Shade cloth and an automatic drip or soaker system. That is what I've done with my past two vacations and even in the scortching Arizona heat, my garden looks great.

Apply mulch with a three inch thickness.

Harvest mature or near maturing fruit before you leave.

Prune well and take care of staking or caging before you leave.

Soaker hose or drip irrigation on a timer.

Everything should be fine. I don't think you'll need shade cloth, but it depends on what you have. We have 100F+ degree weather and I have never used shade cloth in the summer.

Where will you be going?

you can by a timer at Home Depot/Ace Harware and you can set it how often you want it watered, its a battery operated one that can hook up to your faucet and connected to your hose/soaker hose

Oh... I forgot to say weed before applying the mulch!

If you don't have soaker hoses or a drip system installed and don't have time to do it (I know how it is preparing to be away for that long) you can get away with sprinklers on a timer. Yes, I know it is an inefficient use of water, but as a last resort...

With one lucky exception, I have NEVER had success leaving plants of any kind in the care of others. Invariably it results in disaster, unless you can find a real gardener to do it. Non-gardeners have no clue and will find all sorts of creative ways to kill things. They won't even notice things are dying.

Jim

The suriest way is to hire a garden sitter. One that comes with references. I provide this service to those that can afford me. I require an A/C room with private bath/shower
Access to your kitchen and a stocked refrigerator. My taste are simple. Steak and beef roast, pork chops, and chicken breasts will do fine for meat and unless you live by the sea don't even think about sea food. My veggies I will secure from your garden. I drink quite a lot of Coke so at least two, two liter bottles of caffine free coke per day. I also require that you provide appropreate wine. For the beef I would like a nice red, dry please. For the Pork and Chicken a nice dry white will do. Allow at least one bottle per day for the wine and please send me in advance a list of what you prepose to provide. Errny and Jules will not do. One of my added services is that I will cook for your Hubbie in your absence. Please be prepared for him to gain a few pounds as I am a so called Gumay cook. In addition to the drinking wine for meals I would also like several bottles of sherry and port as I use a lot in cooking. If you live a distance away from me then also please provide first class air fare both ways. The use of a car while there goes without saying. Your car will be fine as long as it is not a Chevy. I prefer BMW or MB or at least a German car of some kind. A VW Beetle is better than a Ford Tbird.I think that about covers it so check my page and email me for the details. OH, and have a nice trip. OH, one last thing. I will not work in NJ.

Thanks All!- Your suggestions helped. The plants that I left in my husband's care- well-I came back from Asia and found my flat of 24 plants of Basil dead and same for the lemon sage and the oregano(aaargh!)things that I could use through out the year!! nothing has bloomed. Nothing has bloomed till now and my zucchini plants have all died(sigh!). I am the only one who cannot grow them....

Asking someone to provide some basic care to your plants is one thing (your basil, lemon sage and oregano should have made it) but some advanced diagnostics and spraying are far more complex tasks that may even be disputed among experts in Horticulture. I think you answered your own question about zucchini plant care. Would you have sprayed and with what to keep your plants from succumbing to insects or disease?

Sometimes the decision occurs long before planting time. There are some genetically modified varieties of zucchini available as seed. You could ask if you might be willing to plant such a variety if it meant less spraying might be necessary. But pests like Squash Vine Borer are not easy to deal with unless you stay ahead of them in protecting your plants.

With your travel schedule you probably want to avoid planting zucchini. Also, before you go, replant everything that you can either outside where rain can water or into much larger pots where weekly watering may keep the plants alive. Flats of cellpacks in summer heat are trouble waiting to happen.