Because a properly designed automatic watering system, in any of its many forms applies water evenly and at a designed rate, it is the only way that water can be applied efficiently and economically to a garden or landscape. Compared to hand watering, where the amount applied is totally haphazard, an automatic watering system is easily controlled by the adjustment of the time that the system operates. Automatic watering therefore has the potential for saving water by ensuring that it is all used effectively by the planting. Automatic watering systems also operate during the night when evaporation losses are lower. Night time operation also suits the water supply companies in that it removes a demand on their limited capacity distribution systems from peak times to a period when demand from other users is minimal. In most areas, restrictions on hose watering imposed by the water companies are made necessary by a lack of distribution capacity rather than a lack of water resources. Automatic watering allows the water companies to sell water to gardeners, which is after all their sole objective, without overloading their distribution systems. To help in the efficient use of water, the automatic control systems used with this type of watering system can incorporate such features as rain-stats, which prevent operation during and after summer rains, and soil moisture sensors and monitors.