How To Grow Tomatoes

There is a trick to properly watering your tomato plants. Not only do you need to water properly to keep your plants alive and productive, but uneven watering can make your plants susceptible to some types of tomato diseases, particularly blossom end rot.

You must avoid watering your tomato plants too much, and watering during the day can be stressful to your plants, especially if the water splashes up on the leaves. Start your day with your tomato plants, as the best time to water is early in the morning.

Weather will be a variable, but about one to two inches of water per week should be your goal. If the soil in your garden bed remains soggy, cut back your watering by half an inch, as roots need to breath in order to function. You should make a schedule to water once or twice a week, using more water for a deep soaking, over watering daily. Watering daily could spoil your tomato plants, causing the roots to stay at the surface and not giving them a reason to establish strong, deep roots.

A great item for busy, or forgetful gardners is a self watering planter. You can find instructions on building your own self watering planters or buy them at your local nursery or garden center. Watering planters work by using a water reservoir on the bottom of the box, and you simply add water until it hits the full mark and drains out.

One of the easiest and least expensive options is to use a soaker hose. You can lay these on the ground near the rows of the plants, and mulch over them to help retain the moisture. Avoid long runs of hose to make sure that the watering from the soaker hoses is fairly even.

Finally, you can find tools like the Tomato Automator that will act as small water reservoirs that feed the water deeper to the roots. These plastic forms sit around the base of the plant and double as a mulching surface as well.

Your tomato plants will reward you for using proper watering techniques with large, bright red, juicy tomatoes!