Holiday Gardening Tips
Most kiwis like to take a holiday over the summer period, but being left alone for a week or two can be hard on your garden. Check out our top tips below for keeping your garden alive and thriving while you’re away:
Watering
Keeping plants well watered can be hard over the summer months, especially if you are going away. But to make your watering efforts more efficient and reduce water use by up to 50% you can use a granular soil wetting agent such as SaturAid. This holds water in the soil and distributes it evenly and directly to the root zone. You can find SaturAid in all Palmers stores.
If you are going away for more than a few days, it’s a great idea to set up some sprinklers amongst your garden and get them on a timer. Be sure to also move pot plants within the sprinklers range as well. This way you can relax on holiday knowing that each day your garden is still getting a good drink.
Mulching
Mulching is a great way to keep conserve moisture and keep the roots damp. Mulched plants lose around 25% less water than non-mulched plants. If you’re only going away for a week you may get away with a good soaking and a layer of mulch, this will however depend on how much sun the garden gets and what the weather conditions are like. Just be sure that the soil beneath the mulch is wet several inches below the surface. Push your shovel through and check in several spots.
Protecting
It’s a good idea to cover any edible crops with bird netting while you are away to ensure you don’t come back to a garden of half munched produce!
Bugs will also be out in force over the summer months so give any plants that look infested a good spray with insect control or neem oil, and don’t forget to lay snail bait before you go away to stop slugs and snails from eating your seedlings and plants.
Feeding
It is important to replenish nutrients for plentiful harvests over the summer, and to extend the growing season! Provide plants with a good dose of liquid fertiliser before you leave on your holiday to provide them with an extra boost of energy.
Top Tips
- If you’re growing edibles in portable containers, have you considered taking these away with you? If you’re going to the bach or campground, there’s nothing better than having pots of fresh salad ingredients to pick from through the hot summer days.
- For indoor or patio plants, try using an automatic water dispenser. You can pick these up in store and they gradually release water into your pot plant over time.
- Got a friendly neighbour? If they are home while you are away they may be happy to water your garden, and you could return the favour with some home grown produce