Plants can be further drought-proofed with the judicious use of mulches. The time to apply mulching materials around plants and between rows is after the soil warms thoroughly in spring. To avoid creating a happy haven for a zillion wood bugs, earwigs and slugs, use very thin layers only of loose materials such as chopped straw. Grass clippings placed in shallow layers add nitrogen to the soil as they decompose. Mix grass clippings or another source of nitrogen with aged sawdust to counteract the temporary nitrogen-depleting action of sawdust on the soil.
Organic mulches do more than help to retain moisture.
Cultivated or dug into the soil at the end of the season, they improve the soil's texture and fertility. Compost For soil enrichment, compost is the perfect mulching material. To have enough of this precious resource to serve the garden adequately, compost everything from the garden that will break down. Chop, cut, or shred the materials into the smallest pieces possible and balance dried, brown plant parts with fresh, young green weeds, row thinnings and grass clippings as nitrogen sources to kick-start composting microorganisms into a frenzy of feeding on the drier matter. Keep compost heaps moist but not wet, and fluff them up or mix them around often with a compost tool or long-handled garden fork to introduce the fresh air that will further energize the heap's microscopic workers.