How often and how to properly water tomatoes
Since tomatoes in summer cottages are grown more often than most other vegetable crops, this raises many questions about their care. Including gardeners need an answer to the question of how to water tomatoes in order to prevent an excess of moisture in the ground without harming the seedlings. In this article, we will tell you how much and how often you need to water tomatoes in an open field or greenhouse to increase yields.
Determining how to properly water your tomatoes is not always easy. The fact is that various factors affect the frequency and amount of water that must be introduced into the soil. First of all, you should pay attention to the weather conditions in your area.
Tomatoes are best grown in southern regions as they love sunlight, warmth and moisture. In other places, they are not planted in open ground, but in greenhouses so that excess moisture does not get into the ground and the air temperature can be controlled.
Watering tomato seedlings should be carried out at the root so that moisture does not get on the foliage or stem. It is also not advisable to pour cold water if the seedlings are young. The root system during this period is still very sensitive to changes in the environment. Therefore, it is best to warm it up in the sun before watering the soil.
The frequency of watering will also depend on the growing conditions of the tomatoes. In a greenhouse, the soil does not dry out so quickly, so you can do this less often than for seedlings that are in the open field.
Be sure to note that you need to follow the watering regime. Do not allow too much moisture to enter the soil or dry out the soil. Excess moisture can provoke the development of fungus on the stems and foliage of the plant, and too dry soil can lead to decay.
Watering the tomato requires special attention when the weather is cold outside. Cold air can lead to plant disease if the soil was watered abundantly the day before. The moisture in the ground begins to cool down, cooling the root system. As a result, the plant feeds less well, begins to weaken and may yield lower yields at the end of the season. In cold and rainy periods, it is better to keep watering of the bushes to a minimum.
The optimum water temperature for irrigation in the warm season is from 18 degrees, and in the cold season, with a lack of moisture in the soil, you need to heat it up to 25-30 degrees.
When the heat comes, you can water the seedlings every 2–3 days. It is best to do this in the evening a couple of hours before sunset or early in the morning. You also need to ensure that water does not fall on the surface of the bush, especially during the day when the heat begins. After watering, you can mulch the soil under the bush with straw or prepared compost. Once every 2–3 weeks, you can loosen the soil so that water flows better to the root of tomato seedlings.
The appearance of the bushes may indicate a lack of moisture in the ground - the leaves begin to turn yellow and gradually wither, the ovary or inflorescence may begin to fall off.
Once you've figured out how often to water your tomatoes, try to stick to your schedule.
Greenhouse watering
Much easier. The design itself allows you to maintain a more stable air temperature, as well as create a special microclimate in the room.
Typically, the humidity in the greenhouse is about 60–75%, except for the particularly dry period in summer. Therefore, it is very important to know how much water to add to the soil for the normal growth of tomato seedlings.
It is possible to water the tomatoes that grow in the greenhouse less often, since moisture in this place is not blown out by the wind, and direct sunlight does not fall on the ground. Of course, it continues to evaporate, but this happens much more slowly, but also sufficient humidity in the air prevents the earth from drying out.
You need to water the crop as much as it takes to moisten the soil so that water does not accumulate on the surface. If moisture does not enter the soil, the stem will begin to rot, and then diseases will appear.
In the greenhouse, to ensure normal growth, stable soil moisture can be organized using an automatic or drip irrigation system.
If the automatic method is usually used for industrial greenhouses, then the drip method is the most suitable for watering vegetables at home.
For this, hoses or thin tubes are laid along the rows with planted tomatoes. They have made small holes through which water gets under the root.
You can make a drip system yourself or purchase it at a specialized store. In addition to watering, it can help to evenly apply liquid fertilizers and other preparations with water.
So how much water should you pour into the seedling soil?
During disembarkation, about half a bucket of liquid should be poured into each hole. Then the plants need to be left for a week so that they can take root and get used to a permanent place. Additional watering is not required at this time.
When the seedlings begin to actively grow, they will begin to absorb moisture from the depths of the earth. Before flowering, you can water the soil a couple of times a week, 3-4 liters each. At the time of flowering, you need to pour 5-6 liters once a week.
When the ovary appears, and the fruits begin to ripen gradually, you need to pour water under the bush 2 times a week. Make sure that the ground is not too wet. When the fruits start to turn red, it is best to reduce the amount of water so that they do not crack when ripe.
Video "Rules for watering tomatoes in a greenhouse"
This video is about how to properly water tomato seedlings in a greenhouse and prevent late blight.
Outdoor watering
Controlling moisture levels when tomato seedlings are planted outdoors is much more difficult. The fact is that the weather is changeable, and this can affect the evaporation of moisture from the ground, changes in the ambient air temperature. For this reason, summer residents want to get an accurate answer to the question "how often to water tomatoes for their normal growth." There is, of course, no exact answer. This process is situational, because you need to focus on the current state of the soil.
In stable warm weather, you can water the ground every 2 days. Usually, watering should be done when the top layer of the earth begins to dry out. This happens more often outdoors than in a greenhouse. In addition to sunlight, the wind dries up the earth. It blows moisture out of the soil. If the weather is very windy, then watering should be done more often.
It is imperative to ensure that there is always enough moisture in the seedlings. Especially if an ovary has already appeared on the bushes. If it dries up during this period, it can crumble, and the harvest may not be at the end of the season.
Together with watering on open ground, it is easier to use folk remedies for spraying bushes. To make tomatoes grow faster, you can add a little iodine or boric acid to the water.
It should be remembered that plants planted in open ground should be watered exclusively at the root. If the drops fall on the foliage, then when sunlight hits them, they will begin to refract it. As a result, the sun will begin to burn the leaves and pagons of the tomatoes, as the drops begin to act as a lens.
Watering a tomato outdoors can be carried out by drip to make it more even. Drip irrigation will prevent decay of vegetation on the site, as well as the appearance of top rot. With this system, the tomato will hurt less often.
So that you don't have to constantly loosen the soil before watering, you can use mulching. It is necessary to lay out the cut grass around the stem so that it covers the ground well. And mulch will also help protect the earth from breaking it with a stream of water during irrigation.
In general, it is best to use river water for irrigation if the site is located near water bodies. But in other cases, it is advisable to collect rainwater and defend it. Your tap water is too hard and if you have an alternative it is best to resort to a replacement.
Video "How to water tomato bushes on the street"
See what the process of watering tomatoes planted in the ground looks like.
Svetlana