There are several things you can do to ease your plants through a dry summer and even improve your landscape at the same time. While installing and using a drip system is a no-brainer, there are other steps you can take if you find yourself in a real pinch. Here’s how to make every drop of water count.

First of all, irrigate slowly, deeply and less frequently. Slow soaking limits runoff and encourages plants to develop deep root systems that are better able to tolerate drought. To minimize evaporation, irrigate in the early morning or evening. If you have to use a hose for watering, build soil berms around young trees and shrubs such as roses to concentrate water on the root zones. Fill the basin so the water soaks in.

It's also important to check the soil moisture occasionally between waterings to make sure the plants actually need to be watered as frequently as they are. Dig down one foot with a trowel or spade and feel a handful of soil. Another way to test moisture is to use a metal sampling tube to "read " the soil. Simply push it into the ground and twist it back out. It will show a 10-12" cross section of soil, showing how wet or dry the soil actually is. If the top 2 inches of the soil sample are dry, it's time to water.

If you don't have a drip irrigation system, consider using soaker hoses or root irrigators to concentrate water in specific areas. You can also be water-wise with pots by using glazed, foam or plastic pots, which are less porous and hold moisture better. Nesting smaller pots inside of larger ones will also create extra insulation.

If you have a grass lawn, raise your mower height. Taller grass shades the soil and will help reduce evaporation. Instead of high-nitrogen lawn food, apply a low-nitrogen iron product to help prevent excessive growth and improve the lawn's tolerance to heat stress.

Consider applying mulch to your garden. It helps reduce evaporation, insulates the roots from hot temperatures, helps prevent weeds and just plain makes a garden look better. We recommend applying a 2" layer of for best results.

If you face a real pinch in water availability, survey your landscape and give the highest priority to established trees and foundation shrubs, because they would be the hardest to replace. With just a little extra diligence, most gardens will make it through a drought period just fine.

Many homeowners revel in the glory of their garden in spring, only to be disappointed when plants start to dry out and look stressed in the heat of summer. The natural reaction is to pour more water into the garden to "moisturize" the plants. This in turn can lead to root rot and/or the continuous lowering of soil temperature to the point that plants aren't stimulated to grow--or just plain die (overwatering is one of the main causes of plant death). But these problems can be greatly reduced or, in many cases, prevented by summer mulching.

The goal of summer mulching is not only to reduce summer heat stress on plants, but to create an environment for plants that will be conducive to good growth. Mulch is to a garden what a roof is to your home. We couldn't heat or air condition the home without the roof. The same seasonal temperature variance occurs in your garden. A 2" layer of mulch not only retains moisture in the soil but it maintains a cooler temperature in the summer and a warmer temperature in the winter.

Mulching also brings many other benefits to the garden. It gives the garden a tidier appearance and greatly improves the growing conditions for plants. Mulch helps suppress weeds and helps to conserve moisture. It creates an environment where earthworms can thrive and enhance the soil's condition. Nature provides this for us in natural settings; when we apply mulch to our garden, we mimic what is naturally done on the forest floor.

The strategy is to stimulate the growth of good soil bacteria, which in turn digest plant foods that the plant will recognize as nutrients and absorb. By keeping moisture in the soil you will attract earthworms and beneficial microbes and bacteria. The earthworms loosen up the soil, easing compaction, while the beneficial microbes help digest nutrients more efficiently, making them more readily available to the plants. Maintaining "moist" soil as opposed to "wet" soil keeps the temperature of the soil at a more consistent level for optimum growth. Mulch also provides a blanket to the soil that protects against soil crusting, as it decomposes and adds humus to the soil.

We recommend spreading a 2" inch layer of mulch or bark over the top of the native soil. There are many mulching materials available. Color, particle size, and nutrient exchange are considerations when choosing your material. We recommend Kellogg's Xerimulch, Kellogg's Gromulch, or Cocoa Mulch. Non-organic decorative mulches such as rock or gravel may be an attractive addition in gardens but give nothing back to the soil. Note: make sure not to place mulch right up against plant stems or tree trunks.

When mulching is incorporated with a good organic fertilizing program, the plants in your garden will not only survive the stress of summer and winter, but will thrive in it. Mulch will also give your garden a more "finished" look, adding to its overall beauty.