Tomato Watering

Sparky Joe

I'm wondering if anyone could give some advice on how often, and much to water tomatoes? I'm new to all this, but love fresh tomatoes. By the way I live in Salt Lake City where it is very hot(mid 90's) and very dry.

Thanks -Joe

MinConst

Here in New York we water them once a day and flood them. In Salt Lake it might be too hot for Tomatoes. But try it a few times during the day with allot of mulch. There isn't a better tomato than the ones you grow. My wife does Beef Steak. I will miss them this year. A good tomato and mayo sandwich. My mouth is watering.

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Teetorbilt

I'm not familiar with the area but know a few things about tomatoes.

Soil is the key and don't expect to get it right the first or even second year, it takes time to get it right.

How porous is your soil? Here we have sand, so we dig down about 18" and put in a hardpan or plastic liner to retain water. Fill it with the best dirt around and add lots of organics. I use compost, worm castings, peat, milorganite, black cow, everglades muck and even some chicken crap (but not too much). Mix well, use a tiller if you can.

Lay out the beds. These can be rows or mounds. I like rows. Start at one side and dig a footpath about 3-4" deep placing the dirt to either side to make raised beds then flatten off the tops with a rake. When you are done, the beds should be about 8-12" high and 12-18" wide on top. NEVER step on the bed, always walk on the paths.

Planting. Get or raise seedlings about 12" high. You may have to harden them off depending on your temps. (not a problem here but I have read about it). There are 2 ways to plant, straight down or trenched. You may want to try both the first year and see which one works best in your area. Pinch off all of the leaves except for the last 4" and dig a hole deep enough so that just this is showing. Trenching is the same thing only horizontally. If cutworms are a problem, you will want to put a small collar around the stem until it is about 3/8-1/2" dia. Gently water in. I use a rainbird mounted on a pole and run it about 1/2 hr. a day. You will have to gauge this for yourself, they will wilt during the heat of the day and come back at night. If the edges of the leaves start to brown, add more water. If they start to yellow, less water or more iron.

Kick it up! Go to the local bait shop or pet store and buy some worms. Put them on the beds at night, they will areate the soil and fertilize at the same time. Feed them with fresh veggie leftovers placed in holes between the plants and cover up.

Wish you luck!! Quite a few of mine never make it to the house.

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Sparky Joe

Thanks Teetor, extremely good post.
I tilled a strip of grass out back where it gets the most daytime sun, but shade from a tree after 5, not too big for getting started(2 rows wide). I raked out as much of the grass as I could because I heard that makes for very acidic mulch. The dirt is all okay, lots of topsoil, I live in a somewhat lowland (dry) swampy area, only grass had been grown there and it hadn't been turned in years. So I went to the garden store and got a scoop of compost with fertilizer mixed in(the clerk said it'd be good for tomatoes) I planted a dozen plants on Tuesday, big boys, beef steaks, early girls, and a couple heirlooms. I did mounds with a bowl shape to keep the water from running off and immediately watered with Miracle Gro for tomatoes(18-18-21). I've been watering once a day(no sprinkler system) when it cools in the evening for about 20 minutes. Some of the smaller plants (6-8")I noticed today were brown around the edges while others were wilted. The larger ones(14-16") looked fine.
But your post was very informative about what the symptoms mean, thanks again.
However I have 4 more plants that I'm going to plant where they get sun from noon till dark(8:00) and am curious about more details of trimming the leaves like you mentioned. I assume your trimming the bottom leaves/branches? and then burying the trunck so only the top leaves are above ground?
Also, it seems this compost I got doesn't hold water well(very light weight). Should I put some sort of mulch on top to hold in the water, if so what kind, or do you think they should dry out a little every day?
-Joe

Teetorbilt

The mound idea is to allow air to the roots and prevent too much water which can cause root rot.

Use a sprinkler for even water distribution, they only cost a few bucks and you can monitor the water amount in minutes, they are consistant.

I'd change the bowl to a mound, see above. You also want the roots to reach down.

Give the smaller plants a little time and watch them daily, they're more liable to shock. What are your night temps.?

Tomatoes are like weeds, every place that the stem hits the dirt, it will root. Stripping the stem and planting it will kick off the plant with a large root system.

It's better to let them dry out a little than have too much water. Once they start to bear you want to keep the water very consistant or the fruit can split. By this time they should also have a deep root system so that the surface watering doesn't mean as much. You are going to have to figure this part out on your own for your area. If you are really arid, try to find a light color mulch/screen, maybe even a white plastic. You don't want to cook the roots.

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Sparky Joe

Temps here are out of control, 2 weeks ago highs 65, last week highs of 90-95, next week they say mid 70's. No consistently whatsoever, got down to 80 at night last week, which will most likely be the average low through the summer.
That makes sense about the deep root system especially with the heat here,I'm definetly going to do that(trim the stalks) and watch their health compared to the others.
I have sprinklers I use for the lawn, but it's very incosistent, Because our irrigation water is non-potable and provided only in summer by the city, when the neighbors turn on their sprinklers the pressure drops significantly. I plan on building a cheap setup out of some PVC and some sprinkler heads that connects to the hose that will placed next to the garden. I think with a more localized system like that I'll be able to turn it on at 6 when I get up and shut it of when I leave for work and know that the plants were watered well. I don't suppose you reccommend morning watering, due to the roots not having to run deeper for water?

Teetorbilt

Get a timer and set it up to shut down as the sun is coming up or slightly before. Evening watering will allow all kinds of fungus/bacteria to grab hold overnight. Drops of water can act as a magnifying glass and burn cells. Done properly, you want the plants dry at sunrise.

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Sparky Joe

So the tomatoes are looking great, all the plants have several flowers, and one has a tomato starting already.

The bigger plants are getting some really long limbs on them near the bottoms, I was wondering if it's reccommended to trim them? If so where?

Cole

Me too.

I hate store bought tomatoes.

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Teetorbilt

It sounds like you are allowing the suckers to grow. These do nothing for the plant and it's best to nip them off early in the game.

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

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Sparky Joe

So the 'suckers' are the bottom braches that probably won't bare fruit?

they're already about 2/3 long of what the plant is tall. Will it hurt the plant if I trim them at this point?


By the way, the biggest healthiest plants are the ones I trimmed up and planted deep, as was suggested, Thanks

Teetorbilt

Here's a quickie on suckers. http://www.gardengal.tv/video/article.php?a=0018

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

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Sparky Joe

Thanks for the link, now I know what I'll be doing today.

Can't wait to get first fresh BLT of the year.

Sparky Joe

The plants are looking great, most of them already taller then the 54" cages. Have 30 growing tomatoes so far and still tons of flowers.

My question; the first tomato appeared a little over a month ago, has been growing steady, a little larger than a kiwi right now, but other tomatoes that only started 2 weeks ago are already larger than it. I'm thinking this first tomato isn't going to do much more than it already has, so I think it'd be best for the plant if I picked it? Ever had one these 'stagnent' tomatoes? what did you do about it?

-Joe

Teetorbilt

Sorry, I never concentrated on a single fruit. If you don't like it, trash it. There are a bunch more coming.

Here's an idea of how sensitive watering can be. A friend is growing plum tomatoes and went to see his daughter (about 500 mi's away). He asked me to water them. I stopped by the day after he was gone and 2 days later. He neglected to water them for 2 days prior to leaving, add in my almost 2 days and when the water hit, they all split.

If they're ripe, as in this case, you can still eat them as long as the bugs haven't attacked. I love them and plums are small so I had some mega salads and cut back on the meat.

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

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