Avoid Damage To Your Tomato Harvest With This Simple Watering Method

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Store-bought tomatoes just can't compete with the ones freshly picked from your very own plant. Cherry tomatoes are the easiest tomato variety for beginners to grow, but several varieties of this luscious, red fruit can be planted in a pot or in the ground for your snacking pleasure. If you water any tomato plant the wrong way, however, you risk your tomatoes cracking or just falling right off the vine before they're ready, which is why you should avoid aiming a hose directly at the plant.

The best way to water tomato plants is by directing water at the base so it goes deep into the soil, soaking it completely. If you water too lightly, it keeps the water closer to the surface, which means the roots will stay shallow and your plant may weaken in hot or dry weather. If you water from high up, soil particles can splash the leaves and put the plant at risk of disease. You can make things easier by trading your regular hose for a soaker hose, like the Hlinker Flat Soaker Hose 25-Foot for Garden Beds, which will water just the base of the plants without risking leaf damage. You can even bury it a couple inches under the soil to help the water soak deeper.

Water tomatoes too often or too little, and you open this delicate plant up to a host of issues. Too much water will cause the leaves to yellow and develop spots, while too little can make the fruit crack and lead to blossom-end rot, where the fruit tissue opposite the stem breaks down and begins to rot. Inconsistent watering and poor irrigation can lead to pesky bottom rot on your tomato plants, so aim to soak your plant's soil 6 to 8 inches deep every seven days or so.

Adding mulch can help the soil retain moisture, and coffee grounds can help that struggling tomato plant by providing essential nutrients. And keep in mind where you're growing those tomatoes. Planters are great for small spaces, but they also hold less soil, so you may need to water more frequently. Just like us, tomatoes get thirstier when it's hot out, so make sure to water them more when the temperature is scorching. You can check how wet the soil is by using a trowel like the Workpro Garden Trowel with Wood Handle. If the trowel is only wet up to 1 inch or so when you pull it out of the soil, that means it's too dry and needs more water.