CHOOSE a breezy, sunny day to hang out wet washing at this time of the year and you can be sure it will be bone dry within an hour. That's how fast moisture can evaporate.
Make the mistake of hand-watering an exposed garden bed from now on and up to 90 per cent of the water will be lost in even less than an hour.
The biggest waste of water from the soil - and this is total loss - is direct evaporation into the atmosphere due to heat from the sun, aggravated by even the slightest breeze.
Therefore the best time to water most parts of ornamental, fruit and vegetables gardens is in the evening.
That gives the water a chance to sink deeply into the soil during the night, before it can be lost through evaporation.
Some plants are best watered early in the morning. They include roses and certain fruit trees (mainly apple and pear varieties) because water still gets a chance to soak in, while the leaves dry out rapidly during the day.
It is when foliage remains wet over several hours that fungal diseases, such as rose black spot or apple and pear scab diseases, quickly move in.
If ever there is an urgent time to apply an organic mulch around most plants it is right now.
Best of all is straw or hay because a thick, 100mm deep layer will absorb moisture and hold it like a sponge.
In fact the only way to water mulched soil is deeply.
It means that a soaker hose or sprinkler can be used so the water soaks deep into the soil too - right down to and including the subsoil.
This is where the real value of soft mulches, such as straw or a mixture of lawn clippings and other coarser materials, can be obtained. The effect is immediate.
Almost all wasteful evaporation is stopped instantly.
Add to this the remarkable and valuable cooling effects of a thick mulch.
It means that the roots of plants are kept cool, which means better, stronger growth, while the foliage can still take full advantage of the warmth from the sun.
And it gets even better. A soft mulch begins to rot away at this time of the year within a few days of being applied.
This is good because it is really turning into compost.
That's where the earthworms come in.
You may think there are few worms in your soil, but once a mulch begins to decompose, the earthworms appear like magic.
And they actually eat the stuff so when it passes through the digestive systems of countless, healthy, happy and wonderfully cool earthworms we get the greatest of all fertilisers added to our soil in the form of worm castings.
All this means we need to replenish mulching materials after a few weeks.
What's wrong with that?
After all we are directly and indirectly feeding the soil so our plants can take up the nutrients they need as rapidly as they are required.
We finish up with magnificent, highly fertile soil, teeming with earthworms and a healthy balance of micro-organisms.
If there is one big snag with soft, straw mulches it is the way they attract scratching birds.
They are at it early in the morning and they make a mess.
In our Tasmanian garden the biggest villain until recently was a flock of wandering native hens.
I solved the problem with the ultimate frighteners - toy snakes made of rubber.
I've even given them a coat of glossy paint to make them look even more sinister.
It's true they almost gave my wife a heart attack when she innocently went out to cut a cabbage, but they stopped those native hens in their tracks.
I've never had such a tidy, healthy garden.
