[...] check the forecast. If rain is likely during your vacation, you may not need to do a thing, although gardens typically need 1 to 2 inches of moisture a week to stay healthy, says Matt Armstead, creator of the gardening app Sprout it. Jennifer Feller, head of a sustainable design company in Arlington, Massachusetts, installed a drip irrigation system a couple years ago to keep her vegetable garden alive when she's gone six weeks every summer. Or fill a 2-liter plastic soda bottle with water and insert it onto an Aqua Stick, a green plastic cone which you then stick in the soil of potted plants. If you'd rather go the natural route, spray a mixture of garlic and egg substitute on your plants to help repel deer and other creatures, says Elizabeth Dodson, founder of the home-maintenance and organization software HomeZada. Cut back any dead or diseased leaves on fruit and vegetable plants, and pick anything that's near harvestable to keep the plants growing and producing more while you're gone. [...] spreading a fresh layer of mulch or compost over the soil in your garden is a good way to deter weeds and conserve water, while improving your soil, says Julie Moir Messervy, a landscape architect and author based in Saxtons River, Vermont.