Homeowners always forget 7 crucial tips before going on holiday – they mean your garden will look after itself

A GARDENING expert has revealed seven tips to ensure your garden survives the summer while you’re on holiday.

Although we embrace warmer days with less rain, our gardens can become more demanding during dry periods.

And although gardens are prettier in summer, according to RHS experts, plants will use more water than in the colder winter months.

This means watering will need to be more frequent during prolonged dry spells without decent rain – which can be difficult when you’re heading off for a well-earned break.

So it’s understandable that you might worry about keeping your hard work in the garden from being ruined while you’re traveling.

It is very painful to abandon a tomato that is about to ripen or to return to a garden that is overgrown or burned by excessive weed growth.

Keeping your garden running in your absence requires a little planning.

That’s why the gardening experts at MyJobQuote I’ve shared seven garden preparation tips before your trip to ensure your garden doesn’t wilt in your absence.

Start plucking

Weeds can be the bane of a gardener’s life at the best of times, but to limit the number of pesky perennials you find upon your return, clear them from your beds a few days before you leave.

Weeds compete with other plants for underground moisture, drawing water from the soil at the expense of other flora in your garden.

Cut it

To minimize overgrowth and more maintenance when you return, mow your lawn before you leave.

It’s best to mow your lawn between 8am and 10am – if done too early the grass will be wet with morning dew and if done at midday the intense sunlight can burn the grass.

Mowing the lawn late in the evening can mean the plant is subject to disease attack on dark, damp nights.

Avoid cutting the grass too short before leaving. While it may be tempting to trim it shorter to minimize overgrowth, shorter grass is more susceptible to burn.

If the UK is lucky enough to enjoy warmer weather while you’re away, you may return to a dry patch of lawn.

Stay in the shade

If a heatwave is forecast while you’re out, it’s best to place your potted plants in the shade.

If we experience heat waves where UV levels are especially high, your plants will need more water and you run the risk of them drying out again.

However, don’t move them somewhere where they won’t benefit from any foresight, such as a summer house or an overhanging roof.

Hydration

As soon as you have free time before leaving for the airport, water your plants generously to give them their best.

Be sure to give your flower beds, potted plants and grass a heavier drink than usual, but don’t be too liberal as you could flood your garden.

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Cap the bottle

Take some plastic water bottles out of the recycling and remove the plastic cap from the bottle.

Heat a sharp pin with a lighter and poke two to four small holes in the lid.

Fill the bottle with water, replace the cap and hold it upside down.

Secure the bottle to a piece of wood or stake and press it into the soil so that the cap is slightly lower than the surface soil, but not so close to the plant that it disturbs the roots.

When the bottle is heated in daylight, it creates pressure inside the bottle, which allows the water to release water while traveling at a slow pace.

Double the bottles in your potted plants and garden beds and you’ll have hydrated perennials when you return home.

Add support

Young crops can grow exponentially fast over the course of a week or two.

Stake and tie up any plants that will need it when they are a little bigger, especially fast-growing crops like tomatoes.

Choose mature

For any trip that lasts more than a few days, be sure to choose anything that is ripe or nearly ready.

Choose crops like tomatoes and strawberries and place them in the refrigerator to finish ripening.

For other plants, like green beans and zucchini, consider harvesting them before they ripen, as if they ripen on the vine, the plant will stop fruiting.