I can't be the only one who wrestles with this. How do you keep your tomato plants consistently moist and not over do it?

mother

That said, we have had so much rain here that I've only watered once since planting on May 22.

About Rain: I would not depend on the forecast. I have rain gauge . If it rains more than an inch I would skip watering.

I use 4 gph sprayers, if no rain I run them for 2hrs, giving me 8 gallons over the radius.

Yay, we did get a downpour in the night and are expecting a little more today. But I wasn’t sure from the forecast, I would get it, so I watered all my vegetable beds yesterday. Oh well. So I can’t help but feel they got a little too much water this week. Although I have raised beds 12” off the ground, so I think that helps.

I try not to water overhead even though I realize mother nature waters overhead, I can’t help but wonder if the chlorine in our city water, which seems to be on the increase every year, might have a negative effect on plants. I am trying to use soaker hoses, but I think my water pressure is not high enough to get the water to travel through multiple connected hoses, so I’m having to water one or two beds out of five, at a time at the moment and I’m doing it that way.

Seysonn, thanks for the reminder, that temperature and amount of sunlight make a lot of difference. I have no problem skipping watering ‘after’ I’ve had rain. It’s waiting for rain to come and not getting it, that I then have to finally decide to water and then it rains. [g]

MoleX, what is a gph sprayer? That is good to know that it takes 7.7 gallons of water to equal one inch of rain. So if I had a shrub that needed water and it didn’t rain one week, I would have to pour a 5 gallon container of water around the base and another half of that to give it the one inch of rain?

Do you all water by schedule or do you actually check the soil before you water to see how moist or dry it is?

One inch of rain is about 1/2 gallon per square foot. So if a tomato root is spread under 2ft by 2ft area( = 4 sqr-ft) then it will get about 2 gallons of water. That is enough to skip watering.
Example:
I Have 3ft by 6ft raised beds (18 sqr-ft). If I water it 1" that will be almost 9 gallons. With a shower head hose (4 gpm flow rate) it takes 2 minutes. That is perfect to me.

Fireduck, we get rain, just that when rain is forecast, 8 out of 10 times, the forecast is for scattered showers in the afternoon. It’s very hit or miss, so I almost have to ignore the forecast. Which I guess works for me most of the time, but sometimes I get caught having just watered before rain.

Kathy, thanks for the link, I’ll check those out. I do check the soil with my finger but unless it is totally bone dry, I can usually detect some moisture. So I guess it’s a question of degree.

Sleevendog, That is part of my problem this year, that I had to purchase soil for new raised beds, so I have half my beds filled with my own soil from the old garden beds, that has been organically managed for years and half the garden beds are filled with organic native soil that is not as high in organic matter and drains differently than what I’ve been growing in for years.

So you pick the cherry tomatoes that are almost ripe before a heavy rain is forecast, so they won’t split? If tomatoes split, you can still eat them right? Is it just cosmetic?

Seysonn, do they show the ‘gallon per minute’ flow on the tag when you buy your hose nozzle, or are you just determining that yourself by timing how long it takes to fill a container?

And picking after the color "breaks" does not affect the flavor.

I am dealing with the same. Two new tomato beds. Both have been covered and never planted before. One was a garden path so very compacted...took some work but ended up with a mounded row. We shall see. Nice experiment/experience though. So far...

A few varieties i always pick a bit early. Especially those that have spilt in the past.
Once a split happens, besides the pests mentioned above, they deteriorate quickly...within the hour. Edible, sure, but looses flavor. Especially in the small varieties. I grow yellow pear because it does so well for me. The one i always pick early...not green but slightly yellow firm. And a variety that looses flavor if ripened to the traditional 'ripe-n-ready'. Firm ripe i should say. Love it tart and lemony sweet.

As mentioned, early pick, counter ripened, does not affect flavor. I don'y have my notes with me, but one, maybe CaspianPink, turns mealy if ripened on the vine...no longer grow it for other reasons, but maybe it was to hard to judge its perfect time?

Sleevendog, So far the tomatoes are doing well in the new soil although a little late getting started. I think after a couple of years of adding some organic matter and cover cropping here and there, they will be draining better. The mulch is helping to slow down the water in two beds, but one bed that I was doing an experiment with underplanting peppers with alyssum even with a soaker hose, the water is just puddling on the top of the soil and I’m not used to that at all. My soil I can stand there with the shower nozzle going full speed and the water never puddles.

I’m growing Sungold for a cherry, a few Champion, a Fourth of July, Church, SanMarzano for a paste and a Moskevich.

Okay, so thanks for the info about what happens when the tomatoes split. I’m going to try everyone's suggestion to pick earlier this year to avoid the splitting. Sungold definitely splits. I don’t know about the others, first time growing them.

GPH is short for gallons per hour, I have irrigation emitters that do various amount of water over time, some are 2 gph drippers, some 4gph sprayers, some 6 gph mini-sprinklers.

No , they dont. It (flow in gpm = gallons per minute) would depend on your water pressure and the valve, hose length. You can measure it yourself. It is simple. Take a 5 gal. bucket and time while filling it. Your watch has to have seconds hand.

Rain Conversion To Gallons:

There is 231 cu-inches to gallon.
If it rains 1 inch you will get 144 cu-inch per square foot ( 12x12x1 =144) That is 0.62 gal/sqr-ft. Little more than half a gallon I said before.

Nothing like a big bowl of blush toms on the counter, many varieties...near ready get lined up in a row not touching...i even built a raised tomato shelf to enjoy the process...
Tarts like thyme or tarragon with seafood, red sweets like being parred with basil or tarragon with steaks or grilled lamb, etc...endless cooking possibilities.
Oxhearts, all of them, and by far our favorites, make the best meaty BLT's....or just a veggie big slice with an avocado...over spicy baby greens, (yum).
Looking forward to the harvest...