Best time for a holiday?

[Samurailord]

SWMBO is giving me grief about booking our 2013 holidays, but as I am just about to take on an allotment for the first time I don't want to find myself going away right at the busiest time of year.

We don't go away in summer school holidays - had enough of that when our son was still at home, and I think it unfair of us to take up space that is needed by younger families.

We tend to take a week around Easter, another in Sept/Oct and a final week mid Dec.

Can anyone let me know how busy I can expect to be around those times?

Thanks

Andy

[Vince G]

Hi Andy,

Depending on what sort of state it's in and what the Easter weather is like (Easter Sunday is 31st March next year) you might be sowing seeds, but there's no harm in being a week or two late. December is going to be quiet, maybe you'll have sheeting down to suppress the weeds and IMHO it's a bit late to be planting stuff for overwintering like onions, broad beans peas etc. Sept/Oct, reckon you'll want to be clearing up and mucking if it needs it. Don't know about your brewing activities, but Oct is about the time I start brewing again as I find my house is a bit too hot in the summer.

I tell you when is not the time to go on holiday - next flippin' week!

Me and Mrs Vince are off for a week and a bit and entrusting the entire plot including polytunnel to my old man. To be fair, my interest in growing stems from him groing loads of stuff in the garden when I was a kid, so he'll be fine. Still not going to stop us stressing though.

[Samurailord]

Hi Vince

I guessed that Dec would be ok, I was more concerned with the other two weeks.

Sounds like I will be OK for March/April and Sept/Oct.

My stepdad will be looking after the plot while I am away on the odd weekend over summer - he is 83 so not much good for anything practical, but I think that even he could harvest some summer crops if needs be

Brewing takes place all year round for me - just done a few gallons of cider and a couple of wine, plus a few of raspberry wheat beer that I am looking forwards to trying over summer - if we actually get one this year.

Just started a batch of Elderflower champagne tonight - first time making a sparkling for me so I hope it works OK.

Andy

[alldigging]

If you just want things kept an eye on - and maybe a little light watering then another plotholder would probably help out.

I've found if you blitz the weeds before you go then they still grow whilst you're away but at least they're not quite as bad as if you hadn't.

My OH's mum waters the greenhouse tomatoes when we go away but the allotment is ok on it's own unless there is something needs cropping in which case it'll wait.

[taff]

You can exect to be busy around end of September too, when everything needs harvesting, but I managed a week at the end of September a couple of years ago, and then just processed everything when I got back. I did have way too many tomato plants though, so just work out how much stuff have you got growing, what are you planning to do with it, a general time frame for processing and leaving things alone, then work your holidays round that.
The same for sowing...when are you going to sow the main batch of seedlings, then go away for a week or two after you've done that because they won't show their heads for a week or two, unless you have them in a propagator.

[Samurailord]

Thanks taff, alldigging.

I think that will a little planning I should be able to get my holidays in when I want, and will be able to work around any problems that may arise.

Andy

[SarzWix]

If we ever go away, I usually try and do it around Easter. Whatever early sowings I've done tend to fit into one or two watering trays which I set up capillary matting and a reservoir for, and all the other sowing can wait quite happily til we get back. Also the weeds aren't growing that fast, and there's not much to harvest.

[greenfingers23]

I'd say go on holiday when you like and work your garden/plot around that rather than vice versa.

GF

[SarzWix]

That's only really practical if you have someone to look after things though greenfingers. Otherwise you risk losing plants and/or crops that you've put a lot of work into. Particularly in the summer, where leaving peas/courgettes/beans etc to hang on the plants without being picked causes the plant to stop producing.

[Paulieb]

I came back from Portugal last week and fortunately enough for me I didn't really miss much. Most things are later, and my dad did pop round to keep the watering ticking over, and keep eating the few peas and strawberries that were ready.

I suppose had the weather been 'normal' more stuff would have been ready (courgettes, broad beans, spring onions, blackcurrants) which I doubt my dad would have spent hours picking currants before the birds ate them.

[Glutton4...]

In my (limited) experience, the very worst time is when everything is ready for harvest. A few years ago, I left my plot in the care of relatives, and came back to decimation. It was as if a plague of Locusts had been through. All my hard work, harvested and eaten by them in a week!

I'd say any time between November and February, you can work round that!

[veggiechicken]

Since your holidays seem to be for a week at a time, I wouldn't worry too much about when to go. Plan your sowing times either well before you go or after your return and avoid the peak harvesting season.

[Samurailord]

Thanks for all the replies - it is pretty much as I expected.

We don't go away for much more than 7 nights at a time - after five or six days away I am always ready for coming back home to my own bed.

As i said, we don't tend to go away much in summer apart from the odd weekend camping, so summer harvests shouldn't be a problem.

Autumn harvests can be handled by my stepdad, as long as he is in the country ( he lives in Spain for half of the year), other than that I'm sure another plot holder would be happy to harvest for me (and keep what they pick, of course).

Andy

[Alison]

We usually go away late September / October and it's fine. Pick everything before I go and by then things have usually slowed down enough that you can leave it be. Spring is a terrible time to go away as that's when I'm sowing, potting on and preparing for the summer season. As already said, winter is always OK but might not suit where you want to go. To be honest we don't do anything different since I got the plot and although that bit of land is very important to me, you have to leave it sometimes.