Grow a Healthy Vegetable Garden

Even though you probably won't need to water much early in the season, it's smart to plan ahead for the hottest, driest days of summer. You'll use the least water and minimize disease problems if you irrigate in a way that delivers moisture directly to the soil rather than spraying it in the air. Seattle Tilth advises against using soaker hoses made of recycled rubber tires if you're concerned about chemicals leaching into the soil. In general, drip irrigation works best.

Shown: You can install a simple drip irrigation system in just a couple of hours.