Do you arrange for a plant-sitter when you go on a trip?

15 years ago

What do you do when you have to leave your garden for several days to take that family vacation? I have a nice lady that comes to my house to take care of my pets, and she also offers to look after the garden (ha!). I am leaving her specific instructions NOT TO TOUCH the tomato beds. I especially don't want her to water them (we've had enough rain) or to get the foliage wet. She probably thinks I'm nuts or that I don't trust her judgement. Well, I don't. What does she know about tomato plants? I worry a little too much about my plants when I go away. It ain't normal. I will comfort myself with all the slurpy ripe ones I'm hauling with me in the car.

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Comments (13)

sunsi
15 years ago
I'd say that if your plants are "inground" you shouldn't be as concerned as someone who has plants in containers (like me). It's good that you left instructions to stay away from the tomato plants because you are right to feel that most people might not be aware of foliage disease in tomato plants and how it is easily spread. Go on your vacatoin and ENJOY IT I think your plants under the care of "mother nature" will recieve good enough care. You might want to spray them just before you leave though. :)
lilacs_of_may
15 years ago
I'm going on a 5 day trip tomorrow, and I worry about my plants. It rained for an hour today, so they all got a good soaking, and it's supposed to rain at least once while I'm gone, so hopefully they'll get enough water.

And the heat wave broke! No more 104 degree temperatures.

I also have 5 cats to take care of, but if I leave them enough food and water, I'm sure they'll be fine.
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penserosa
15 years ago
My neighbor watched my plants last year, but she's not a gardener and she smokes, so I worried the whole time. (I was afraid she would smoke around the tomatoes and spread tobacco mosaic virus!) This year I think I'll ask her to just come over and water once while we're away. If I can get her to find hornworms, that would be great!
sprouts_honor
15 years ago
"I worry a little too much about my plants when I go away. It ain't normal." Oh, I think it's normal. I worry about my plants a lot when I'm gone, even the ornamentals. The only person I trust is Dad. If you left instructions, she'll probably leave them alone. Hope you have a nice vacation!
angelady777 (Angela) - Zone 6
15 years ago
Too funny seeing this thread. We're leaving friday on a two week vacation. I have been STRESSED OUT trying to figure out what to do. It would be nice to have some kind of drip irrigation system in, but since I'm a new gardener, I don't. I have been up almost all night transplanting small seedling to containers (rather than the garden I had planned to put them directly into), just so I can then transport ALL of them to my mom's house. Hopefully I can get them all over in just one trip in the van.

It would be nice to see what others do when they're away. I thought about paying someone to come over every day, but even at $5 a day, that wouldn't pay hardly for gas, and for two weeks, it would still end up being $70! Plus, I have tons of small plants that aren't hardened off yet and they'd have to come in to the house to care for them.

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cyumickey
15 years ago
lol, yes. Our neighbors get our mail, water the veggies, watch the house, and use our pool. It always works out great. They are great neighbors anyway, though!
rickh
15 years ago
My buddy leaves for a month.
I get tired of HELPing. :(
stella_h
15 years ago
We have everything on an automatic watering system. In California, you almost have to, because it doesn't rain for six months or more.

We also have someone look after our cats. Sometimes I've asked them to water one or two plants in pots that aren't on the system, but not often. However, my husband left very detailed instructions for feeding the sourdough. :)

If you do have someone come over, it is definitely good to give them detailed instructions, even if it makes you sound a little nutty. People often are afraid of harming something and appreciate being told exactly what to do.
zippity_duda
15 years ago
We just got back from a 3 week vacation. I planned ahead and mulched the garden so it would hold moisture better, and I asked the same person that cut the grass once a week while we were gone if it hadn't rained in 3-4 days to water the garden. I guess I got lucky, he never had to water and I came home to over 100 pounds and counting of ripe tomatoes!

I also avoided planting things like zucchini that attract bugs and produce veggies earlier.
cdbva
15 years ago
Thank you all for making me feel a little less neurotic.

We went out of town for 3.5 days last week. I left watering instructions for the cat sitter, along with a detailed drawing of an Earthbox copied from the website so she couldn't possibly misunderstand.

We really didn't even need the cat sitter for that short period. However, I worried about the tomatoes and seriously considered calling to have her come a second day to water them. Heck, I wanted her to come EVERY day!

But everything turned out okay. The water hadn't all evaporated, and the plants were healthy and happy-looking. The sitter left this note: "Cats were glad to see me -- you have fine tomatoes." What a remarkably observant woman!

Thank goodness we take our big vacation in the off-season.

This is my first year growing tomatoes; all indications are that the neurosis is going to get worse with time.

Christine
angelady777 (Angela) - Zone 6
15 years ago
Zippity - Great planning! I will remember next time to plan ahead better on certain crops so that maybe I can sneak off before a heavy need for me to be here has arrived.

Christine - LOL! Yes, I think you're right. I bet it does get worse with time. Again, hopefully I think things out in advance better next time and am prepared that the psycho in me will take over if I haven't properly planned! hahaha

Raisemybeds - Clearly, you're not the only crazy one that thinks their plants are about the same as their children. I bet I prescreen applicants before allowing them to 'sit' my plants next year.

~Angela
penserosa
15 years ago
We got back yesterday from our week-long vacation. Tomatoes look good, pumpkin plant very, very happy. Annuals not so much, and my plant/cat-sitter harvested several Hungarian hot wax peppers and 3 big poblanos! I was thinking of pickling the peppers and making chiles rellenos with the poblanos. I told her to help herself to the tomatoes and green beans but didn't mention other crops. And she scooped the cat's digestive products into the toilets. We don't use flushable littler! I thought she would skip that chore, certainly the cat is used to going a week...

So, mixed results. Might have been just as well off to skip the sitter. Except that daily contact with the cat is a good thing!
nygardener
15 years ago
Angela, I put in a drip irrigation system and it's been a big help, even when I'm not away. Pretty easy to set up, and the simplest setup (drip line) doesn't wet the foliage, just the soil.

Do you arrange for a plant-sitter when you go on a trip?

Comments (13)

sunsi

lilacs_of_may

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