Effect of watering on flavor

[ncjohnboy]

Does tomato flavor get concentrated with less than optimal watering? (Kinda like grapes.) Can too much watering dilute the flavor?

[coronabarb]

yes, and yes...I try to water as little as possible when the tomatoes are about to ripen.

[dcarch]

Is there anything that you can add to water to change the taste of tomatoes?

dcarch

[Tomstrees]

I'm trying an experiment this year -
I accidently broke a stem off of one of my
Mortgage Lifters, so I placed it in a cup
of plain ol water ~
Little did I know it had unopened buds on it ...

Well now, I have a mater the size of a quater !!!
Growing in a cup in my window !
I'm not sure how big it will get , but when/if it
does ripen, I'm going to compare the taste to my
soil grown ML's ~
I'm thinking it won't be as tastey ...

Tom

edit:
I took a picture of them:
1 Mortgage Lifter / 1 Golden Dwarf Champion
both with fruit :

[nctomatoman]

I think that the answer to the question is a bit more complex. Certainly don't overwater them! But withholding water when things are dry and the plants are showing obvious strain (wilting) won't improve the tomato flavor - it could in fact promote BER. This is critical for large indeterminate tomato plants growing in pots in very hot weather - mine get water twice daily...otherwise the plants would not survive!

[coronabarb]

I should define 'as little as possible'...definitely enough to keep the plant from getting overly stressed. In extreme heat, then twice a day it is, in spite of what keith says.

[billbird2111]

My humble response would be -- depends on how and where the plants are planted!

I've got two Livingston originals planted in large plastic pots -- away from the main tomato garden -- which is a large, raised bed.

The tomato plants in the large plastic pots, cheapo pots purchased at the Home Despot, require far more water than the main crop in the raised bed.

Why?

We've been suffering through another heatwave in California. It's been over 100 for the past six days -- with three or four more to go. Those plastic pots heat up in the daytime -- cooking the roots but good.

Even though the pots get drip irrigation in the morning and the evening, I've found I've had to add at least a gallon of water EVERY morning for those two plants. Otherwise, I come home to severely wilted and severely stressed tomato plants.

The schedule appears to be working -- as the plants have stopped wilting during the daytime heat and are still producing tomatoes.

However, I've yet to get a ripe one. I've got a Golden Queen and a Paragon that is just loaded with fruit, but nothing is ripe yet. It's going to be another two weeks at least. Who knows what the taste might be. Watery? Perhaps.

Now, as for the main bed, it doesn't require nearly as much water even though the plants are subject to the same kind of sunlight and same kind of heat. This bed, in particular, is protected by landscape stones which tend to stay fairly cool even during the heat of day.

[QAGuy]

When I grew in pots I made large saucers for them to sit
in. I would fill the saucers to the brim (about 2 in deep)
every night. By the next evening, they would be dry!

This is in Los Angeles, so we can have some killer heat.

This was a few years ago and we didn't have the kind of
temps we've been getting for the last week or so. Not
sure if even that trick could help now.

Thank goodness they're in the ground.

[Polar_Lace]

dcarch wrote:

Is there anything that you can add to water to change the taste of tomatoes?

Yes there is; Jerry Baker says to add 1cup of sugar to 1 gallon of water, when watering; as you see them changing color (ripening) & it will make the fruits sweeter upon harvesting.

I'm going to be trying this; this year.

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by Polar_Lace

dcarch wrote:

Yes there is; Jerry Baker says to add 1cup of sugar to 1 gallon of water, when watering; as you see them changing color (ripening) & it will make the fruits sweeter upon harvesting.

I'm going to be trying this; this year.

If you are on a diet, can you use Sweet & Low instead?

dcarch
(just kidding. Thanks for answering)

[Polar_Lace]

QAGuy,

Large saucers for 5 gallon buckets can be obtained via your local dollar >>>Store<<< under the name of Dish Basins or Sink Basins

They usually come in the color arrays of Delft Blue, White Or Black.

[QAGuy]

Thanks Robin, but I don't grow in pots any more.

And I had to make my own because I used half barrel
size pots. 5 gal is barely large enough to grow a tomato in.

[Reign]

Originally Posted by Polar_Lace

Yes there is; Jerry Baker says to add 1cup of sugar to 1 gallon of water, when watering; as you see them changing color (ripening) & it will make the fruits sweeter upon harvesting.

I think he is in error. It has been a while, but this was my 9th grade science project. 8) The only time it made the fruit sweeter was when I told the tasters which one was from a plant treated with sugar. I milked that project for a few years. Then I became interested in physics, robots and Judus.

[Earl]

If plants are planted in the ground don't water unless they look like they need it. In the Spring when they're young give plants just enough water to keep them from wilting, that way they'll send some roots down deep searching for water and be able to hold their own during the summer months. But this may not pertain to all soils. :-)

I can't prove it other than my own tastebuds, but I think one gets more flavor from fruits planted in the soil than those planted in containers. In containers one is constantly flushing the roots with water washing the nutrients away. I think next year or this fall [in greenhouse containers] each time I water I'm going to water with a week solution of fish emulsion.

[QAGuy]

Earl - I agree with you. Tomatoes in the ground are much
better than tomatoes in containers.

The nutrients do get washed away with watering thus needing
a lot more fertilizer.

That was a secondary reason I used saucers under my containers.
First to keep a constant supply of moisture, second to keep
those nutrients from washing away.