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Leaving hubby in charge for 4 weeks…… oh my poor plants!

JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
in The potting shed
So my Dad died on Friday night and I am biting the bullet and returning to the UK for at least a month….

I have deadheaded, fed, put drip saucers under the thirstiest plant pots….. what else can I do to avoid the disasters that await my poor plants under the tender “care” of my non plant trained husband?
Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2021
    I'm so sorry for your loss @Jacquimcmahon ... our sincere condolences to you and your family.

    As for the Under Gardener ... maybe sign him up to this forum, so if he's at all concerned about any plant he can post a photo and we'll help him if he needs it.  :)

    Oh, and if I'm going to be away for any length of time during the summer I move anything precious that might succumb to too much sun, into the shadiest part of the garden for the duration. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Good luck with that venture, Jacqui.  I have one of those too! 

    The loss of a Dad for a daughter leaves such a gap.  My sincere condolences.  Stay safe in the UK.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    I I have just re staked the tomatoes and cucumbers as they have gone nuts with all the rain we have had in France recently. Moved the most fragile things to the sheltered edges of the terrace and basically give up on the petunias as there is little chance of him having the necessary patience to deadhead every couple of days…. Cut back some lanky daisys that made the place look like an unkempt jungle….. think I’m done as best as I can be.
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Cut back flowering plants like your petunias, so they will only be back to flowering again near your return.  Also worth putting a cheap hose over your pots and using a small drill bit to put a few holes in the hose above each pot.. then telling your husband to leave the hose on for 10 minutes every few days if it's sunny.  

    Sorry for your loss.  
    Utah, USA.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yes … Id give the petunias the July equivalent of a Chelsea Chop … by the time you come back they’ll be blooming again. 
     

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Ok so I’ll go give the petunias a haircut…… thanks for the idea about the hose, but as everything is in pots… and there are a lot! …… I will trust hubby to water even if I know he will be less than sure to avoid wetting leaves etc. he has already said he plans walking around with the iPad on FaceTime so I can give “real time” instructions 🙊
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Am sorry for your loss,and very impressed at this difficult time that you are even managing to think straight and give advice on the garden 💗
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    So far I seem to have lost the cucumbers to mildew, the pelegonium seem to have partially curled up their toes…. Another 10 days……..
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • JacquimcmahonJacquimcmahon Posts: 1,039
    Well I’m back and most things survived! He said I had no cucumbers but I came back to find 11 monsters hidden around the pots, not sure how he could have missed them really. The tomatoes are a bit hit and miss as watering has clearly been erratic. Some were crispy with undeveloped fruit and others were ripe but all over the terrace as he had not kept up the tying in.

    as for flowers loads were overgrown and a bit out of control and others have just sulked and done nothing at all.

    it’s nice to be back in my own space but I think it will take me a few weeks to get back to a point where I feel I’m in control of the terrace again.
    Marne la vallée, basically just outside Paris 🇫🇷, but definitely Scottish at heart.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    In support of your OH, Cucumbers are cunning beggars - the leaves can often hide the fruit and tend to be prickly so not always wise to go poking about too far  ;)
    !! does seem rather OTT tho :D
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