Properly watering tomatoes is arguably one of the most important steps for growing plump, juicy tomatoes in the vegetable 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 tomatoes? It is just what it sounds like – watering tomato plants at their deepest root level. Watering in this manner will ensure good root development, resulting in stronger, healthier tomato plants. This in turn creates greater tomato production over a longer period of the season. Now I don’t know of a tomato 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 2-liter soft drink bottle with a lid as a watering device. Use a pair of scissors or a sharp knife and cut the bottom off the 2-liter bottle. Drill about two or three holes in the bottle lid using a 3/32″ drill bit. Now bury the bottle upside down and at about a 45° angle, four to six inches from the stem of the tomato, leaving about one to two inches of the bottle sticking above soil. Fill the bottle with water or your favorite liquid tomato fertilizer, such as compost tea. 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. For a step-by-step tutorial on how to do this, please read – Watering Tomatoes Using A 2-liter Soda Bottle.
- An alternative to the above technique is using an Aqua Cones. 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 Tomato Craters. This is a very cool item that will easily water your tomato plants deep, but also helps protect against cutworms and other pests.
Using these methods, or a combination of these methods, will help to keep your tomatoes plants watered where it really counts – at the roots. 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.
What do you use to water your tomato plants?
Please feel free to share your watering methods in the comments section!
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Great ideas. I’m going to use a drip system this year I think, and lots and lots of mulch.
I’d like to know more about how those tomato crater things work ~ there wasn’t much of a description on the product page.
Jackie Lee´s last blog ..Painting Easter Eggs
Hi Jackie – The Tomato Craters are a good way to water your tomatoes and other plants (like eggplant or peppers). One drawback to using them is you need to refill it every day. Not a huge deal but still a factor. It basically is two halves. Once the tomato grows to about a foot high then place the two halves together around the stem of the plant. If I remember right, it snaps together. It’s almost like a big saucer with little holes in the bottom. You fill it with water then the water slowly trickles down into the ground and to the roots. This is much better than watering overhead.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your tomatoes this year
Tee