best setup for a tomato garden

[NevaMO]

I'm wanting to plant some Russian Heirloom tomatoes that I grew this year but I'm thinking about trying something different and here's what I'm thinking on:

when watering my plants this year, the ground would soak up water but the next day it would seem like I hadn't even watered any bit.....so I was thinking about putting some hay down on top of the ground and then either put soaker hoses down on top or on the bottom...

anyone tried this before? would really like to see how this has turned out

[DoubleDogFarm]

I'm wanting to plant some Russian Heirloom tomatoes that I grew this year but I'm thinking about trying something different and here's what I'm thinking on:

when watering my plants this year, the ground would soak up water but the next day it would seem like I hadn't even watered any bit.....so I was thinking about putting some hay down on top of the ground and then either put soaker hoses down on top or on the bottom...

anyone tried this before? would really like to see how this has turned out

First Welcome to Helpful Gardener.

I think it's a great idea to lay down a heavy mulch. Straw, Hay, weeds, grass clippings, but install the drip line first. Your soaker hose / drip line will last longer. Also some mulches get matted down and shed water.

You may even think about installing the soaker hose, covering it with cardboard then a mulch of choice.

Either way you should have less fluctuation in water saturation. Fruit less prone to splitting. Cleaner fruit and less disease

[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Double%20Dog%20Farm%20%20%20Garden%20Vegetables/GardenAugust9th2011002.jpg[/img]

Eric

[Bobberman]

I say put them in deep and go to sleep! I also think a mulch with a soaker will help alot!. Another thing that really works for me is putting dirt or composted dirt around the stems every week or so just like you would hill a potato. Tomatoes send out roots all the time from the stem!

[gixxerific]

That is what I do and being in Mo I know what you are talking about with the ground drying out faster than you can water it. I have soaker hoses and hay down. I also use grass as a mulch. It will help keep the moisture in. Plus at the end of the year you have that much more organic material in your garden.

Good luck.

Another thing soaker hoses are good for is keeping down disease which tomatoes can be prone to. This year though, hot and dry, was a blessing since it was hot and dry, espeacially humidity wise. I have no disease this year.