How often should you water tomatoes in a raised bed? Tomatoes generally need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, but there are other things to know, which we'll discuss below.
Tomato cultivation has become popular in recent times as a result of how easy its caretaking is. Tomato plant thrives under at least eight hours of direct sunlight, well-drained soil, essential nutrients, and lots of water.
If you are wondering how often you should water tomatoes in a raised bed, this article will help you figure that out.
You should also know that you are not alone in this quest; as we stated earlier, a lot of people worldwide are taking to growing tomato plants. You should, therefore, give your tomato plants the best treatment you can, and we are here to help you do that.
Table of Contents
Important Growth Tips for Tomatoes
Before we move forward to discussing how often you should water your tomatoes in a raised bed, let us quickly go through some of the important conditions necessary for the growth of tomatoes.
Optimal Direct Sunlight
Tomatoes do well under optimal direct sunlight. Sunlight is an essential factor necessary for the growth of tomato plants. To ensure that your tomato plants receive adequate sunlight, make sure to grow your tomato plants in a sunny area of your garden.
Essential Nutrients
Regardless of how much sunlight and water you avail of your tomato plant, the tomato plant also requires essential nutrients to thrive.
Tomato plants that are malnourished usually give out symptoms such as yellowing of leaves. When this happens, make sure to enrich your tomato plants with necessary nutrients such as Nitrogen.
Watering
Water is also an important factor that tomato plants need in good quantities. Watering tomato plants is an actual skill that requires mastery. This doesn’t make it a tedious skill, as even kids learn it and do it perfectly.
Choose the right variety
There are different varieties of tomatoes, and these varieties grow under different conditions and seasons of the year.
Do not assume that all tomatoes grow anywhere and anytime. You should check with your local gardening club to find out what the best variety for your garden is.
How Often Should You Water Tomatoes in A Raised Bed?
Generally, tomatoes require about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. This means that 12 inches by 12 inches square foot of soil would require 0.62 gallons (2.27 liters) to 0.94 gallons (3.56 liters) of water per week. In hot weather, the tomato bed would require more amount of water.
How often to water tomatoes in a raised bed is usually a major source of concern for people who grow tomatoes, especially the first time growers, because tomatoes require a lot of water to thrive.
The trick in the water requirement of tomatoes is that the tomato bed needs to be moist and not flooded. The raised bed should be moist at about 6 – 8 inches below the ground level so as to induce growth at the root level. You can comfortably water the tomato plants once a day to achieve this result.
If you are unsure about achieving your desired result by watering once a day, you can increase your watering schedule to more than once a day. We would be sharing with some beneficial tips to help you make informed decisions about watering your tomatoes in a raised bed.
However, before we get to discuss these tips, you should know what dangers your tomatoes could face if you don’t water your tomatoes correctly.
- the tomatoes will have stunted growth
- the tomatoes will have decreased resistance
- there would be a decrease in fruit production
- There would be diseases such as blossom end rot, root loss.
How to Water Tomato Plants in a Raised Bed
Watering tomato plants is a special skill that you can master by trial and error. The following guidelines can help you master the correct watering techniques that would ensure you have a bountiful harvest this season or next.
Tip 1:
Slowly water around your tomato plant to allow enough time for the water to soak into the soil, do not allow water to run off.
Runaway water steals nutrients from the raised bed. While watering the tomato plants, allow the water to soak in 5 to 6 inches of soil.
Tip 2:
Always water your tomatoes as at when due, when the plants really need water. This could mean that you will have to water your plants twice a day or more or even less.
Tip 3:
Water the tomato plants at the stems and not the leaves. While watering the stems, do not water directly—instead, water around the stem. Watering around the stem encourages the tomato plant roots to spread.
Tip 4:
If you use a bucket, hose, or any form of a manual tool in watering, ensure water the tomato plant at the early hours of the day.
Tip 5:
Do not water your tomato plant at night as the low temperature increases the chances of the plant to contract diseases.
Conclusion
The most important tip to note about how often you should water your tomatoes in a raised bed is to know how to water your tomatoes properly.
In addition to this, you should also ensure that the right fertilizer is added at the right growth stage of the tomato plant. With these two being in the right proportion, you are sure of a robust harvest in the next season.
