Holiday Survival Guide for your Garden

The first two weeks of January are holiday time for many Stodels customers (and their children!). Take the time to tackle these simple gardening tasks before you leave, and you’ll be rewarded with a happy garden when you return from your holidays:

• Mow the lawn the day before you leave and give it a good soaking. If the grass is very long when you return, you may have to mow it in stages, initially just cutting off the top growth, and gradually lowering the mower blades until the desired height is achieved.
• Weed your flower beds, water flowers deeply and apply a 5cm layer of organic mulch, like compost, to the beds to conserve the moisture.
• Invite your neighbours to help themselves to your veggie patch while you’re away. Regular picking encourages new growth.
• Pick herbs, chop them finely and freeze them in ice cubes for use later in the year. This method preserves the flavour of the herbs far better than drying them.
• Move all container plants to a shadier area of the garden or patio so they don’t dry out so quickly. Dig in moisture-retaining granules into the potting soil to help them hold water while you’re away. Water well.
• Check that your automatic irrigation system is in proper working order and that it is set to water early in the morning, every third or fourth day.
• Lock all gardening tools away safely.

Large indoor plants can be kept moist by placing the neck of a closed 2-litre cooldrink bottle into the soil. Pierce a small hole in the lid of the bottle and fill it with water. This way your plants will receive a slow and steady supply of water while you’re away.