Water Tomatoes Deep For Awesome Results
Properly watering tomatoes is arguably one of the most important steps for growing plump, juicy tomatoes in the home garden. Watering too much or not enough can destroy or limit tomato plant production, and can contribute to increasing the chances for disease.
Deep watering tomato plants is the best way to properly water your tomatoes. What is deep watering? It is just what it sounds like – watering plants at their deepest root level. Watering in this manner will ensure good root development, resulting in stronger, healthier plants. This in turn creates greater tomato production over a longer period of the season. Now I don’t know of a gardener that does not want that! There are many techniques and tools for deep watering your tomato plants, here are just a few:
- Use a watering wand
to water the tomato plants. Try to direct the water stream towards the base of the tomato plant; avoid getting the foliage wet as much as possible. Having damp leaves on the plant can create an environment that easily spreads blight and other diseases. Water each tomato plant for 1 – 6 minutes depending on your soil composition. It is better to water tomatoes in the morning so that the plants will have time to thoroughly dry before night.
- Use a soaker hose
to water your tomato plants. A soaker hose is ideal for deep watering because the hose will slowly seep water into the ground and around the roots. The soaker hose will also help keep the leaves from becoming wet. Typically I like to snake the soaker hose around my tomato plants. This ensures each plant gets a good drink.
- Use an old 1-liter soft drink bottle as a watering device. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife and cut the bottom off the 1-liter bottle. Drill about three or four holes in the bottle lid using a 1/8th drill bit. Now bury the bottle upside down and at an angle, about 3 inches from the stem of the tomato, leaving about 2 inches of the bottle sticking above ground. Fill the bottle with water or your favorite feeding solution. The water will slowly trickle out of the bottle, easily watering the plant at the roots. This technique is best done when planting the tomato seedlings to keep from disturbing the roots of an established plant.
- An alternative to the above technique is using an Aqua Cone that you can purchase from Gardener’s Supply Co. Just screw the Aqua Cone on where the cap usually goes on an old 2-liter soda bottle. Stick into the ground beside the stem of the plant, and then fill with water or feeding solution. The Aqua Cones are good to use for tomatoes that are already established because they will not disturb the roots as much as the previously mentioned method.
- When planting your tomatoes, place a watering pipe in the planting hole. A watering pipe is very simple to make – all you need is a 1-inch diameter PVC pipe about 24 inches long, a 1/8th drill bit, and a cordless drill. Drill the 1/8th-inch holes about an inch apart down the length of the pipe, leaving the top 2 inches of the pipe undrilled. Now you can just place the watering pipe all the way down inside the hole that you dig when planting your tomatoes. Fill the pipe up with water or your favorite feeding solution, and the tomato plant will get a nice, deep drink. The pipe may need to be refilled a couple times a week depending on how much rain you receive and how hot the temperatures are.
- Another great trick for deeply watering tomatoes is a device called the Tormato. This is a very cool system that will not only watering your tomatoes but acts as a tomato plant support as well. I have never tried this item, but it looks very easy and inexpensive to build. It might be worth a try in the future.
Using these methods or a combination of these methods will have your tomatoes plants well water and on their way to producing large, juicy tomatoes. You can also apply these techniques to other vegetable plants as well such as peppers, eggplant, squash and zucchini. Experiment to see which one suits your gardening style best, and get creative with better ways of watering. Please feel free to share your watering methods in the comments section!
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