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But how much ?
How much water do my tomato plants need ?
Precise answers take into account the weather and adjust the amount accordingly. This chart is a good example. However there seem so many variants to consider I’m not sure how precise, precise ends up being.
General answers are based on certain principles :
- Inconsistent watering i.e, drought followed by drowning = bad
- Over watering = bad. Tomatoes like to be moist but not soaked
- Under watering = bad. I guess the ultimate result of this is terminally obvious! But causes for Blossom End Rot lies with under watering.
So the correct approach to watering seems to be a consistent supply of the right amount. And just as tomatoes hate inconsistent/over/under watering I hate answers like that !
So I’ve settled on my own formula. A starting point of 500ml per day per plant but vary it up or down depending on big plant/big pot or small pot/small plant ( esp the Red Robins ) . I also factor in the left hand side of the garden seems to dry out faster than the right. When it was really hot (remember when!) I did two rounds per day.
I still don’t know if overall this is the right amount although I am consistent with the consistent bit! I rely on seeing a couple of plants wilt a little, perk up after watering and then be fine through to the next day as feedback that it seems roughly correct.
I was struck that even after the heaviest downpours the measuring jug only fills to 300/400ml so I’m watering far more than would be delivered via rain but of course rain soaks deep into the ground where as my plants are isolated in pots and grow bags.
For my plants I am the rain! I guess I won’t know till the end of the summer how good a rainmaker I turned out to be .
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
There seems to always be a big debate and many questions about watering tomatoes. I usually am running around my garden with water hoses like a crazed fireman during the summer, but decided to try a different method this year – dry farming my tomatoes.
Basically, I haven’t water my tomatoes since they have become established. The only water they get is from whenever it rains. There have been times when this made me quite nervous, and more than once have I come home wondering if I’ll have a bunch of dead plants when I go to the backyard.
So far it has been working pretty well. I am getting 10 to 15 tomatoes a day from 13 plants. There are some slight issues from some of the larger tomatoes slightly cracking near the stem, but nothing major.
Hello,
Thanks for getting in touch. I had read the article on your site re Dry Farming Tomatoes and enjoyed it. Given the rain we are having at the moment in the UK my guess is that gardeners with plants outdoors in the ground may not be doing any extra watering. But if there was little or no rain I guess they’d be joining us container growers in watering away. However that is a fantastic crop you are getting ! I am a day or so off picking my first ripe tomato – here’s hoping for that amazing tomato flavour.