Letting tomatoes "dry out"?

blue_elle

DH and I are new to growing veggies and I want to make sure I understand some of the things we've been told.

At the nursery where we got our tomato plants they told us that tomatoes like to "dry out" a little between waterings. I had also read online that we should water deeply, so that the soil is moist at least 8 inches down, and, again, allow to dry out a little between these deep waterings. We're growing in containers, so I know that increases the frequency of watering that we need to do. I bought a moisture probe to help us while we're getting the hang of things, but how dry should we allow them to get?

Also, I was told that we should remove the bottom stems and leaves to prevent blight, but then I was told by someone else that removing stems will result in less, but larger fruit, which isn't what we're looking for. Any opinions on this?

Dr.Loretta

That sounds like my mom saying you should "scare" your tomatoes. I would say if you normally water them daily, water them every other day and see how it goes.

I don't know about the leaf thing.

nitaw

I'm not sure that you are supposed to let tomatoes dry out during watering, especially in containers. I could be wrong, so I'll let another more experienced gardener chime in on that one. But, here's my experience from growing tomatoes in containers - uneven watering leads to split skin as well as blossom end rot. Last year, we had an odd summer - lots of rain followed by scorching sun, I tried to keep up the watering regimen as best as I could, but my first two tomato yields ended up with blossom end rot and split skins.

As far as removing the lower leaves and stems, most people do it to encourage more root growth. Simply remove the bottom stems and leaves and add more potting soil where you've removed the stems. Roots will form where you removed the stems and potted up the plant. I did that last year and I still had a good yield. 

blue_elle

I don't think she meant to let them actually get dry. Here's how I took it - if you water too shallow, the root system doesn't develop deeply enough, so when you do water you should water deeply. But tomatoes don't like too much water, and too much water can lead to rot, so you shouldn't constantly soak them either. By letting them dry a bit between waterings you can prevent rot or overwatery fruit, but still get a strong root system.

I guess I'm just not sure what exactly drying out would constitute, since obviously we wouldn't want to let the soil actually dry. How dry is the right dry, and how dry is too dry. And how wet is too wet. Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this, lol

Then again, since the signs of over and under watering are much the same (pre-fruit) maybe it just easier to start light and add more watering if there's any drooping or yellowing than to just water away and not be sure if we're going too much or too little.

~NB~

Actually, that rule is correct for every plant, except bog plants.

You should water deeply and thoroughly, let the soil dry out a bit, then repeat. This is close to what happens in nature. In most cases, you shouldn't keep the soil constantly moist beyond the seedling stage.

In the nursery, we let our tomatoes dry out a LOT between waterings- like the soil became crispy and crusty- HOWEVER, that only took 1 day because the potting media was so light (well-draining). Small pots (herbaceous plants) dry out very fast, bigger pots (woody plants) dry out more slowly. Also, terra cotta pots dry out fast because terra cotta is porous, while glazed clay & plastic pots hold moisture longer.

You just have to be very careful to not let the PLANTS get crispy!

The hardest thing to learn, when I first began studying horticulture, was learning when & how much to water. One of the most common questions I hear is "how often should I water?". The correct answer is "as needed", which of course frustrates people who are looking for a one-size-fits-all recipe. You simply MUST pay attention to soil moisture.