raised bed watering question

17 years ago

I'm growing my tomatoes in raised, boxed beds filled with a mix of compost, peat and vermiculite. This combination "allegedly" is impossible to overwater---it will only hold x-amount of water---similar to a sponge---everything after that will run off.

The first year, I watered the beds to saturation daily. I was hoping that by keeping the beds constantly moist it would minimize the splitting that invariably follows the summer thunderstorms. Though I don't recall splitting being a problem that year I do remember the tomatoes tasting quite good.

After reading here how tomatoes tasted better when watered a bit more judiciously, last year I held off watering till the soil mix was dry a couple of inches down. I don't know whether this exacerbated things but when those summer downpours came, I had major splitting problems and I swear the tomatoes didn't taste as good as the previous year.

Are there any raised bed gardeners here that have figured out a best practice for watering that results in less splitting with the most amount of flavor?

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Comments (2)

daylilyfanatic4
17 years ago
Though I have yet to try this method on my SFG ( square foot garden) I have heard it works really well. Take a 1 or 2 liter soda bottle cut off the bottom and either poke a couple of small holes in the cap or by a watering spike that screws on to the cap. Stick the bottle in the ground and then just keep the bottle filled. you canlet the top inch of soil dry out sometimes but never more then that. tomatoes hate changes in moisture an it will lead to cracked fruit and blossom end rot. The other advantage to this system is that you can add fertilizer driectly in to the bottle and if you go off on vacation your tomatoes will say watered.

Hope this helps
bluemater
17 years ago
I have a raised bed and use an inexpensive, reliable irrigation system...it is comprised of .25" irrigation tubing with emitters spaced 6" apart (there's also tubing available with emitters spaced 12" apart)...the bed is also covered with red plastic mulch which helps keep the moisture in...

Your best tool to have on hand is an inexpensive ($10 - $20) moisture meter available at almost any garden or big box store as well as online...I give a good soaking when the meter shows the moisture level getting to about 6" below the soil line...

However, the last two years in the Chicagoland area have been wet, wet, wet and my tomatoes suffered from BER and splitting anyway...it's going to happen when you get 4" of rain in a day!

This year I'm going to put a clear plastic cover over the bed when we're going to get downpours hoping it will keep the rain from soaking my bed from above...the bed is quite deep and since a tomato's roots are relatively shallow this method should keep the soil from getting over saturated...

Here's a picture of my bed last year
>
You can see the irrigation tubing sticking out from the end...you can get this stuff from Dripworks (see link)...be sure to give the a call -- they're extremely helpful...just tell them what you want to do and they'll be able to tell you what you need...

Good luck and let's hope for a good 2009 growing season!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dripworks
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