Overwatering Toms?

EarlyBird · June 28, 2018

Hi all,

I'm happy to announce that I have six plants which have been thriving, but for some aphids and white flies.

But having now harvested a handful of fruits, I've discovered they've been quite watery and tasteless. My first Cherokee Purple, which I understand is supposed to be ultra-rich and "tomatoey" was very bland.

So, I must be over-watering, right? I've been watering only once per week, but when I do, I water "a lot." By that I mean I run the hose at the base of each plant for five minutes at a fairly decent rate. More than a trickle, but not gushing, enough to just allow the water to seep down into the soil. I also buried some vertical tubes and run the hose in there for a couple of minutes.

The weather has been mild, with classic Southern California May Gray and June Gloom in the mornings. Does this sound like "too much"? If so, how do I know how to water properly, to keep healthy plants and rich tomatoes?

On that note: I go crazy reading how many "inches" a plant should get. That tells me absolutely nothing.

Thanks!

Super Newbie. Sorry about the basic questions.

ginger2778 · June 28, 2018

Best way to learn it's watering needs: wet, then see how many days it takes to feel very dry down to the first finger joint when you put your finger in the soil. Do it 2-3 times and you will know when to add water for the rest of the season.

I should add that your watery tomatoes will probably get much better as the plants get older and larger. It's quite common for the first ones to taste watery, so don't get discouraged! It might take a month or two though.

Do you grow in containers, or soil?

EarlyBird · June 28, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Best way to learn it's watering needs: wet, then see how many days it takes to feel very dry down to the first finger joint when you put your finger in the soil. Do it 2-3 times and you will know when to add water for the rest of the season.

I should add that your watery tomatoes will probably get much better as the plants get older and larger. It's quite common for the first ones to taste watery, so don't get discouraged! It might take a month or two though.

Do you grow in containers, or soil?

Oh, that's very good to know about the age. I felt I was watering properly. I do the finger-soil test and it "feels" like it's ready for a nice drink. So hopefully it's just the youth of the plants and the relatively cool weather.

I may keep the same schedule but back down a bit on the amount each watering, and see what happens.

Thank you.

Oh: I do not grow in containers, but a raised bed. Super good dirt.

Cole_Robbie · June 28, 2018

The bugs could be in part to blame. I have had great results with diatamacious earth this year, but have not tried it on whiteflies yet. I have used a bio insecticide called met52ec with good results. It is expensive, but worth it to me to avoid using malathion.

zipcode · June 29, 2018

If it's not wet on the surface all the time they're probably not that overwatered. I've seen people with drip irrigation which are all the time wet and still had great tomatoes (even without fertigation). Have a better soil, have healthy plants, have calcium and potassium and it should be good.

b54red · June 29, 2018

One other thing to consider with a tomato like Cherokee Purple is that the black varieties taste much better the hotter it gets. During spring like weather I always find the black varieties to be a bit bland but when summer ups the temps the flavor explodes.

Bill

Nan_PA_6b · June 29, 2018

If mine start to wilt, I'll water, but that's it for in-ground plants. Usually that means no water.
Nan

venturabananas · July 8, 2018

I don't know what your soil is like, but there's a lot of clay soil in So Cal. Certainly that's what my yard has! That stuff hangs onto water. My experience has been that my in-ground tomatoes were always much blander than my container grown ones, and I watered the in-ground ones less than you are watering yours. I quit growing tomatoes in-ground because the container-grown ones were so much better. I think the extra heat of the containers (black plastic) probably helps, too. But even with containers, you can overwater and end up with huge, bland tomatoes. I did that last year.

My suggestion is stop watering and see how long it takes them to wilt. Then water and don't water again until the wilt again. Tomatoes are pretty resistant to that kind of abuse, and it will help you figure out how much water is too much. Basically, the exact same thing Ginger and Nan said, which I just read. ;-)

EarlyBird · July 9, 2018

Much appreciated. I watered the plants with less than half of the water I had typically been giving them this past Saturday and will see how they are next Saturday. I've been very dissapointed in how insipid the taste has been.

But we just went through a brutal heat wave here in LA and it beat the heck out of my toms! I had to throw a bunch out which were sun-scorched, before putting a layer of netting over them. Oy!

Thanks, all! The Drama of the Tomato continues!

venturabananas · July 9, 2018

The good news with overwater is that you can turn things around pretty quickly and be harvesting much tastier fruit pretty soon. Good luck!

June 28, 2018	#1
EarlyBird Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 65	Overwatering Toms? Hi all, I'm happy to announce that I have six plants which have been thriving, but for some aphids and white flies. But having now harvested a handful of fruits, I've discovered they've been quite watery and tasteless. My first Cherokee Purple, which I understand is supposed to be ultra-rich and "tomatoey" was very bland. So, I must be over-watering, right? I've been watering only once per week, but when I do, I water "a lot." By that I mean I run the hose at the base of each plant for five minutes at a fairly decent rate. More than a trickle, but not gushing, enough to just allow the water to seep down into the soil. I also buried some vertical tubes and run the hose in there for a couple of minutes. The weather has been mild, with classic Southern California May Gray and June Gloom in the mornings. Does this sound like "too much"? If so, how do I know how to water properly, to keep healthy plants and rich tomatoes? On that note: I go crazy reading how many "inches" a plant should get. That tells me absolutely nothing. Thanks! Super Newbie. Sorry about the basic questions.

June 28, 2018	#2
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Best way to learn it's watering needs: wet, then see how many days it takes to feel very dry down to the first finger joint when you put your finger in the soil. Do it 2-3 times and you will know when to add water for the rest of the season. I should add that your watery tomatoes will probably get much better as the plants get older and larger. It's quite common for the first ones to taste watery, so don't get discouraged! It might take a month or two though. Do you grow in containers, or soil?

June 28, 2018	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The bugs could be in part to blame. I have had great results with diatamacious earth this year, but have not tried it on whiteflies yet. I have used a bio insecticide called met52ec with good results. It is expensive, but worth it to me to avoid using malathion.

June 29, 2018	#5
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	If it's not wet on the surface all the time they're probably not that overwatered. I've seen people with drip irrigation which are all the time wet and still had great tomatoes (even without fertigation). Have a better soil, have healthy plants, have calcium and potassium and it should be good.

June 29, 2018	#6
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	One other thing to consider with a tomato like Cherokee Purple is that the black varieties taste much better the hotter it gets. During spring like weather I always find the black varieties to be a bit bland but when summer ups the temps the flavor explodes. Bill

June 29, 2018	#7
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	If mine start to wilt, I'll water, but that's it for in-ground plants. Usually that means no water. Nan

July 8, 2018	#8
venturabananas Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ventura, CA Posts: 142	I don't know what your soil is like, but there's a lot of clay soil in So Cal. Certainly that's what my yard has! That stuff hangs onto water. My experience has been that my in-ground tomatoes were always much blander than my container grown ones, and I watered the in-ground ones less than you are watering yours. I quit growing tomatoes in-ground because the container-grown ones were so much better. I think the extra heat of the containers (black plastic) probably helps, too. But even with containers, you can overwater and end up with huge, bland tomatoes. I did that last year. My suggestion is stop watering and see how long it takes them to wilt. Then water and don't water again until the wilt again. Tomatoes are pretty resistant to that kind of abuse, and it will help you figure out how much water is too much. Basically, the exact same thing Ginger and Nan said, which I just read. ;-)

July 9, 2018	#9
EarlyBird Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 65	Much appreciated. I watered the plants with less than half of the water I had typically been giving them this past Saturday and will see how they are next Saturday. I've been very dissapointed in how insipid the taste has been. But we just went through a brutal heat wave here in LA and it beat the heck out of my toms! I had to throw a bunch out which were sun-scorched, before putting a layer of netting over them. Oy! Thanks, all! The Drama of the Tomato continues!