that's why the lord created dryland farming. Make a few hugelkultur beds, age them a couple of years, mulch them with 5 inches of stuff, and you will be able to go to Hawaii every June, and still get a crop.

Didn't this come up last year too - a trip to Hawaii or such for 2 weeks in the middle of the garden time? Ya got to stop entering these contests Nancy unless they will let you go in the off season. :-)

But yes, I have good luck with timers, if they are good timers (and some aren't). But the issue is you have to leave the faucets turned on all the time and that can be risky for that long a time. Otherwise lots and lots of mulch and pray for rain while you are gone.

Sometimes you just have to choose one or the other.

Dave

Good luck with timers here also. I initially set the watering system for my patio plants for when we were travelling but kept it on when we returned. It sure was nice to not be so busy with watering chores,. We probably set times to underwater a little bit but figured it is easier to correct underwatering vs overwatering

they have water timer set up the have 4 or more zones that can be used to keep the plants watered. since i have limited time in garden i used these to water my garden exclusively for several year.

OK, thanks guys. Sorry I have to go to Hawaii so often! It just came up!

We have enough time to look into a decent system and get it rolling. I do have neighbors who can come in in a pinch and who will also hand water pots and flowers.

I just didn't want to burden them with an hour of watering a couple of times a week.

glib- just build a couple of hugelkulter beds? Sure! In my spare time with my bad back! ;) Nancy

Usually if we are gone in the summer its only a week at a time. I super soak the garden with water before leaving and thats worked out well. All the potted plants and flowers get sat on the patio and are watered twice a day for 15 minutes each time with an oscillating water sprinkler on a timer which also seems to do the job

rent a backhoe!

fbx last time my daughter house sat and FORGOT to water anything! It looks like we will be getting a house sitter after all!

Glib- My brother had a backhoe for a time, until we came home from being out to find the fire department lifting the ding dang thing off of his foot! He was stuck for an hour! Can you swing by and dig us a nice trench? We have a redwood log you could then cut up and rip, then build us one! Nancy

a hugelkultur thing saves you a lot of labor, in watering and sustaining healthy plants. It is a worthy investment that will pay back whenever unexpected Hawaii vacations pop out during critical gardening time. I know somebody who retired to Southern Portugal, Morocco basically, and he does not water and it does not rain after March, similar to CA. But inches of mulch, swales, and hugelkultur (plus timely planting in spring) allow him to have a normal garden which is in fact large and diversified.

I have used battery powered timer connected to drip tape for a raised bed for annual herbs. Works well but it does not like a lot of water pressure on it or the spring inside gets dislodged and has to be repositioned. I keep the spigot only open slightly now. When I was away last May for a week I just had a friend come over and turn on valve to water the rest of my 1/4 acre garden then turn it off a few hours later.

Another tip is to harvest everything you can, however embryonic. I always strip beans and zucchini even if only an inch long. By the time you get back more will have grown.

floral- I will be telling the other 2 neighbors who don't have a garden to have at it! I also might teach the housesitter how to freeze/foodsave stuff (if she's willing!) Zucchini can be left on the driveway and picked up by neighbors on a regular basis!

Actually, I'm thinking of waiting on the zucchini until we get back and only planting half of the beans so the house sitter doesn't have to hassle with blanching and freezing MY produce (unless she wants to!) We will still have 3-4 months of growing time. Nancy

I'd love to make a friend in SF who gardens!

Sorry Steven, I'm not in SF and already have a house sitter that I know. Nancy

I have finally decided to plant the zuk and beans on June 1st so she won't have to deal with stuff and things will be coming in shortly after I get home. If she doesn't want to deal with any tomatoes that might sneak in, she can pick and toss into the freezer. Neighbors and house sitter can pick anything else that may need picking.

Well, everything is flowering, and we're just getting some cukes now, so the house sitter won't be overwhelmed with stuff! Beans are just starting to climb, maters are getting big and flowering.Squash is getting big, but no flowers yet.

We should be good with 2 weeks!

Have a fabulous trip -- where in 'real' wine country are you? My sis lives in Healdsburg :)

happyhelenr- We're in Santa Rosa

Got back and the garden looks great! Planted late due to the vacation, so maters are just forming (we have a long growing season)

Only problem is.....I broke my arm in Hawaii!

Had surgery a couple of days ago. Thankfully I should be healed by harvest time!

I'll be trying my first pesto, one handed this week. The basil looks fabulous!

We'll see how hubby likes cooking on a day to day basis! He's a great cook, but tends to do big things rather than day to day! LOL Nancy

nancyjane: So you are't not too far away. I know Jenny (my sis) has had a spectacular growing season so far. So sorry to hear about your arm, that sounds just awful. They say to use lots of cold treatments if you have any swelling or discomfort -- good luck with the healing :)

Helen-Actually Healdsburg is quite a bit warmer than us in SR! We get the coastal fog during the summer.

Having worked in Spec Ed for 40 years, I'm the bomb at adapting things! I'm making salad and roasted taters one handed tonight! ;) NT

glib, actually, we are interested in starting a hugelkultur garden! We have a bunch of rotting wood around the property and figured "why not"?

We are bringing in a tractor for some fencing projects, so why not pay a little more to have him dig some beds? Any good sites to study? Nancy