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How and When to Water Tomato Plants

Gardening Guide: The Everything Tomato Guide: All You Need to Know About Growing, Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating Delicious Tomatoes

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How and When to Water Tomato Plants

By Bill Dugan, Editor and Publisher

Watering a tomato plant at the base

Watering tomatoes is all about watering slowly and watering deeply. Going slow and easy is the best way to ensure effective watering techniques for tomatoes. If you don’t have the time or patience to do it yourself, consider a drip hose or some other drip-irrigation method that will deliver water slowly and deeply into the soil for your tomato plants.

How often you water your tomato plants depends on how hot it is and how often they receive water naturally from the rain. In the heat of the summer, your tomato plants need water once every two to three days—and that includes natural rain water. Once fruit has set and started growing, you can scale back watering to only once a week.

    • Tip: Dawn is the best time of day to water your tomato plants. Avoid watering during the hottest time of the day.

When watering tomato plants, direct the water straight to the soil and the roots. Don’t spray the plants from above. Spraying the plants from above can cause disease and pests to thrive on your plants. Also, watering tomato plants from above leads to premature water evaporation, unnecessarily wasting water. Using mulch can help keep water where the plants need it and also slow down evaporation.

Generally, 2 inches of water a week for plants in the ground is a good baseline—and more often for plants in containers or pots. But, there are lots of varying factors that determine the right amount of water and the frequency of watering, including plant size, temperature, amount of sunlight, etc. A water gauge or indicator plant, such as impatiens, can help you decide how often to water your tomato plants.

Rainwater is best for your garden plants. If possible for you to collect rainwater, your tomatoes will benefit from that!

Fresh-from-the-well water might be a bit too chilly—tomatoes don’t like cold water. Let well water sit for an hour until it warms up a bit before quenching the soil and satisfying your tomato plants.

If you’re using tap water, allow the water to settle for one to two hours before dispensing to allow the tap water’s added chlorine to evaporate before soaking your soil.

When you properly water your tomatoes, you’ll have healthy plants and a good harvest. Improper watering can lead to the following problems that you want to avoid:

  • Blossom-end rot
  • Stunted growth and root loss
  • Susceptibility to pests and disease
  • Reduced harvests and lesser-quality tomatoes

How often do you water your tomato plants? And what time of day do you water? Please tell us how you ensure that your tomato plants get the right amount of water.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Feature Articles

  • Types of Tomato Plants: Standard, Hybrid and Heirloom
  • Preventing Cross Pollination of Heirloom Tomatoes
  • Classifications of Tomato Plants: Determinate vs. Indeterminate
  • Varieties of Tomato Plants
  • Growing Tomatoes from Seeds, Cuttings, or Seedlings
  • Growing Tomatoes in Open Land, in Containers, or in Raised Beds
  • Soil Requirements for Growing Tomatoes
  • The Right Sunlight for Your Tomatoes
  • Should You Fertilize Tomato Plants?
  • How and When to Water Tomato Plants
  • Harvesting and Pruning your Tomatoes
  • Storing and Preserving your Tomatoes
  • How to Spot, Treat, and Prevent Tomato Diseases
  • What to Do About Pests that Can Harm Your Tomato Plants
  • The Right Way to Weed Your Tomato Garden
  • Tomato Rot: How to Identify, Treat, and Prevent Blossom-End Rot
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Tomatoes
  • Plant Profiles

  • Green Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • Red Beefsteak Tomatoes
  • San Marzano Tomatoes
  • Roma (or Plum) Tomatoes
  • Grape Tomatoes
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Recipes

  • Balsamic Bruschetta
  • Tomato Salsa
  • Authentic Italian Pizza Sauce
  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Stewed Tomatoes
  • Salsa Seafood Soup
  • Roasted Tomato Sauce
  • Cherry Tomato Salad
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Tomatoes
  • Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Tomatoes
  • Resources about Tomatoes
  • Tomatoes Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • The Biggest Basil and Tomato Companion Planting Benefits
  • The 15 Best Beefsteak Tomatoes To Grow in 2023
  • The Best Grow Lights for Tomatoes and Peppers
  • 7+ Perfect Plants for an Edible Front Porch Garden
  • The Best Vegetables to Grow in a Greenhouse
  • How to Prune Tomato Plants, Peppers, Cucumbers and More
  • How to Stop Vegetable Blight from Ruining Tomatoes
  • Yellow Leaves on Tomato Plants? 5 Reasons and Remedies
  • 5 Tomato Canning Supplies to Preserve Sauce Longer
  • How to Ripen Tomatoes Quickly Three Ways
  • How to Kill Aphids on Tomato Plants with Stuff from Your Pantry
  • Gardening Equipment Every Tomato Gardener Needs
  • How to Grow Your Own Pizza Garden for the Best Pizza Parties
  • How to Avoid Tomato Blossom End Rot
  • How to Make Chicken Cacciatore in a Crock-Pot
  • The 5 Best Tomatoes for Salsa
  • The 10 Sweetest Tomatoes to Plant

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