Irrigation for Tomatoes
- Americans eat 4.3 billions pounds of tomatoes per year.Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images
Tomato plants are thirsty and for good reason -- the fruit from a tomato plant is usually about 95 percent water. Provide your plants with adequate irrigation to ensure that they will stay healthy and produce abundant, juicy tomatoes. Each tomato plant should receive 1 to 2 inches of water per week. Sometimes the tomatoes receive adequate moisture in the form of rain. If there's no rain in the forecast, however, supplemental irrigation keeps plants satiated.
Plants grown in containers dry out much more rapidly than those grown in the ground. Since the roots of a container-grown plant can't reach for extra water like in-ground tomatoes can, gardeners have to be disciplined about keeping them moist. Water a container-grown plant daily in the summer. - Drip irrigation also allows you to add water-soluble fertilizers to the water.Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
Even a small garden needs a lot of water. A 100-square-foot garden requires about 60 gallons of water to equal the equivalent of 1 inch of rain. Hopefully you've located your tomatoes within easy reach of an outdoor water source. You may enjoy standing with a hose and watering your plants by hand. Alternative methods of watering your plants include using a sprinkler or a drip irrigation system. Some creative gardeners cut off the tops of gallon containers, such as milk jugs, and then punch holes in the bottom. Bury a couple of these containers in the plant's root zone. About 1 inch of the top of the container should protrude above the soil line. Fill the containers with water. The water will slowly filter out through the holes in the bottom, putting the moisture right where the plant needs it with very little waste. Trickle or drip irrigation is said to be so efficient that it uses 50 percent less water than hand watering or sprinklers. - Evaporation wastes water as well. Water early in the day to minimize immediate evaporation. The plants will have enough time to make use of the water, and the leaves will gradually dry out as the temperature warms. Of course, if you find one of your plants severely wilted in the middle of the day, don't hesitate to give it a drink as well. Don't over-water, though, because constant soggy soil keeps much-needed oxygen from reaching the roots. Over-watering also contributes to diseases and fungi.
- Those lucky enough to have greenhouses may enjoy extra-early tomatoes.Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
Mulch also helps the soil retain moisture. David H. Trinklein, from the University of Missouri's Division of Plant Sciences, suggests using plastic, straw, grass clippings, paper, hay or compost for mulch around tomatoes. Black plastic is particularly advantageous in cooler climates because it helps to warm the soil. Apply mulch 2 to 4 inches deep around the plants while keeping the mulch from coming into direct contact with the stem. As a side benefit, mulch will also minimize weeding by preventing weed seeds from reaching the soil.
