How often should you water tomatoes? Our advices !

Watering is an important factor in all crops, whether vegetables or other crops. The objective is to provide the plant with the right amount of water at each stage of its growth while respecting a certain frequency. Find out in this article what is the best way to water your tomatoes!

Get to know your surroundings!

First of all, we must keep in mind that water is precious. It is essential to save as much as possible. However, water is life. Ask yourself what would happen if you didn't drink anything for several days... it's the same thing for your tomato plants and your other vegetables which will suffer cruelly from a lack of water.

To optimize the watering of your tomatoes, the first thing to consider is the nature of the soil, because watering tomatoes varies depending on it. If your soil is sandy for example, the water will evaporate much more quickly than on clay soil. You will therefore need to water more often. A good way to contain water in your soil is to , which will also protect your tomato plants from certain diseases.

Then, the climate necessarily plays a very important role. In the South of France where it sometimes does not rain for several weeks, watering is practically essential. When the plant is subjected to a lack of water, it experiences water stress, which reduces the quality and quantity of the harvest. In the North or in Belgium on the other hand, the more humid climate allows you to be a little less careful about the frequency of watering but watch out for diseases such as mildew!

My method for optimizing the watering of your tomatoes

1. Never water the aerial part of the plant

You should know that watering the aerial part of the tomato plant is not recommended, as this can constitute a source of disease. In more humid and cooler regions, some people prefer to cover their tomato plants with a frame or a tunnel to protect them from rain which could cause mildew.

Personally, I have never implemented this system for my plants located outdoors and yet I live in Belgium! I especially recommend choosing varieties of tomatoes that are more resistant to this type of climate, such as the succulent “ox heart”. The only cases of mildew for my plants located outside occurred at the end of the season, at the beginning of fall.

2. Water well when planting and reduce watering as you go

Tomatoes are vegetables that require little water for their growth. But , the plants must be well watered. Watering should be done regularly, especially at the start of flowering and until the first fruits appear. Once these are well developed, you can considerably limit watering since the roots are already strong enough to draw the necessary energy underground.

3. Observe the leaves and soil moisture carefully!

Throughout the growth of plants, it is important to observe them regularly in order to detect the slightest sign of poor watering. This includes monitoring the appearance of black spots or wilted leaves, which are signs that should not be taken lightly. If the fruit is split and tastes rather bland, this is a sign of overwatering. 

Also remember to touch your soil, which will give you a valuable clue about its good water content. You will then be able to adapt the watering accordingly. You can also water your tomato plants with nettle manure to encourage their growth, but be careful to dilute it well, otherwise the growth of the leaves will predominate over the growth of the fruits.

Manual or automatic watering?

You will have understood, we must therefore favor watering at the base of the plant but should we opt for manual or automatic watering? There is no right answer!

Using a simple watering can is a solution within everyone's reach and I find it particularly effective for watering tomato plants. If it doesn't rain for more than a week, I pour half a 12L watering can per tomato plant. I balance the quantity of water according to my feeling of the earth. If it still seems slightly damp, I only pour a third of the watering can per plant, for example. Another possibility: use a watering hose. However, be careful that the water pressure at the outlet of the pipe is not too high, otherwise splashing water risks wetting the leaves...

If you have the budget and the desire to automate your watering, you can install a drip system. For my part, it is what I set up in the greenhouse, and I am simply delighted with it! I bought a programmer placed under the tap, a kit with hose and nozzles and a pressure reducer to prevent the nozzles from coming off on their own. Nothing more ! Here are some photos of my installation.

The must: grow your tomatoes in a greenhouse!

I have been growing a vegetable garden for four years, and last year I decided to install a greenhouse. It allows me to prepare my sowing in spring, to bring forward the harvest of many vegetables or to be able to grow certain vegetables which are in principle not intended for my region (As a reminder, I live in Belgium). I'm thinking, for example, of eggplants or peppers.

When it comes to growing tomatoes, the greenhouse is a must! Thanks to this, I can plant my tomato plants in the month of April, well before the Ice Saints. The first fruits already arrive from mid-June and until the end of November! For example, the season for me begins in mid-July and ends around October outdoors. That’s more than two months of harvests gained thanks to the greenhouse. Here is a photo of my tomatoes in the greenhouse as of June 10, 2020.

There are of course many greenhouse models: glass, polycarbonate, hoops with plastic covering. For my part, I opted for a 16m² tempered glass greenhouse for which I paid a little less than €2000. It is, of course, a significant budget but one that will pay off throughout my life (and then, when you love, you don't count! ^_^). If I opted for this type of material, it is mainly for three reasons: it is durable, solid, and natural. A plastic sheet can easily tear off if it is of poor quality. In addition, it must be replaced every 10 years on average. A polycarbonate greenhouse was much too light and my land is highly exposed to the winds; the panels must also be replaced after ten years.