I’m thinking about tying up my little dog, Mickey, until we get a good rain shower. If he would fall into one of the cracks in the dry earth of our flower garden, we’d never get him back. Gardens throughout our area need a couple days of gentle rain to replenish soil moisture.

If you have young trees and shrubs that you have planted in the past few months, you would do well to drag out the hose and give them a thorough soaking. The same holds true for your flower and vegetable beds. Gardens that have not been mulched are really suffering right now.

Don’t be afraid to use city water on your woody plants to bring soil moisture levels back up. Although a steady diet of tap water isn’t the best, it is better than drought. Set the hose end at the base of the plants and let it trickle there for about a while. A slow trickle, about half the size of your little finger, will give young shrubs and trees a deep soaking. When the water begins to run away rather than soak in, move on to the next shrub.

In the perennial garden, be especially watchful of your astibles. If they suffer a dry spell, they will go dormant and not return until next season. They need soil with constant moisture to stay vibrant all summer long. Flower and foliage plants growing within the drip line of trees will be competing with the trees for moisture and need special attention in dry times.

Roses use lots of water and do well when soil moisture is plentiful. Mulch is especially important around rose bushes for two reasons. It conserves moisture and also prevents soil-born disease organisms from splashing up onto the foliage when it rains.

The secret to watering properly is to water deeply but not frequently. Your lawn, for example, should get the equivalent of about an inch a week. So if a deep green lawn is your thing, set up the sprinkler in early morning and place a coffee can in its path. Keep watering until you get an inch of water in the can.

In the vegetable garden, tomatoes are very sensitive to fluctuating soil moisture levels. Uneven soil moisture causes cat-facing (cracks radiating from the stem) and blossom-end rot (soft watering spots on the bottom of the fruit). If you see blossom-end rot developing on a tomato, remove it right away. The plant can then direct its energy to the other developing fruits. The best prevention for these problems is a good layer of organic mulch around the plants. Mulch conserves soil moisture and keeps plant roots cool.

Oscillating sprinklers work well for lawn areas but I prefer soaker hoses or hand watering for flower and vegetable beds. Applying water to the foliage of plants in hot humid weather is often an invitation to foliar diseases to set up housekeeping.