Summer holidays and plot care

[Laura Hillier]

Hi Everyone,

Now that we are heading towards the peak months of the year for holidays, we were wondering, what do you do with your crops while you are away? Do you trade holiday duties with friends and neighbours? Set up irrigation systems? Or do you go away outside of the peak growing season? Whatever you do, we want to know!

Answers may be edited and published in the July issue of Grow Your Own.

Laura

[bearded bloke]

An old friend calls in most days & if he can't make it for any reason he phones a near neighbour,as a reward they keep the chook eggs plus get a gift from the holiday

[AllInContainers]

I've not had the luxury of a summer holiday for a few years due to work commitments. I started a new job recently though, which means things could be different this year. I have a good neighbour who would watch over the garden for me, but I'd have to leave him a map with instructions due to the wide variety of watering needs. Vinegar fortified tap water or rainwater for the ericaceous, saline for the samphire, none for the fig, thyme and rosemary, and so on. Then there's the feeding regime - probably safer to stop at home

[Penellype]

I've never been one for holidays, and I'm rarely away for more than one night at a time. I just water everythign before I go and again when I get back. Last time I went on holiday for a week (several years ago) I lost all my indoor tomato crop as it was a very hot week and their water ran out.

[Scarlet]

Everything is planted in the ground in the GH except the chillies, these get a good watering and then left on damp capillary matting, they can easily last a week.Toms in pots by my kitchen door get put in trays filled with water. My veg plot rarely sees a hose pipe as I'm on a metre, when plants are first sown they are watered in well and then mulched with newspapers, grass clippings etc. Not so pretty but it works for me.
If I'm away longer than a week, my Mum comes to stay!

[Alison]

Not being tied down by small people we avoid going away much over the school summer holidays but still can't get to the plot everyday anyway. With this in mind I spend a reasonable amount of time putting together an automatic watering system for my polytunnel which utilises run off from the roof feeding into a soaker hose system which is distributed through the beds on a battery operated timer. Due to the fall across the plot I can also top up the tunnel water butts from an IBC adjacent to the shed at the top of the plot. Outside I don't really water except at time of sowing / planting and find that the plants then cope well with dry periods as this is what they are used to. That said, I do prepare the ground well and dig in plenty of home made compost and mulch to prevent evaporation.

[alldigging]

I try to avoid holidays when there are tomatoes to water. It's a bit unfair on Nic's mum to have to look after them as well as the cat. Or the bees.

I think a perfect holiday would be 7 days on the plot.

[Bex]

I've taken my new plot on the same site as my dad, it's a bit longer drive for me but hopefully I'll spend more time with my parents and look after each other's plots during holidays.


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[rustylady]

I can't afford holidays. By the way the option for other says "please specify" but how the heck do you do that?

[Alison]

I can't afford holidays. By the way the option for other says "please specify" but how the heck do you do that?

I think it means in the general replies but not 100% sure.

[Dorothy rouse]

We never go away in the 'summer months', except for perhaps a weekend, the plot would get watered before and on my return, always been fine, and if I can't get there, one of my allotment friends would water, and I look after their plot if they are away during the summer.

[Jardiniere]

we live in an area where people come for their holidays ....so never go away from June to September except for a day or two at the very beginning or very end. Having two weeks in england from next weekend but its bound to rain so wont worry about the garden.

[Newishgardener]

We usually get my wife's parents to look over the plot for us as they live just down the road from our plot :-) but also some other members on my allotment also offer to water for us.


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[Laura Hillier]

Hi all,

Yes, sorry for the confusion, the 'other' section is for anybody who might not feel that the poll options cover their methods fully, this can then be further explained in this comment section

Thanks!

Laura

[MrsCordial]

I'm an 'Other'. We don't go away for long, usually because with a large family and three companies to run the expense and hassle is just too much to face. The longest we go for usually is three nights, and the garden can hang on for that long without me.