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Show Water most precious resource for gardens grass high and cut small amounts each time. The same watering practices prac-tices hold true for plants. The hot, daytime sun will evaporate evap-orate water too quickly, and nighttime watering may lead to fungus. But your plants will require watering. Perennials, Peren-nials, for example, need to be soaked down to the roots; bulbs, when first planted, fctfJKfe. -h . .... . need a good drink as well. If you water infrequently, chances are the plant will be in trouble when a dry spell comes. Generally, most gardens, like lawns, need an inch of water per week. This poses a problem in such places as the Southeast, Southwest and California, where months can go by without adequate rain fall. How, then, do you maintain main-tain a garden during a water shortage? Using a landscape fabric is one answer. A quality quali-ty landscape fabric, like Easy Gardener's Weed-Block, can act as a reserve tank for plants by helping the soil retain re-tain water. Since air moves freely through Weed Block, the fabric helps conserve water without soil souring or mildewing. It also lives up to its name by blocking out over 90 percent of the light needed for weed growth. Summer heat and drought conditions can be tough on your yard. But by using your head and the right lawn and garden productsyou can still have a healthy lawn and beautiful garden that can be enjoyed throughout the season. With the warmer summer weather ahead, the likelihood of a drought has become reality real-ity in many parts of the country. coun-try. Water will be recognized again as one of our most precious resources. Outdoor watering will be considered wasteful, and in some cases, illegal. For those with green thumbs, a water shortage often means wilting plants and burnt lawns. But this needn't be the case any more. By watering wisely and taking advantage of some of the latest lawn and garden products, you can still grow a green lawn and a beautiful garden, despite adverse weather conditions. Human beings tend to drink more fluids during the warm weather months, and perhaps because of this, they tend to water their lawns more, as well. In fact, during the spring and summer months, water use increases by as much as 30 percent, due largely to outdoor watering. But even with the heat and blazing sun, an established lawn needs only one inch of water per weekabout three to four hours under the sprinkler. When watering a lawn during dur-ing warmer months, water wisely. For instance, that weekly watering of one inch, applied slowly to prevent runoff, is much more effective effec-tive than shorter, more frequent fre-quent sprinklings. Also, avoid sprinkling in the afternoon, after-noon, as such water evaporates evap-orates as much as four to eight times faster during the heat of the day than in the morning. There's no evaporation evap-oration problem when watering water-ing at nightbut nighttime watering can cause a lawn fungus to develop. The best time to water the lawn is early ear-ly morning. Another lawn care tip for dry conditions is 4 'let the clippings lie.' It is common misconception that grass clippings left on the lawn will kill the grass. In reality, the opposite is true. Grass clippings clipp-ings especially when cut finely fine-ly by a mulching mower, benefit the lawn in a number of ways. The clippings serve as a protective layer between the sun and the grass itself. Because they are made up of more than 75 percent water, cUppings decompose quickly. quick-ly. When they do decompose, they return nutrients and humus hu-mus to the soil and can generate ge-nerate up to 25 percent of the lawn's fertilizer needs. For maximum results, keep the |