It’s not so easy to hand the care of your garden over to another person. But sometimes, you just have to do it, and you might as well make it as painless as possible for both of you by preparing a checklist, giving a brief tour, and then letting go of all illusions of control over what happens in your absence.

Since one characteristic in common among many gardeners is the enjoyment of bringing order out of chaos, the letting go of all control part is the hardest, and perhaps the most important. So let’s save that for the end and start with the easy stuff: the garden sitter checklist and tour.

Keep it simple. Trust your garden caretaker to have some sense, and just give general instructions such as, Thin the vegetables if they look like they need it. Weed if you’re inspired. Harvest whatever is ripe and enjoy it yourself or share it with friends. Water before the plants start to droop from thirst.

Then you can go beyond the general to a few - read, very few - specific requests. If your checklist gets too detailed, the caretaker will be overwhelmed, so choose your special situations carefully. After all, the garden is your labor of love, not hers. She’s just doing maintenance.

For example, let’s say you have a new asparagus trench that is gradually being filled in as the shoots grow. If you have a pile of topsoil mixed with manure on hand for the interim gardener to use as needed to cover the new asparagus, then ask her to help sustain this long-term crop.

But if you have a patch of spinach that is bolting, don’t ask her to keep pinching off the blossoms unless you really really want her to spend valuable time on keeping the spinach going during your two-week vacation.

Then make clear your greatest priority, such as This is an organic garden, so please use only the supplies in my shed. No Round-up or Miracle Grow, thank you. But in general, your temporary help shouldn’t be asked to deal with fertilizing or pest control unless you’re going to be gone a long time, or the person owes you a really big favor.

Now, for the tour. Before you leave the precious vegetable or flower garden in a caretaker’s hands, make a point of meeting with your garden sitter in person in the garden. Make sure she knows where things are, from watering tools to an emergency number for backup.

Also, make sure she knows what things are. Else, she might pull the joi choi, thinking it’s a weed rather than an Asian vegetable.

And that brings us to the letting-go-of-illusions-of-control part of the deal. If she does mistakenly pull the joi choi, oh well. Unless the garden is burnt to a crisp or mowed down, just be grateful that someone was there to care for it as best she could. Who knows? She might even have done some things differently and better than you would have. Then you’ve got some new tricks up your sleeve.

Expect miracles, and do your best to enjoy whatever it was that temporarily took you away from your garden.

Life-time gardener Judith Schwader specializes in organic gardening methods. She shares expertise, humor, and advice for your gardening success at A to Z Gardening. Also visit FB Home for additional home and garden information.

It is never possible to entirely rid your garden of weeds, but even weeds that seem difficult to remove can be overcome and with persistent effort and a lot of patience annual weeds will diminish each season if you keep on killing off the seedlings before they can flower and generate more weed seeds.

Once you have managed to reduce the population of weeds a programme of mulching and prompt weed clearance as soon as they appear will keep your garden almost weed-free.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a quick process however, as weed clearance can take a couple of garden seasons before weeds are effectively removed. It is more evident if you have been neglecting your garden so keep on top of things for great results.

Deep-rooted perennial weeds and the types of weeds that have long roots which penetrate deep into the ground are best removed by using a fork to dig them up. Use the fork to make the roots loose and hold the weed stem as close to the base as possible when you pull it out of the ground, ensuring you pull up the whole of the weed if possible.

If you do not manage to pull out all of the root then new weeds will continue to grow.

Using to hoe to control weeds is another good method of weed management, but it is a job which needs to be carried out regularly. Make sure to hoe the garden beds and borders and remember not to neglect the vegetable garden if you have one.

Weedkillers are another useful option in the battle against weeds and are very helpful if you need to clear an area of weeds quickly and efficiently. Some types of weedkiller have been designed to kill only the top growth of weeds allowing you to plant in the same area after a day or so of applying the weedkiller.

Some types of weedkiller have been designed to kill the whole weed, including the root. Depending on the type of weedkiller and the weed to be removed you may need to either spray the affected area or paint the weedkiller formulation directly onto the weed itself.

Always consult the directions that accompany the weedkiller before use and if in doubt ask for advice at your local garden centre or weedkiller supplier.

Another effective method of controlling weeds is to use mulch, especially in the vegetable and fruit garden. Plastic sheeting placed around the base of plants and vegetables is also a money-saving method of keeping weeds to a minimum, however it can sometimes not be that attractive from an aesthetic point of view in the garden.

When applying a mulch, such as chipped bark, garden compost or cocoa shells, make an effort to clear the ground of all weeds first and then spread the mulch at least 5cm (2in) thick. Ensuring an even layer of mulch to the appropriate thickness should keep most weeds from growing through the mulch layer.

Keep up the battle against weeds in your garden and you will be rewarded with less and less weeds in the garden every season.

For further advice and timely tips on all aspects of gardening, please visit The Seasonal Gardener

For specific gardening jobs and tips, please visit The Seasonal Gardener website.

Transplanting seedlings is one of my favourite tasks in the garden. There are a few simple things to consider to give your young plants the best chance to flourish you want them to thrive, rather than just survive.

Timing

Think about the time of year. Just because certain seedlings are available at your nursery, dont assume its the right time to plant them out. If youre not sure, read the label most tell you the best time of year to plant. You could look in gardening books, research online or ask family or friends who are gardeners (they might even give you some seedlings if theyve bought too many).

You can plant tender plants before the risk of late frosts has passed, provided you listen closely to weather forecasts and are prepared to cover your babies with protection or enclose them in a cloche.

Hardening Off

If youve grown your seedlings from seed you probably know to harden them off before planting. But if youre buying them from a nursery take a look at where theyve been living. Have they been in a glass-house, under shade or exposed to the weather? If you seedlings have been grown outside exposed to the weather, they wont need hardening off. But if theyve been pampered, theyll need a bit of toughening up to prepare them for the real world.

To harden off your seedlings you need to leave them outdoors for a longer time each day. Protect them under a porch or behind shade-cloth, bringing them indoors at night for the first few days. After a couple of days, you can expose them to the morning sun. At the end of a week, they’ll be tough enough to transplant to their permanent plot.

Planting Out

The garden bed they are being planted in should already have been prepared with layers of organic matter, compost and mulch. Water seedlings 10-15 minutes before planting out.

Before removing seedlings from their containers, arrange them where they will be planted. When youre happy with the arrangement, use a trowel to dig a hole about twice the size of the rootball. Doing this prep work reduces the length of time that the roots will be exposed (drying out). Fill each hole with water. This supplies moisture to the plants root zone rather than the surface where it may quickly evaporate. Gently ease the first plant from its container, working from the bottom and sides to loosen it. Dont try and pull it from the container by its stem you may damage it. Only handle these young plants by their individual leaves or by the root ball. Keeping the rootball intact will help prevent transplant stress, but gently tease the roots to loosen them.

Place the plant into the ground at about the same level that it was growing in its container. Backfill the hole until it is almost level with the soil. I like to add some organic fertilizer at this stage, to give my babies a head start. Just use a small amount you can add more later. Finish backfilling, pressing the soil lightly around the roots to ensure good soil-to-root contact.

Water them in well, avoiding overhead watering, immediately after transplanting. Water daily for about a week until seedlings are well established. Bring mulch around the plant, leaving about a 10cm (4inch) diameter clear around each plant.

Other things to consider

Avoid transplanting vegetable seedlings when the weather is expected to be excessively hot. If you can, choose a day that is cloudy or transplant late in the afternoon or evening so that your plants can recover through the cool of the night, without sunlight beating down on them. If you cant do this its a good idea to provide some temporary shade, particularly in hot weather.

An initial watering with an organic seaweed fertilizer will provide a wide range of nutrients and help reduce stress on your young seedlings.

Get all your equipment ready before you start hand trowel, gardening gloves, kneeling pad, your water bottle and hat.

Tomatoes are an exception to the rule as far as planting depth goes. You can plant them right down to the first set of true leaves. They will grow new roots right up to the soil level, making them more sturdy.

Seedlings from the Cucumber family (cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons) do better planted in hills. This allows for better drainage and warms their soil to give them a better start.