How to Keep Your Garden Watered While You're on Vacation

Match the Method to How Long You Will Be Away

To keep a garden watered while you are on vacation, soak the soil deeply the day before you leave, cover it with mulch, move pots into afternoon shade, and add a wick or a hose timer once the trip reaches about 10 days. Trip length and heat decide how far down that list you need to go. Washington State University Extension draws the line this way for container plants: for a weekend, extra water the day before is enough, and for a 10-day vacation or longer you need a more complete plan.

In-ground beds have the most margin. University of Illinois Extension notes that most gardens can withstand neglect for a long weekend and that a good irrigation will last 10 to 13 days. Containers have much less soil to draw on, so treat any pot as needing one level more help than a bed on the same trip.

Time away	In-ground and raised beds	Containers
A weekend	Water well the day before	Extra water the day before
Up to about 10 days	Deep soak, then mulch	Soak, group in afternoon shade, add a wick or reservoir pot
10 days or longer	Hose or drip line on a timer	Drip line on a timer, or a person to water
Any trip with a forecast in the 90s	Timer set to run twice a week	Timer plus someone checking in

Start Earlier Than the Week You Leave

Some of the preparation works only with lead time. University of Vermont Extension advises that if the trip is a month or more away, you should begin watering more deeply and less frequently now. Washington State gives the same advice: water deeper and infrequently in place of a small amount more often. The summer watering schedule sets out that routine zone by zone.

Washington State adds a planting cutoff: put nothing new in the ground or in pots for 4 to 6 weeks before departure. One to two weeks before travel, Vermont suggests clearing the garden of weeds, which leaves more of the water for the crops. That is also the window to test any wick or timer, covered below.

Soak and Mulch the Beds

Always soak everything well the day before you leave. Sources differ on how deep. Washington State, writing about containers, wants the water to soak in at least 6 inches. University of Florida IFAS, writing about landscape plants, calls for enough water to wet the top 12 inches of soil. Either way, check instead of assuming: dig a small hole after watering and feel how wet the soil is at each depth.

Mulch goes on after the soak. Illinois is specific that you should water thoroughly before applying mulch, because mulch holds in moisture that is already there and adds none of its own. Florida recommends a three-inch layer, and Illinois sets an upper limit of 4 inches thick. Shredded leaves, bark and straw all work. Vermont favors straw for beds that need more water and warns against hay, which can carry weed seeds. The options are compared in the guide to mulch for a vegetable garden.

Two more jobs reduce what the garden needs while you are gone. Harvest everything that is ripe, and deadhead the flower beds thoroughly. Illinois points out that in summer, apart from some squashes, few fruits and vegetables go from bloom to ripe within two weeks, so a hard pick before a two-week trip costs very little.

Move and Group the Containers

Pots are where vacation losses happen, and the cheapest fixes are about position. Before you leave:

1. Soak each pot and hanging basket in a bucket of water so that moisture reaches the center of the pot.
2. Move as many as you can to a spot with afternoon shade. Vermont adds that the spot should be protected from wind.
3. Group them by water needs. Washington State notes that grouping creates a more humid environment, and Florida notes that grouped containers conserve water better than containers spread out.
4. Sink small pots into the ground if you have open soil. Washington State suggests this to cut water loss by keeping the roots cool.

Self-watering planters that hold a water reservoir are another option on Washington State’s list, with one caution: the smaller the pot, the more often you will have to water. How they differ from ordinary pots is covered in self-watering planters compared with regular pots.

Set Up a Wick for Pots

A wick is the low-cost way to carry containers through a longer absence. It needs an absorbent material, such as strips of cotton cloth or cotton cord, and a container of water.

1. Place a bottle, bowl or pail of water next to the plant. A large bucket can serve several pots.
2. Put one end of the wick in the water, reaching the bottom.
3. Secure the other end about three inches deep in the pot’s moist soil.
4. Leave it. As the soil dries, water travels along the wick.

Washington State recommends confirming that the wick works several weeks in advance so there is time to adjust it. Florida describes a similar arrangement for houseplants, with cotton cords running down from a raised reservoir, and reports that it keeps the soil moist for an extra couple of weeks. That figure is for indoor pots, so outdoors in sun and wind treat it as an upper limit and size the bucket generously.

Vermont describes a second homemade option for single plants. Poke a few holes in the lid of a used plastic water bottle with a nail, fill the bottle, and stand it upside down in a hole dug near the plant. Water drips out slowly, and Vermont notes that this also suits containers that dry out quickly.

Put a Hose or Drip Line on a Timer

For 10 days or longer, an automatic timer on the spigot is the dependable choice. Washington State calls a drip system with an automatic timer an efficient solution for anyone with many containers. It needs no special tools beyond a punch, and it keeps working after you are home. Choosing one is covered in the guide to drip irrigation kits for small gardens.

Illinois gives the settings for beds. Program the timer to deliver an inch of water, or two hours of sprinkling, at least once a week. If temperatures are forecast in the 90s, program it twice weekly for two hours each time. Containers on drip run on a different pattern: the example system Washington State shows is set to water for 10 minutes a day.

Set the start time for early morning. Washington State ranks early morning as the best time to water, evening second, and midday worst. In windy locations, row cover over a bed also reduces moisture loss.

Test It, Then Ask Someone to Look In

Run the timer through at least one full cycle while you are still home, and dig a small hole afterward to see how deep the water went. A timer that has never been watched through a cycle is a guess.

The no-cost option on Washington State’s list is still the most reliable one: find someone to water while you are gone. Even with a timer running, one visit partway through a 10-day trip catches a hose that has come loose. Illinois suggests having neighbors, friends or relatives harvest the crops while you are away, which also gives a helper a reason to come back.