With the creeks swollen from the nearly 2 inches of rain that fell on northeast Kansas late last week, it’s hard to imagine that we are still behind the average precipitation total for this time of year. Every splash of rain we receive this month will keep us out of the garden, but it will make growing vegetable crops that much easier.

In times of drought, the agriculture experts worry about something called subsoil moisture. I don’t pretend to know the first thing about growing field crops, but over the years I have seen the way the annual rainfall total affects my vegetable garden.

I’ve also observed that people who grow vegetables in town, where the garden hose provides a relatively inexpensive source of water, are more likely to regard rain as an inconvenience that will cause the lawn to need mowing sooner. On the other hand, those of us on rural water  who can recite the number of gallons of pricey water our households use each month  see the appearance of a thunder cloud as a cause for celebration.

Until I lived in the country, I bought into the quaint stereotype of rural folk who pass the time visiting about the weather and comparing their rain gauge totals. The urban assumption is that the country folk have nothing better to talk about. As it turns out, it’s the city dwellers who are clueless.

Some rural gardeners would rather till it all under than turn on the tap. Most of those who do water their gardens don’t think much about watering until mid-June or so, when the temperatures are fixed in the 90s and the soil is starting to bake.

They might do a little watering when they set out the tomato and pepper plants, but many don’t water when they direct-seed hot weather crops such as beans, corn, cucumbers, squash and melons. They let rainfall do the watering for them.

I’ve never been able to avoid watering altogether. I always water liberally when I sow seeds and set out transplants, and unless the rainfall is adequate through the summer, I seem to end up watering once every two weeks through the heat of the summer. In fact, when I plant I roll out soaker hoses to make the process easier when the time comes.

When the vegetable plants are 6 inches high I give them a final, thorough weeding and begin mulching. The mulch can be laid down over the soaker hoses.

Mulch cuts watering in two ways. First, it postpones the moment when you turn on the tap by retaining the moisture already in the soil. When the sun heats the soil, it draws the moisture up to the surface, where it evaporates.

This brings me back to my original point about the annual rainfall total. In dry years, when the subsoil moisture content is low, that process speeds up and watering time happens sooner.

Mulching also is the most efficient way to retain water that I apply from the hoses. Without mulch, a vegetable gardener might have to water a couple of times a week during June and July. Tilled soil is loose and moisture escapes easily.

Mulch also has the added benefit of blocking the sunlight that causes weed seeds to sprout. This drastically cuts the amount of weeding you’ll have to do throughout the gardening season.

Late spring also is the time to be thinking ahead to the process of mulching. As you mow, you can start stockpiling lawn clippings. Grass mixed with a drier mulch, such as leaves or straw, makes an excellent garden cover.

Pure grass clippings, which are extremely high in nitrogen, are a hot mulch and may be more than some plants can handle. A hot mulch also heats the soil and draws moisture out of the soil. Personally, I’ve never been crazy about the aroma of wet grass clippings while I’m working in my garden.

Straw or hay alone makes a good mulch, although it won’t have the nutrient content of green grass.

The downside of straw and hay is that they generally are high in seed content. If you apply fresh straw or hay to your garden, you’ll have to weed your mulch after the seeds start to sprout.

The way to minimize this problem is to buy bales of straw well in advance of the time you apply your mulch and set the bales in an unshaded place. Break them apart and wet the straw or hay thoroughly until the seeds sprout and die.

The best mulch I’ve found is “ruined” hay that has been wet and is no longer suitable for farm use or straw that I’ve left outdoors through the winter.

 When she’s not writing about foods and gardening, Gwyn Mellinger is teaching journalism at Baker University. Her phone number is (785) 594-4554.