.

Pest Prevention

Pests don’t go on a holiday when you do so some pest prevention is usually a good idea. If you don’t like slug pellets, you can try making beer traps out of yoghurt pots filled with beer and sunk into the soil. They are effective and totally organic. You can also rake dead foliage and flowers to make your garden less attractive to pests.

House Plants

Large pots can usually manage even when you’re on a holiday as long as it’s in a shady place and has been watered before you leave. Smaller pots will do best on a damp towel in the sink or bath. If you’re leaving plants in the bathroom, don’t deep clean your toilet, because the bleach fumes will harm and even kill the plants.

On Your return

Once you get back, return your houseplants, tubs and hanging baskets to the usual position, water them too. Give our grass a good mowing and cut any edges around your lawn. Harvest anything that needs to be harvested and water your kitchen garden thoroughly. Any urgent weeding should be done right away as well.