I've got (or will soon have) a variety of veggies in my garden - the plants I care most about are the tomatoes and hot pepper varieties. A few years back I used one of those hanging tomato planters - with great success. I'd literally flood it with water each day - totally fill it until it was overflowing and dripping wet. I felt like I was pouring water right into the tomatoes - and they did get really big - much bigger than the same variety in the same light planted in the ground.
So with hot peppers in my garden nearby the tomatoes, I'm not sure how to water. My garden has great drainage. It's a box built onto a slope - and has about 1.5-2.5 feet of recommended soil/manure mixture in it. It was a little loose originally, but is slowing solidifying a bit. I've got in-ground lawn sprinklers and diverted one to hit my garden - so I can keep this garden plenty wet.
But I heard peppers prefer a dryer soil? Not sure how I might give heavy water to the tomatoes - but lighter water to the peppers - or if it even matters so long as it all stays moist....
Both tomatoes and peppers only need to be watered when they begin to show signs of stress. Let them dry out between watering. About an inch per week or ten days or when the leaves just begin to curl. Excessively watering tomatoes will tend to cause cracking and will make the flavor very bland and the texture mealy. Any hanging planter or even a container when it is watered a lot (daily) will flush out almost all the nutrients, so once a week the water needs to have fertilizer in it to replenish the nutrients.
If there is a way to not use you overhead watering system, that would be preferable. Overhead watering can contribute to disease by splashing pathogens from the soil to the plants. Wet leaves can be a perfect place for fungal and viral disease to get a start. Watering the soil around the base of the plants is better.
If you have to use your sprinkler system, water in the morning so that the leaves can dry out during the day. You will like tomatoes and peppers better with less watering.
If there is a way to not use you overhead watering system, that would be preferable. Overhead watering can contribute to disease by splashing pathogens from the soil to the plants. Wet leaves can be a perfect place for fungal and viral disease to get a start. Watering the soil around the base of the plants is better.
If you have to use your sprinkler system, water in the morning so that the leaves can dry out during the day. You will like tomatoes and peppers better with less watering.
Dwarf lawn grasses often need a good deal less water/more frequently than other plants. There are folks who set up their automatic sprinklers to water every day. So as not just to wash nutrients and run the water way beyond the reach of the grass roots, they may run the sprinkler for only a short time and putting down only a very little water.
Many garden plants have deeper roots, or can have deeper roots, than lawn grass. Here is a link to a UCDavis pdf on plant roots and irrigation. As you can imagine, that is an important subject for western agricultural districts. (https://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/files/121762.pdf)
The maximum depth for a tomato is quite a ways down there. It will never grow that deep if there is frequent and sufficient water near the surface but you can see what they are capable of.
The pepper, too! I've been moving pepper seedlings around in my greenhouse lately and am always pleased with how long those roots are on such tiny plants. The tomato is usually a large plant, you can understand why it might have a big root system but the smaller pepper does well for itself.
Flavor is one thing but you can see how deep watering while allowing the surface to dry a bit can encourage a good root system for these plants. Wilting isn't advised because the result may be damage to the leaves but you won't have to treat your tomatoes and peppers as tho' they are growing in hanging containers. Neither are they lawn grass.
Keep track of your rainfall. Summer rains are very infrequent and light here but I know that isn't true in much of the US.
Steve
Many garden plants have deeper roots, or can have deeper roots, than lawn grass. Here is a link to a UCDavis pdf on plant roots and irrigation. As you can imagine, that is an important subject for western agricultural districts. (https://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/files/121762.pdf)
The maximum depth for a tomato is quite a ways down there. It will never grow that deep if there is frequent and sufficient water near the surface but you can see what they are capable of.
The pepper, too! I've been moving pepper seedlings around in my greenhouse lately and am always pleased with how long those roots are on such tiny plants. The tomato is usually a large plant, you can understand why it might have a big root system but the smaller pepper does well for itself.
Flavor is one thing but you can see how deep watering while allowing the surface to dry a bit can encourage a good root system for these plants. Wilting isn't advised because the result may be damage to the leaves but you won't have to treat your tomatoes and peppers as tho' they are growing in hanging containers. Neither are they lawn grass.
Keep track of your rainfall. Summer rains are very infrequent and light here but I know that isn't true in much of the US.
Steve
I agree with the previous posts. Just keep the ones in the ground damp. Continue to water the ones in the plastic bag every day. I am going to tie a gallon milk bottle to the tomato stake and put a small hole in the bottom. Theoretically, the water will seep out of the hole and go to the base of the plant instead of splashing all over the place. I am doing everything I can not to get the blight this year.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Right, I never put water on leaves of tomato plants or most other things. In my humid climate, tomatoes are very prone to fungal disease and do much better without water on the leaves.denemante wrote:Great feedback - I'm getting smarter thanks to you all! I've always felt like the green leaves need water on them - but apparently not? I mean, could I grow very healthy plants where water never touches the leaves and 100% of watering is at the ground level?
It's interesting, I do think I have heard both things about tomatoes, need for consistent watering avoiding wet dry cycles and need to water deeply. I think there must be some balance in there. Water deeply when you water, don't water too often, but don't let it really dry out badly.