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’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.

Price : $22.01

Product Description

A Backyard-Gardeners Guide to Growing a Bountiful, Great-Tasting Harvest

The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener features:

• A full-color encyclopedia of over 100 vegetables and herbs with detailed, expert advice on growing them successfully from planting to harvest
• Planting and growing techniques that keep maintenance to a minimum
• Entries on how to grow unusual edibles, such as refreshing mesclun for salads, colorful edible flowers, spicy mustards, and more
• Descriptions and photos of a host of succulent vegetables, both hybrids and heirlooms, from common to exotic
• Complete information on improving even the poorest garden soil using safe, organic techniques, plus practical advice on making compost
• Recommendations on garden tools you need–and those you dont
• Information on controlling pests and diseases organically, without resorting to poisonous sprays
• Spectacular full-color photographs of vegetables and herbs, food gardens, and edible landscapes, plus 30 black-and-white line drawings

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-12-04
BURPEE THE COMPLEGE VEGETABLE AND HERB GARDENER is an excellent desk reference for the beginning vegetable and herb gardener. It’s a bit large to actually tote into the garden, but after a day of gardening this is a welcome reference to prepare for tomorrow.
* An encyclopedia of vegetables and herbs with growing advice and photos.
* Planting and growing techniques.
* Basic organic gardening techniques and tool recommendations.
* Soil building techniques and organic pest and disease control tips.
These are the highlights of this guide.
If you are looking for a carry-into-the-garden guide, the pocket-sized The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You’ll Ever Face Answers to Every Question You’ll Ever Ask (Answer Book (Storey)) is very useful and for the intermediate an experienced vegetable gardener a must-have carry-along guide is The Kitchen Garden Grower’s Guide: A practical vegetable and herb garden encyclopedia.

Review date : 2008-07-06
I absolutely love this book. I first found it at the local library and Had to Have It! I find two drawbacks and they are that the ‘pests’ and diseases aren’t defined enough for the novice gardener. The ‘pests’ are pictured in black and white while the diseases are written only. This is a great gift for a new gardener.

Review date : 2008-04-07
This book is ideal for someone starting their first garden who wants to use all organic methods. It goes through setting up your garden beds, making your own compost, and in the back it goes over every kind of vegetable and herb you could possibly want! The burpees seeds and plants are excellent too! I bought some Burpees seeds from Lowes and they were growing after only 5 days!

Review date : 2007-06-09
This book is great if you’re a beginner gardener, and want just one book to sit down and read that covers all aspects of gardening. You’ll want to go on an buy other books that go into more detail on specific topics, but this is a great place to start, and one to keep on the shelf.
It is presented as a gardening book should be – a large hardcover with lots of glossy colour photographs.
Chapters are:
1) Growing you own
2) Getting Started
3) Garden Tools & Equipment
4) Improving the soil
5) Laying out the Garden
6) Planting the Garden
7) Caring for the Garden
Coping with Garden Problems

Review date : 2007-03-09
I am so impressed with this big, beautiful book! The photos are inspiring, and the technical aspects are thoroughly covered. I love the historic background of each vegetable and herb.
I think there is literally everything I ever needed to know about vegetable gardening from seed germination, through care and feeding, to harvest. Detailed charts outline fertilizer, pests, water, soil conditions, and planting and harvest times.

I keep it on my coffee table and flip through it daily just to enjoy the photos and learn some new fact.

You will not be disappointed with this book!