Going on holiday - watering plants

[JamesA]

We're off on holiday soon and are relying on family to water the vegetables.
Has anyone got any tips to try and keep the plants alive in case they forget?
Can a mulch be applied to help keep moisture in the soil, or will this just give slugs and snails a place to live?

I don't really want to go to the trouble of setting up a drip watering system, unless you can do one by just pricking a hole in a plastic bottle.

 

[spice]

I am going away in a couple of weeks also, and would be interested in any ideas.

Like you I have family who will come in and water the veggies and plants, but they work, and dont think its fair they come every day,and dont want to leave my gate unlocked for durations so the neighbour to come round.

I have thought of a plan as such, but it will only help my veggies in pots, I can place all my pots near my neighbours patio area which is seperated by a 6ft fence, and get him to stand on a chair, or steps, lean over and water the pots, I know he wont mind doing that, just incase the family forget, that the only solution I can think off.

hope you have a nice time

 

[Hightowermark]

I bought a water kit from Lidl about 2 months ago, it was all sepearates so you could add as much as you need. it cost me about £18 for a 20m kit and a 7day programer with 8 settings per day.

It works a treat and easy to set up but doubt they have them now, also it's not a drip set the water can go up or direct into the ground and goes about 4ft in the air.

Other than family/friends this is the only option really.

 

[Thermo]

any mulch will help keep the moisture in the ground. It also has a lot of other benefits such as heat retention, weed suppresion etc dependent on what type you use.

 

[JamesA]

I'm going to move the things in pots into the shade.

I'm going to secure a 2ltr plastic bottle with a hole pricked in it to my runner bean frame tonight and see how quickly the water drips out.

I'm a bit nervous about leaving any system connected to the outside tap, I can just imaine getting home to see its come off and the taps been running all week.