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Index : Plant Care
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- 9. Plant Care When Your Gone on Vacation - Top
- Before you leave on that long-awaited summer vacation, be sure your irrigation system is in good working order. A system failure when your gone, in the heat of summer, could have disastrous consequences for you plants.
First, manually turn on your irrigation system and inspect the drip emitters. Make sure water is coming out of all the emitters. If you find one that's stopped-up, replace it. If that doesn't work, then try replacing the quarter inch spaghetti tube from the main line to the emitter. Drippers can become clogged with soil or mineral deposits blocking the flow of water. They can also be damaged by rabbits or other critters as they chew the dripper looking for moisture.
Make sure your irrigation controller is working properly. Set the controller at least a week ahead of your vacation departure. Set it to come on at a time when you will be able to observe the watering. At the prescribed day(s) and time(s) the system is set to come on, go out and look to see if in-deed it has come on and water is flowing. If not, you will have some time to troubleshoot the problem before you leave.
The most common reason an irrigation control clock fails to open the valve is because the valve's solenoid burns out and needs replacement. It's an easy thing to do yourself and a new solenoid can be purchased at hardware and home supply stores. Just ask instructions from the sale person on how to install it.
It's best to have a friend or neighbor look in on your yard while your gone. Program your irrigation to come on at a time that is convenient for your helper to come over. That way, he or she will be able to see if the water has come on as programmed. Also, give them instructions on how to turn the system on manually in case a problem occurs. If for any reason, the manual setting on the controller will not function, the valve itself can be opened manually. There is a handle on the valve with a directional arrow which can be turned to allow the water to flow through.
Container plants on the patio are especially vulnerable to insufficient or shipped waterings. If you have an automatic watering system for your pots, set it to water more frequently than you would normally. Always plan on the worst-case-scenario in terms of plant water needs. Moving pots in full sun locations to shaded or semi-shaded locations will reduce heat stress and moisture loss. Sun-loving plants will not suffer any adverse effects being in the shade for just a week or two.
Indoors, make special vacation arrangements for your house plants also. Just as with patio plants, set house plants in locations out of direct sunlight and away from window heat.
House plants should be watered thoroughly just prior to leaving on vacation. After the pots have drained, they can be set in water-filled saucers. As the soil begins to dry, water will be absorbed from the saucer up into the pot, keeping the soil moist. This method should keep plants fresh for up to a week.
For extended leaves, try draping clear plastic dry cleaning bags over your plants. Don't cover them too tightly, it's important that some air can get in. However, the plastic will trap some of the evaporating moisture and provide more humidity around your plants, thus reducing their water needs.
A number of "plant sitter" watering devices are available from local garden centers and also over the internet. One especially effective one is ceramic cone hooked to a tube. The tube is inserted into a container of water and the cone is pushed into the soil. As the soil in the container begins to dry, water is wicked up the tube and out through the ceramic cone. This and a number of other watering devices may be found at www.gardeners.com and other garden supply web sites.
Finally, nothing beats the human touch. If you have someone who can occasionally come in to check and water your plants as-needed, it will be one less thing to worry about while your off having fun.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
- Updated: July 6, 2003
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