Is warm weather weighing on your garden? Here are water saving tips for the garden plus a couple more for keeping the gardener cool.

1. Water without wasting

Position sprinklers so that no water falls on pavement or other areas that have no plant life. Dig into the soil to check for moisture before you water. Most lawns need one inch of water a week to stay green. Trees and shrubs need even less.

Lawn care tip: In many areas you can let the lawn ‘go golden’ or dormant during the summer. Don’t dispair! It will green back up in the fall when the rains return.

2. Use a drip system when you can

Change sprinkler heads to drip system heads. Connect to narrow water tubes, sometimes called spaghetti tubing. Direct the precious water tubes right to the root zone of specific plants. You can also use a drip system to water pots and hanging baskets. Discourage the proliferation of weeds by watering just where it is needed. Here’s a good video for installing a drip system.

Drip system tip: Sprinkler and emitter heads get clogged with salt buildup. Soak them with white vinegar for a few hours then scrub with a tooth brush or insert a needle into blocked openings.

3. Invest in soaker hoses or make your own

Turn any leaky hose into a watering device. A soaker hose is especially useful with long and narrow beds. Just poke holes along the length of the hose and then lay it around the base of your plants. When hooked to the faucet water will slowly flow down the hose to the plant’s roots. Less is lost to evaporation. Are you a rose lover? Roses need water. A soaker hose is a good way to give these beauties what they need. Marci Martin wrote the ‘book’ on the vital importance of water for roses.

Mulch and Soaker hose tip: Once you’ve made and tested the soaker hose, cover it with a mulch. The mulch will help to seal the moisture in and it will cool the soil.

4. To water the summer vegetables, put that sprinkler on a ladder

As your vegetables and flowers grow taller a regular sprinkler may not reach all your plants because the spray is blocked by tall growth of the nearest crops. Try mounting the sprinkler on a post, or set the sprinkler atop a ladder. Let the water rain down on a larger surface area.