Gonna be gone all week

I am starting to panic alittle bit. I am going to be gone all next week and they are calling for 100 degree heat for a good part of the week and I am worried about my garden. I don't have anyone that can stop and water while I am gone and with that kind of heat they are going to need to be water alot.

What should I do????

Do you have a hose that will reach the gardens. If so, a timer at the faucet and hose to a sprinkler. This is not a time to worry about overhead watering. This is about keeping the plants alive.
I have a 4 outlet timer ($40 at Lowes) and 3 hose/sprinklers set ups in order to reach all of the garden beds. Just got back from a week at my son's house and the temps have been in the mid 90s to 100 all week. The garden is not as good as if I had been able to catch the areas where the sprinklers missed a bit, but all is alive.

Kay

ACK! I feel your pain! I will be gone for a long weekend (convention) in this heat and am worried about my garden as well - but I do have someone to give it a drink now and then. Wicked heat coming our way!

GG

walshevak wrote:Do you have a hose that will reach the gardens. If so, a timer at the faucet and hose to a sprinkler. This is not a time to worry about overhead watering. This is about keeping the plants alive.
I have a 4 outlet timer ($40 at Lowes) and 3 hose/sprinklers set ups in order to reach all of the garden beds. Just got back from a week at my son's house and the temps have been in the mid 90s to 100 all week. The garden is not as good as if I had been able to catch the areas where the sprinklers missed a bit, but all is alive.

Kay

Kay,

I don't have a hose that long, I would have to buy another 50' hose to get from the faucet to the garden. I am worried, I think I am going to loose the whole thing and things are going so well right now.

do you belong to a group that might want to help in exchange for harvesting? such as a church or work community? local food bank?

barring that, i'd at least set up some sturdy shade, and as many 2-liter bottles as possible for drip irrigation. two such bottles per tomato plant would not seem excessive to me in this situation.

I'll be gone for a week later this month myself. I have a 2 step plan. I will have an automatic timer which will turn on my oscillating sprinkler. Also as rowena described, I plan on using 2 liter bottles stuck in the ground around the plants. I am going to cut the bottoms off the 2 liters and cover with fabric cloth to keep the bugs out and put small holes in the caps to act as a drip system for the roots. The automatic timer allows for programming everyday of the week, 4 x a day. Thus I plan on looking at the weather for the week I will be gone and set the watering schedule accordingly. The 2 liters will catch water from the oscillating sprinkler so hopefully I will not have to have the timer come on as often, but more or less to keep the 2 liters full.

This is the timer this is on its way. I'll practice my plan before I leave.
Orbit 62001 Lawn and Garden Digital Watering Timer

Are there any neighborhood kids you can trust and give a few bucks to water your babies?