There is a lot more to watering your garden than just spraying water on your plants. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this summer task. In fact, watering your garden the wrong way can be just as disastrous and destructive to your garden as no watering at all.

But watering the wise way is fairly easy once you know the tricks. Watering is also a lot of fun because you get to choose and use a wonderful array of nifty watering cans, hoses, nozzles, fittings and other cool gadgets.

Too many people take a top down approach to watering their garden. Standing over your garden with a hose in your hands is probably the worst thing you can do. Any overhead watering promotes shallow rooted plants that are addicted to frequent watering. Overhead watering can also loose fifty percent of its moisture to evaporation and wind drift. All you are doing is wasting water and ruining your garden.

As we move into the hot dry summer months of late July, August and early September, you need to learn how to water your garden the right way. You also need to know how to water your lawn and keep your container garden watered while you are away on vacation. Here's how:

Water the Soil Not the Plant. Your plants absorb water through their underground root system. You need to build the kind of soil that will retain water like a reservoir so that your plants can call on that moisture during dry periods.

Whenever you plant, dig in an inch or two of compost or other organic matter. Compost helps break up hard clay soil and tighten up loose sandy soil. Your crumbly organic soil will hold more water than any other kind and it will give the plants' root system the room to stretch out and dig in.

When you water, you want to deliver the moisture slowly and as close to the root zone as possible to eliminate evaporation and to allow the soil to soak up as much water as possible. The best way to accomplish these twin objectives is by laying a soaker hose in the garden and leaving it there. You can even bury this hose under 2 to 4 inches of soil. If you don't want to bury it, you can cover it up with a layer of shredded organic mulch.

Soaker hoses ooze water out through their pours along their entire length. They will soak an area up to 18 inches on either side of the hose. If you have a mixed perennial border you should loop the hose through the garden in an S pattern. Whenever you water, you just hook up a regular hose to the soaker hose and turn it on.

Soaker hoses are great inventions. They use up to 70 percent less water than other types of watering systems. The Moisture Master by Aquapore (www.aquapore.com) is made partially of recycled tires, making it even more environmentally friendly. I've had mine for 10 years and it always works well. A 100 foot long Moisture Master soaker hose sells for $26 on their Web site, at www.garden.com and at a comparable price at lawn and garden centers. Other brands of soaker hoses are also available on the market.

Drip irrigation is a close second to soaker hoses. These are specially designed hoses that have tiny holes punched in them by the manufacturer which slowly drip water out to the garden. Some drip systems have little sprinklers built into them gently spray water out to irrigate the garden. Drip hose irrigation kits complete with fittings can be purchased for $40 to $50 at the same places as soaker hoses.

Both soaker hose and drip hose systems can be configured for use in straight row gardens or in mixed borders. Both hose types benefit from an annual internal cleaning by blowing strong jets of water through the hoses to remove any dirt particles that might have built up and could clog up the hose.

If you don't want to use a soaker or drip hose, the next best watering system is an impulse sprinkler which emits a circular spray of water over a proscribed area. Aim your impulse sprinkler for a low trajectory. The more water you get up in the air the more it will evaporate wasting water and depriving the plants of necessary moisture.

Impulse sprinklers can be adjusted to spray a very well-defined area. You can also control the rate of flow. If adjusted properly, impulse sprinklers can be very effective. Buy a brass impulse sprinkler because they are more durable, they work better and they last longer. Expect to pay from $15 to $20 for a brass sprinkler.

The least effective watering system is an oscillating sprinkler. Letting kids run through the mist of this overhead sprayer is the best use for these devices. But if this is what you want to use, at least aim the sprinkler so the water lands somewhere near the garden and not the driveway. There are some colorful oscillating sprinklers that sell for $20 to $25.

Finally, if you have a small garden, there is nothing better than a watering can. There is something quite nurturing about watering your garden by hand, plant by plant. I've spent many blissful hours watering my garden by hand with a watering can.

Watering cans have become designer items in recent years. You can pay $199 for a stainless steel English long-necked can, galvanized cans cost from $20 to $60 and multi-colored plastic cans can cost as little as $7. All of them work just fine.

When and How Often to Water. Except under conditions of severed drought, gardens should not be watered more often than once a week. When you water, you should soak the ground to a depth of 6 inches which may take 1 to 2 hours depending on your water pressure, your flow settings and the type of soil you have.

It is much better for the plants to water deeply but infrequently. It is good for the plants to dry out a little between watering. This tough love forces them to generate deep sturdy roots. Short frequent watering coddles the plants allowing them to develop shallow roots that dry out faster during dry periods.

Here's the bottom line to becoming a water-wise gardener with strong drought-resistant plants: create a compost-enriched water-retaining soil and deliver slow, deep, infrequent watering.

Watering Your Lawn. The best way to water your lawn is to not water it at all. All of us

that have lawns are growing cool season grasses like Kentucky blue and perennial rye. These grasses naturally green up in spring, go dormant in summer and green up again in September when the cool nights and the rains return. If you let your grass grow 3 inches tall, leave the grass clippings on the lawn and reduce your use of fertilizer, your lawn will become more naturally drought-resistant.

Now, if you must water, an in-ground irrigation system is the best way to go. The fine mist spray stays close to the ground getting more water to the root zone than overhead watering.

Even with in ground irrigation or other lawn watering devise, you should only water once a week soaking the ground to a depth of 6 inches. You want your lawn to dry out a little between watering to promote deep grass plant root growth.

The best time to water either your lawn or your garden is when you have the time to do it right. If you have a choice, water early in the morning so the soil has a chance to absorb all the water before the sun comes out and evaporation begins.

Watering Containers. If you have a container garden you probably already know they have to be watered almost every day during summer. Especially those of you who garden on roof tops where the wind also causes a lot of dehydration.

When you travel or leave home on vacation, your container garden needs extra help. Get a neighbor to water if you can. If not, cluster the plants together and try to put them all in a shady place out of the wind. This cuts down on evaporation. Water them heavily for two days before you leave so that the soil in the container is thoroughly soaked.

Watering your gardens, lawns and containers is a summer long chore. But it is one of the most pleasant chores in the garden. If you do it right, it is a pleasure for you and your plants.