How to water Tomato plants the right way - all about watering tomatoes

How to water tomato plants is a common question amongst most home owners. Why I say home owners is because tomatoes are grown in almost every home the world over as they are relatively easy to grow and sustain. However, tomatoes are not some wild plants that could grow anywhere and everywhere – they need care and the right amount of nutrients as well as water and sunlight. We can definitely say that knowing how to water tomato plants is really crucial if you want to receive an abundant harvest or for that matter any fruit at all.

Watering tomatoes is a skill, a skill that needs to be mastered by all home gardeners. Therefore, take a look at the following tips and you will surely learn how to water tomato plants the right way. If at all you don't water tomatoes right it could lead to various tomato plant diseases.

• Water slowly so that the water has a chance to seep through and reach the roots: - One of the simplest yet most important rules on effective watering of tomato plants is watering slowly. Don’t just empty buckets on the soil surrounding the plants instead you could use a drip pipe or any other form of drip irrigation to ensure that the plants receive enough water at a right pace. If you have just a few plants in pots you could just sprinkle enough water on the soil to wet it a few times a day.
• Another important point is watering tomatoes regularly: - There’s no exact figure when it comes to regular watering of tomato plants. The amount you water the tomato plants depends on various factors right from the soil type to the weather conditions. When you notice that the soil is dry you could water the plant so that the soil is just wet and never over water. Mostly you would just need to water the plants on alternate days; however, in some places you would even need to water them a couple times during a single day. However, during the colder seasons you may notice the soil remains moist and hence you could further reduce the amount of water to maybe twice a week or so.
• You need to water tomato plants at the roots: - People usually take the statement literally and often ask “How to water tomato plants at the roots”. By watering at the roots I simply mean don’t water the plants from above; instead, pour the water directly on the soil near the stem of the plant. Watering tomatoes from the top has many disadvantages – firstly it encourages pests and diseases, the water present on the leaves could burn the plant when the sun comes up. This is true for any plant and not just tomatoes.
• Mulching: - Mulching drastically reduces the need of watering tomato plants as it prevents rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil. The best way to do this is by adding an organic layer of mulch either dry leaves, hay or even coconut husks over the top soil around the stem of the tomato plants. Mulching has dual properties – it prevents rapid evaporation of water and at the same time provides nutrients for plant growth through the decay of organic matter.
• Watering with rain water instead of tap water: - If you’ve got a good rain water harvesting system set up at home, one that keeps the collected water fresh for months on end by preventing the entry of sunlight; then, that would be just awesome as watering tomatoes with rain water is much better than using tap water especially in places where hard water is available.

If you want to know more about growing tomatoes from seeds and caring for them right up to harvest time you'd find these articles informative:

How to plant a tomato plant in your Garden/Container

Caring for tomato plants once they've been planted in your garden

The best option is to use a drip irrigation system that can be programmed to water the plants, the system will water the plants each and every day or as per the way you programmed it. They aren’t expensive to install and are easy to maintain. If this isn’t an option you could try finding a trustable neighbor to do the job or better still just do this:

• Mulch around the stem and water just before you leave so that the moisture content remains for as long as possible.
• Watering tomatoes in containers while you’re away isn’t a problem as you could always mulch the soil as well as place the container in a tray of water so that water would be able to seep through slowly.

Excess watering could lead to yellow leaves on your tomato plants. However, that's not the only cause for yellow leaves. There are plenty of other causes and one of the best ways to prevent yellowing is by adding the right tomato fertilizers (Organic or Inorganic is up to you to decide).

I’ve never tried this out neither do I know anyone who’s done this. However, I’ve read a lot about enlivened water. It’s an ancient method wherein the water is stirred clockwise abut 40-50 times and then the plants are watered. Even though it’s an ancient method, modern science has backed this method as spiralling water does gain energy as it’s in motion and watering tomatoes with this water does make them grow healthier.

As already mentioned if you don’t water tomato plants the right way it could lead to various diseases such as root loss, blossom end rod, reduced fruit production, stunted and slower growth, bad fruit as well as decrease the overall resistance of the plant to pests. Therefore knowing how to water tomato plants the right way is the top skill of all tomato gardeners.