Timing veggie patch around holidays?

[Sally M]

Hi everyone

I'm fairly new to veggie growing - 2015 was my first season and I had some successes and other catastrophes!

I have big plans for the coming year but am a little anxious because I'm away for 3 weeks and 3 days in May on my honeymoon.

I'm trying to decide what I can plant before I go away and what I can do when I get back (26 May) but am very nervous about leaving the patch for so long. I will have a house sitter who will do the watering, but can't really expect much else, and we don't really have local friends or neighbours who can help.

Will sowing seeds in late May be far too late? We're in Manchester and our last frost was early May last year. Any tips or thoughts would be hugely appreciated! I realise it's a bit of a bonkers time to go away but we didn't have much choice unfortunately.

[KevinM67]

Hi Sadly, welcome to the site.

Probably best if you just cancel your honeymoon.

If that's not an option - there is a sticky thread in here called 'Veg seed growing guide'. However, it is closed at the moment but does include plenty of stuff you can start off now.

[WendyC]

Certainly vegetables like courgettes, beans and cucumbers will catch up quickly. i'd definitely not plant out anything tender until I got back. I think you were lucky if your last frost was early May in Manchester. I'm considerably further south and we have had frosts on the plot in early June. Also think about what might go over whilst you're away, I always find timing lettuces almost impossible.
Congratulations and enjoy your special day and honeymoon.

[veggiechicken]

Hi Sadly, welcome to the site.

Its Sally, Kelvin

Hi Sally and welcome - congratulations too
A couple of questions - do you grow in your garden or on an allotment? Do you have a greenhouse?
If everything you grow is outdoors, I wouldn't worry about the watering. Its different in a greenhouse!
Just plant out at normal and enjoy your honeymoon.

[KevinM67]

Oops. .. Sorry Sally! !!!

[Sally M]

Certainly vegetables like courgettes, beans and cucumbers will catch up quickly. i'd definitely not plant out anything tender until I got back. I think you were lucky if your last frost was early May in Manchester. I'm considerably further south and we have had frosts on the plot in early June. Also think about what might go over whilst you're away, I always find timing lettuces almost impossible.
Congratulations and enjoy your special day and honeymoon.

Thanks Wendy! I could well be wrong about the frost in May. I remember we had a very late one so I could well have got the wrong month! We actually got married last September but my dad's been very poorly so it's been hard to plan the honeymoon. Thank you for the well wishes

[Sally M]

Its Sally, Kelvin

Hi Sally and welcome - congratulations too
A couple of questions - do you grow in your garden or on an allotment? Do you have a greenhouse?
If everything you grow is outdoors, I wouldn't worry about the watering. Its different in a greenhouse!
Just plant out at normal and enjoy your honeymoon.

Thanks Kelvin! It's nice to see someone very laid back about it all as I've been such a worrier! We have a veggie patch in the garden and we don't have a greenhouse. I grow tumbling toms in hanging baskets but bed in chopped off water bottles to ensure they get enough water. I might just give it all a bash and see what I come back to!

[Sally M]

Oops. .. Sorry Sally! !!!

To be fair 'sadly' is probably pretty accurate with the worry. Haha!

[vixylix]

I was away for 3 week mid June last year (and fretted alot about it too!) - I sowed some things, like peas and beans before I went away and left somethings until I was back.

I would be thinking about the growing season, e.g. something like lettuce, radish etc that grows quickly over the 'summer' season will be absolutely fine when you are back - but longer season things like chillies, peppers, carrots will need to be in before. I think you take a risk that if there is a late frost it might kill them off, but chances are that would be no different if you were around.

I left a neat little row of seedlings last year and came back to a rainforest! I couldn't believe how much everything had grown! Turned out alot of it was my spinach which had bolted in the heat and tried to take over the world

What will be will be, do what you can before and see what happens after. Relax and enjoy - after all it is your honeymoon!

[Sally M]

I was away for 3 week mid June last year (and fretted alot about it too!) - I sowed some things, like peas and beans before I went away and left somethings until I was back.

I would be thinking about the growing season, e.g. something like lettuce, radish etc that grows quickly over the 'summer' season will be absolutely fine when you are back - but longer season things like chillies, peppers, carrots will need to be in before. I think you take a risk that if there is a late frost it might kill them off, but chances are that would be no different if you were around.

I left a neat little row of seedlings last year and came back to a rainforest! I couldn't believe how much everything had grown! Turned out alot of it was my spinach which had bolted in the heat and tried to take over the world

What will be will be, do what you can before and see what happens after. Relax and enjoy - after all it is your honeymoon!

That's a huge help. Thank you! I think it may take a little extra planning so I can time thing according to how long they take. Good to know I'm not the only person mad enough to go away for three weeks! My spinach planned on world domination last year too, and that was with me being here!

[WendyC]

If you do lose plants, don't spend any time worrying, pull them up and start again with something new. Garden centres will have plants ready to plant out. If all else fails there's always next year, but not another honeymoon!

[Jungle Jane]

There is quite a lot you can sow in May when you get back,so you could just do a few tomatoes etc before you go so there's not much to worry about when you're away. My seeds for May are parsnips, cabbage, French bean, runner beans, swede, rocket, lettuce, carrot, peas, nasturtium, broccoli, poached egg plant & June sowings are cabbage, swede, broccoli, carrot, peas, radish, turnip, rocket & potatoes every month till July. So you could do a lot when you get back. Have a great honeymoon!

[Small pumpkin]

It's a tricky one. I have big plans for my veggie garden this year. But I will be away for at least 4 days every month for the foreseeable future. I do worry about leaving my veggies in the incapable hands of my other half .
Just do what you normally do. Go away enjoy your honeymoon. Sort out what ever needs sorting when you get back.
I'm very nosey...... Where you going ?

[Penellype]

Congrats from me too. Quite a lot of things will be fine while you are away, especially with a bit of help with watering. Most root crops will be fine and if you net them against butterflies you should be able to leave cabbages etc to just grow. You can sow a lot of the quicker maturing stuff when you get back. Peas won't be ready much before June/July if you plant them in March or April, so its really only the more tender crops like peppers and tomatoes that might cause problems. You can usually get plants of these at garden centres (although maybe not exactly the varieties you'd want), so I wouldn't be too bothered. It would be much worse to be going away in June or July!

[sparrow100]

If you've got a waterer that's a huge plus. I doubt there would be many crops that will go over. As others have said, have a wonderful honeymoon and leave the crops to take their chances! I think you'll be surprised at how well they will have grown while you are away.

I try not to water things that are outside more than once a week when they are established and the greenhouse gets watered twice a week. Nothing seems to suffer too much. My pots get cossetting, and any waterer gets instructions not to let them dry out - but if they die they can be replaced.