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Growing Tomatoes

Watering Toms Just Right

15 years ago

I am a beginner at this so I thought I would see if I was irrigating my one tomato Plant correctly. Did some research and this is what I decides to do. Please let me know if this decision is adequate. Approx. 1 SF Area x 1" of water per week. This is 0.5 gal/SF. So another thread stated. My area is 4 SF that is 2 gals water per week. My dripper is 4 gph so that makes 30 minutes per week irrigation. Apply water 3 days at 10 minutes per day. Actually I will apply ever other day to make 40 minutes per week. Weather is warming up. I get good sun but cool temps about 75-80.

I was watering every day at about 4 minutes per day. The plant is growing very well and has about 10 tomatoes growing on it now. But as it grows larger I want the water to go deeper and spread wider for the increased root spread.

Thanks for comments in advance. I like reading in this forum.

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Comments (4)

jvanator
15 years ago
I really doubt that 10 minutes of watering per day will put enough water down to the roots. I think you'll lose most of that to evaporation. When you water, it needs to soak several inches down or it really won't do any good. I'd actually suggest running it for a full 30 minutes at a time, watering as the soil gets dry, as opposed to set schedule.
digdirt2
15 years ago
1 plant x 4gph emmiter = 15-20 mins. every 4th-5th day...in theory. All these formulas for watering are just meant to be guidelines, not fact. ;)

No set pattern can take into account changing weather needs forced on the plant or the increased growth of the plant or the fact that too much water is more harmful than not enough water. Is it in a container or in ground? If in a container, just water the plant until water drains out the bottom and then don't water again until the plant begins to droop a bit.

The best way for the plant to determine water needs is to stick you finger as deep as possible into the soil. If it is damp, don't water. When in doubt, don't water.

Dave
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lehua49
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you both. Very logical guidance. I will try a little bit of both suggestions. The plant is in the ground and is my experiment in Tomatoes this year. I am building my garden space slowly. Next year I will have compost and go the full tomatoe monty. Thanks again and Aloha. Here is what it looks like now:

Cherry tomatoes in the background.
Any suggestions?
davidandkasie
15 years ago
just water it when the ground gets dried out, soaking in deep as suggessted. weather does play a HUGE part.

2 weeks ago i cold water every 4th day for an hour with my soaker hoses. now, i need to water every 3rd day or the ground goes completely dry and they wilt. of course, this happened while i was gone on vacation! plants are ok, but they should have grown better than they did during my time away.

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