Garden unattended for two weeks with no irrigation, tried a few different things..

Well, I finally went on holiday for two weeks, crossing my fingers leaving my garden and vegetables unattended, given I have no direct water to the garden.
If the weather forecast are to be trusted, it did not rain for 7 days, with high temperatures, and then it rained a few times heavily.
Given I asked for advice in the past regarding ways to keep the plants alive while away, and I tried a few different approaches, here are a few photographs of the results.
I share them in case clueless beginners such as me might find it useful.

DIY self-watering pots (between 3 and 6 litres reservoir, potting soil amended with around 20% perlite and vermiculite) :





The cucumber did ok, but for some dead leaves, but only developed one cucumber while away.
The courgette made many mishapen courgettes and a few rotten ones, perhaps due to the rain.
The peppers kept growing and made several peppers and flowers. Only a few started taking getting yellow but got rot and fell prey to slugs.

Would do it again: yes, but probably would place in a sunnier location and away from slugs.


Self-watering baskets (acqualock 40cm, reservoir 1,5l or so, potting soil amended with around 20% perlite and vermiculite, lined with plastic)






The Hundreds and Thousands tomatoes lost all their leaves, but some of the few tomatoes reddened up, and they tasted very good, way better than those from identical plants in larger planters, despite identical soil and fertilizer.
The cucumber was an experiment, it did well and grew considerably, I will arrange it in a more decorative manner. Still, it is less productive than the one in the self watering pot, so I do not think I will try a basket again next year.
The strawberries plugs did quite well, but they were sheltered under the gazebo, sitting on a water pot rather than on the basket smaller reservoir.

Would do it again: I bought 5 baskets, plus lining and metal hangers, which set me off £60 all in. So, I will feel compelled to use them again next year. This said, they tend and get clogged up easily, they will dry fast anyway in hot weather, but sheltering them sitting on a pot full of water will keep the plant alive for 2 weeks without issues, I think. Perhaps I will try them with strawberries, but probably not with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Large planters (120 litres each, lined with membrane including mulching to keep evaporation down, good potting soil but no perlite or vermiculite)




These were drying up fast during the heatwave, despite of all that soil.
The hundreds and thousands grew well, but the fruits are very mediocre, perhaps because of competion from the strawberries, while the ones in baskets made very few fruits but quite good.
The Lizzano (the one on the right in the planter on top) lost all leaves like the others, I guess during the first warm week, but the fruits are very abundant and very nice tasting, at least on par with the 'high quality' expensive ranges in supermarket.
The Ikea tomatoe did well, but honestly the fruits are not too the most tasty.
The strawberries survived just fine.

Would do it again: Yes, but I suspect that two weeks with no rain and 30C, like in July, would be fatal. The strawberries did very well, with irrigation. Next year I will amend the soil with perlite/vermiculite, put watering pots in and plant on top only a few Lizzano or perhaps some day neutral strawberries.


Planted in soil (I took no chances with these, ring culture, 20% perlite/vericulite and potting soil in the pots)







It all grew very well, the leaves did not die despite of the heat.
The courgettes grew immense fruits, as expected, which have now been stuffed and roasted, and used to stuff bread.
The Santorange (orange tomatoes) and the two Aviditas taste way better than anything I ever purchased from supermarkets here. Actually, they also taste better than the commercial ones I tried while on holiday back home in Italy (tomatoes from my sunny island are quite excellent, in general).
I could sit there and eat them from the plants all day.
I did not try the Indigo yet (the black ones) but I am hopeful.

Would do it again: Absolutely! If I had the space, I would make more raised beds and grow tomatoes and courgettes exclusively in soil, it really keeps them well irrigated and very healthy. Thanks everybody for suggesting to do that!

Planted in soil, ring culture and vermiculite/perlite, with Mycorrhizal Fungi



This giant mess is actually one courgette, one pepper and six tomatoes from shoots. These are all plants which I planted last minute before leaving,with no much hope. They have grown considerably in two weeks, without suffering from the heat, and, while the tomatoes will not have time enough to develop and become productive, I am very pleased with the result.

Would do it again: Absolutely, Fungi all the way next year. Thanks for the suggestion!

Various wild or anyway normally not attended





The blackberries fell pray to some mold and over-ripening. Not quite sure what I could have done to avoid it. I am just glad we harvested and made jam before leaving.
Molds pretty much anhilated all my apples. I guess the rain did not help. I will follow the suggestions from friendly gardeners here, and treat the tree at the end of the season and later on.
The grapes are starting maturing, but I guess they will taste awful like in the previous years, and I have no clue what to do about that.

Using your leaking gazebo as a source of irrigation




This was a really silly idea. I did not have time to fix a leak, so I thought that in case of rain it would have been useful to put a few small strawberries just under. That was a really silly idea. It must have drenched them badly and they were all covered in mold when I came back. I put them outside to dry and pruned them a bit. We live to learn I guess, I should have left them out like I did with the other tubs.