---

Tips on Garden care while you're on holiday

As a keen gardener, leaving my garden behind during the holidays is devastating. Like pets, the plants in my garden are my babies. Perhaps you share this feeling with me? Do you also wonder whether anybody else is capable of looking after the plants well enough? We all feel that way, so here are a few holiday survival tips for your garden:

• Mow your lawn short just before leaving to prevent overgrowth.
• Soak flower beds or veggie patches well with water and cover with mulch to ensure less groundwater evaporation.
• Group your pot plants to create a moister environment resulting in less evaporation. It also makes it much easier for whoever is tasked with watering your garden while you are away. Empty bottles without caps, filled with water, can be stuck upside down into the soil which will then slowly absorb the water from the bottle. Alternatively, one can use bottles filled with water, plus a long piece of cloth of which one end is in the bottle and the other hanging in the pot. This creates a constant, but slow water flow into the soil, keeping your plants moist for a longer period.
• The same will also work with your indoor pot plants. You may also put your indoor pot plants onto large drip trays filled with pebbles and water, so the pot stands on the pebbles and not directly in the water. The water keeps the surrounding air humid so there will be less evaporation. Even putting a lot of wet newspapers around and in between your pot plants in your bathtub, will have the same effect. Also group your pot plants in the room with the most light.
• Do not plant or sow new salads or spinach, for they need regular watering when developing.
• Tomatoes, baby marrows, ber-ries, peas or beans, etc. should be harvested well just before leaving and can be preserved in the fridge.
• If you are privileged to have a fully automatic watering system, adjust your watering schedule to hot summer conditions, in case it does not rain. Make 100% sure that the whole system is in good working condition, and that everything gets watered sufficiently.
• When you do have someone looking after your garden, make sure he or she is well informed without making it too complicated. Allow this person to harvest from your fruit trees of veggie garden. Regular har-vesting stimulates more flower and fruit development. Do show your appreciation by awarding this person with either money or a gift

Sorting out your garden in advance will give you more peace of heart, allowing you to enjoy your free time even more. Happy holidays!



Pupkewitz Megabuild Lifestyle
Mega Centre, Windhoek
www.megabuild.com.na