SOUTHPORT, N.Y (WETM) – Hot, dry, and windy weather is the perfect condition to suck moisture out of your plants. And without a good sustaining rain, it’s important to water your garden properly to keep the plants hydrated.

Charlie Todd of Chamberlain Acres properly watering your plants involved more than setting up a sprinkler or using a hose for a couple minutes.

“It’s a great day to be out for a picnic, but… it just wicks the moisture right away,” he said. The best way to water is by using a good soaking head on the hose to shower all the pots and hanging baskets.

And if you see water pouring out of the bottom right away, that means the soil is too dry and isn’t absorbing the water. To fix that, it’s best to hit the plant with some water once, then again a few minutes later, then again and so on until the soil really soaks up the water.

City or well water also makes a difference from rain.

“This water has all the chemicals for our teeth and everything, and not so much for the plants,” Todd explained while he showered the garden with the hose. “They’re not getting the nitrogen… so they just don’t even grow as tall.”

Therefore it’s important to remember to feed the plants, too. Just using city water won’t do the trick.

All these tips apply to plants and vegetables in the ground, as well. Take it from a farm kid myself, just setting up a sprinkler to water the vegetables doesn’t properly soak the ground.

“You actually need to take the time to go out and spend some time with your plants, and stay there and talk to them while you water,” Todd said. “Because it’s the best way and the only way to really do it properly.”