When it is not raining buckets -- how often do you water your tomato plants? My Uncle Tommy used to water his plants sparingly with great successs, but he was in the cooler Northeast. My thought is to water enough to keep the soil in my raised bed moist. But I thought I'd ask what others have done.
Tomato Watering,
It won't do a lot of good for someone to tell you how often to water - everyone's soil and conditions are different and of course weather will be a factor too.
Keep in mind that a raised bed will dry out faster. Do you have any mulch on your bed? It's a good idea for tomatoes, not only to keep them from drying out but to keep down weeds.
You don't want to water so often that the tomatoes are too wet all the time but they want a steady supply of moisture. You'll end up with blossom end rot if you water them too much. Nor do you want them to get very dry and then lots of water or rain or you'll have cracking.
Also, either water early in the day or use a soaker hose. Wet leaves can lead to diseases, especially if they're not dry before sundown.
Tomatoes love a deep mulch. This helps keep pathegons from splashing up, maintains even moisture, and temperature, attracts earthworms, for the plant roots. I use straw for the first three or four inches of fluff placed. The second application is about two more inches of half rotted leaves. I place these mulches just as soon as the soil temperature is up to fifty degrees.
I have my tomatoes in containers if it's really hot 2X a day otherwise once in the AM.
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