Tomatoes are considered unpretentious plants that can bear fruit even in the absence of due attention from the owner. However, there is one "but" - to give the maximum yield can only those plants, for which there was proper care.
And the tomato requires everything in moderation - sufficient for the normal development of watering and fertilizing. He does not tolerate any stagnation of moisture, or the drying up of an earthy coma, or an excess of nutrients, or their shortage. To find the golden mean when watering, which would arrange a vegetable crop, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the recommendations on how to water the tomatoes in the open field.
Why it is so important to water the tomatoes
Caring for tomatoes involves regular watering, feeding, loosening the soil, weeding to get rid of weeds, hilling bushes, tying, preventive and therapeutic measures from diseases and pests. Thus, watering is a necessary and significant condition for growing this vegetable.
Why watering tomatoes in the open ground is important? The fact is that by many years of experience in growing this crop it has been proven that there is a direct relationship between high-quality irrigation and the level of assimilation of nutrients, as well as an abundance of fruiting.
In addition, if you know how to care for tomatoes and how to water them in the heat, and apply these rules in practice, then plants are able to withstand high temperatures (up to +30 ° C) without problems and put up with dry air. With good moisture, the leaves will quickly evaporate moisture and thus protect against overheating.
Important! High rates of development are observed in tomatoes grown with soil moisture 85-90%.On the other hand, tomatoes spoil when there is an excess of moisture. They crack, become watery, tasteless. Suffering from overmoistening tomatoes prematurely shed ovaries, flowers, fruits. Excessive watering also provokes the development of fungal diseases in the plant.
To avoid such problems, experienced gardeners have developed a number of recommendations for the proper watering of tomatoes.
When is it best to water the tomatoes outdoors?
Watering tomatoes is better in the evening, after the heat subsides. In too hot periods, this procedure can be done a few hours before sunset.
You can also spend the morning watering, while you need to monitor the temperature of the water. It should not be below 20 degrees.
How to water tomatoes in open ground
Watering garden tomatoes carried out in several ways. You can apply the method of filling the beds. Its principle is that when planting tomatoes in two rows along the edges of the garden and in the center, three shallow ditches are made.
The irrigation hose is placed in one such ditch, water is given through it until all the grooves are made, and then the whole bed is filled. Water must be cut off when the tomatoes are in a small lake.
Did you know? To determine whether the ground is watered enough under the tomatoes, select a lump of earth from a depth of 10 cm and squeeze it in your hand. If the form of it is molded easily and just as easily breaks, then the soil is wet enough.
Also a great way to water the tomatoes in the open field will be a subterranean drip. It is carried out using plastic bottles. In their covers, a hot nail makes 2-4 small holes with a diameter of 1-2 mm each.
Important! The number and size of the holes in the watering bottles will depend on the composition of the soil where the tomatoes grow. For a sandy soil, it is enough to make two; with clay, four holes must be made.
However, it will be much better to purchase pegs in specialized stores, which are put on the bottlenecks and reduce the risk of damaging the roots of plants when they are placed in the ground. The tanks are cut off the bottom. You can not cut it to the end, and leave in the form of a lid, which will prevent the evaporation of moisture. Bottles are driven into a hole 10-15 cm deep at a distance of 15-20 cm from the stem. They must be placed with the lid down on a slope of 30-40 degrees and prikopat. When watering each bottle is filled with water. In this case, the liquid should go away gradually. If during the filling of the tank water immediately absorbed into the ground, it is necessary to adjust the number of holes and their diameter to the composition of your soil.
This method of irrigation has several advantages. It quickly allows water to flow directly to the roots. This means that less water will be needed than with ordinary watering from a hose or buckets. Also, when the root watering of tomatoes will not increase the humidity of the air, and thus the risk of developing infectious diseases in plants will decrease. In addition, this method is very simple to implement and does not require special material costs.
Did you know? With this device, tomatoes can also be fertilized with nutrient solutions.If you choose a method of watering with a hose, you should know that you need to water at the root, while not eroding the soil. It is necessary to avoid the ingress of water to the leaves and fruits, because its drops can provoke burns. For the same reason, it is worth refusing the method of sprinkling.
Watering in this way, you dramatically reduce the temperature of the air and soil, which can lead to dropping of flowers, delaying the formation of ovaries and fruits. A sharp increase in air humidity provokes fungal diseases.
When considering this topic, it is impossible to ignore the method of growing tomatoes without watering. It is based on the theory that frequent hydration does not give plants an incentive for root development. They begin to grow only during the period of mass fruiting, when moisture is required not only for leaves and stems, but also for fruits. Therefore, the process of fruiting is delayed in time, and its volume is reduced.
If tomatoes are deprived of irrigation procedures, they themselves will begin to actively look for food, and the roots will develop earlier and stronger, grow in different directions. Accordingly, the tomatoes will be stronger and taller, the harvest they will be the best.
If you decide on this method of irrigation, you should know that with the usual method of planting it will be ineffective. It is necessary to plant tomatoes in a certain way - in plentifully watered holes with compost, wood ashes and manganese.
At the same time, the lower 4-5 leaves are cut from the seedlings, they are dipped into a talker, and then planted in a horizontal position so that the tops look to the north. Pegs are driven in next to the stems, and tomatoes are immediately attached to them. Immediately after planting, seedlings are watered abundantly. They will not need this procedure anymore.
According to the author of the method, when grown using this method, there will come a period when it seems that the tomatoes wither and die due to the lack of moisture. However, it should soon be replaced by the normal development of plants.
What water is better to water
Tomatoes do not like watering with cold tap water. Firstly, it will be too hard for them, and secondly, for heat-loving plants, such as tomatoes, cold water is undesirable.
It is best to water the tomatoes with warm rainwater. You can also defend tap water. To soften it, you should add weeds, compost, manure.
The more you can water the tomatoes in order to combine hydration, fertilizing and protection from diseases - this is ashes dissolved in irrigation water (2 pinches / 10 l).
After watering and rain, it is advisable to loosen the soil. However, to avoid this procedure, the soil can be mulched with mowed grass.
Consumption rates
Under one bush of low-growing tomatoes, on average, it will take 5 liters of water per irrigation; tall - 10 l.
How often to water tomatoes in open ground
In order to determine how often water the tomatoes in the open field, you need to know one simple rule. These vegetables need rare but abundant watering. It is especially important to stick to it after planting and when forming the ovaries.
The fact that tomatoes suffer from a lack of moisture, they will tell changes in appearance - they will darken and fade leaves.
Important! The negative effect for the development of tomatoes have a frequent watering in small portions.If you are interested in how many times a week to water the tomatoes, it is recommended to do it once or twice a week. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the top layer of the soil must be dried. In the presence of precipitation should be watered less often.
There are differences in the watering of stunted and tall plants. Watering the first need to be reduced when their fruits enter the stage of maturation. A little later, they will need to stop altogether. This will avoid cracking tomatoes, the development of diseases such as brown spotting and blight.
How often should tall varieties of tomatoes be watered? We advise you to do this every fourth day. The frequency of irrigation of such plants does not depend on the stage of their development.
Important! If plants experience a severe lack of moisture in the period from the formation of the ovary to the ripening of tomatoes, this can provoke shedding of the ovary and the formation of small fruits.It is also necessary to pay attention to how often it is necessary to water the tomatoes after planting. You should wait a certain time in order to proceed with regular watering. Do not worry about the plants, because the moisture introduced into the hole during planting, they will be enough for a long period.
Planted seedlings for the first time watered in 10-14 days. The first watering can be combined with the prevention of phytophthora and apply a solution of potassium permanganate (2 g / 10 l of water).
Tomatoes are not too demanding on soil moisture. Nevertheless, to get from them a rich and juicy harvest, relying only on precipitation, is difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to help tomatoes with water.
However, this should be done correctly, using the optimum rate of irrigation and conducting them with the recommended frequency. You can also experiment and apply in your garden method of growing tomatoes without watering.
