I hope you dont mind me piggybacking on your thread...I have a watering dilema that I need help with too....(prior to our sprinkler install, I had no idea about things like blossom end rot, splash up disease? and all the other endless list of things that can go wrong) And now, I"m stuck with my sprinkler system on a regular schedule watering (and overhead watering) my garden spot too...I KNOW I KNOW, it's the WRONG kind of watering...but I just cant change it now....(stupid landscaping guy said it will be just fine)

I've convinced my DH to at least set the sprinkler for an ealry morning watering vs late evening...at least this way the plants will dry out quicker (90 degrees plus here by mid morning)

any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

watering schedule will be based entirely on the weather and what type of planting situation you have. a 100 degree day will require up to 5 gallons for a fully mature plant per day to no watering for an overcast mild day. I water about 45 min a day on adjustable 1-5 gallon/hr emitters depending upon the plant in containers.

Sprinklers should be fine. Mulch to prevent backsplash. You will probably have to supplement the sprinkers since tomatoes will require more water than the lawn per sq/ft.

I water with drip fertigation daily, 2x/day, about 15 minutes each watering, with 1gph drippers.

Also: RJINGA: Depending on where your sprinklers are and type, you can convert them with a simple fitting for a couple dollars. Then run the hose to the tomato garden and add a 29 cent dripper for each plant.

I don't water my tomatoes at all....even though we're having YET another drought this summer. It's going on record as being one of the worst. I DO mulch well with leaves and straw. I also have nice soil with lots of organic matter.

Then the problem is that when it does rain every tomato with any color cracks.

I'm really surprised to see that some folks water so much. It seems to me it would be better to give them a deep soaking once a week than watering them a little every day. I have blueberries and I water them well every week. If I watered my garden every day my well would dry up!

We don't get rain here this time of year so I have my plants (in ground) on drip with one 2gph emitter per plant. If days get up to 85 degrees or so, I water twice a week for an hour. If temps are cooler I throw in 1 or 2 more days between watering. I figured it out by "trial and no-error". Started doing it this way 3 years ago, it worked, so I just kept it up. My biggest problem right now is having to use my knife to get into the tomato area of the garden- it's not pruning at this stage it's called whacking them back.

The rest of the garden (wax beans, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, etc) is on 1/2gph emitters or 1/2 gph laser drilled tubing. They get watered every other day for an hour.

Also: RJINGA: Depending on where your sprinklers are and type, you can convert them with a simple fitting for a couple dollars. Then run the hose to the tomato garden and add a 29 cent dripper for each plant.

Korney, can you elaborate on how I would do this? I'm considering all possibilites for next season, as my entire garden spot is watered overhead by the sprinklers!! And I'm convinced this was more of a detriment than anything...trial and error is correct-a-mundo...for me anyway!!!!

A major variable is the humidity in your region. We have very dry air. I water the tomatoes every day.

A good test is paper money. Is it crisp and snaps or does it bend? If it's crisp then you need more water. Another is washing dishes...do you wash AND dry dishes or do they dry on their own in a minute or two?

The amount of rainfall can be less of a variable for tomatoes than humidity and drying conditions.

rjinga-
To convert a sprinkler head to a drip system, go to Home Depot or equivalent and get a conversion kit. They're inexpensive, and you just switch out the existing head with the one in the kit, and then add the drip lines with the parts that come in the kit. You can then also use a screwdriver to shut off flow to other sprinkler heads in the area if you don't want them to water your garden. Lastly, you can alternatively get a dripline kit that simply attaches to a hose: that way you could have whatever watering schedule you wanted if your sprinkler timer wasn't doing what you wanted for your tomatoes.

I was reading on another site that some people hold back watering as soon as the fruit starts to turn color to concentrate the flavors. Does anyone do that?

"I was reading on another site that some people hold back watering as soon as the fruit starts to turn color to concentrate the flavors. Does anyone do that?"

I'm trying it this year, but it's tough when fruits are ripening at different times and the plants are wilting. I haven't got anything changing color yet, but I've mulched well, and water deeply about every 3 weeks in an area with no summer rainfall. I guess I'll just have to see what becomes of them.

We have fruit ripening,new blosoms and everything in between. Tomatoes are mostly water so I don't understand holding back the water. We'd have anemic wilted plants after 2 days. We've never held back the water but pour on gallons a day and have never has an issue with great tasting ripe fruit.

RJINGA, see the link below.

Hope this helps.

Mark

Here is a link that might be useful: retrofit sprinklers to drip

Plantcompost, just as you may notice bland, watery tomatoes after a heavy rain, witholding water can concentrate flavor. In the west, determinate tomatoes like Early Girl are Dry Farmed, which produces fewer and smaller fruits, but which are much more flavorful and sell at a premium.

The 'West' is a big area and their definition of dry and ours are different.

I'm not into commercial production of tomatoes. The ins and out of mass production are to maximize return and not to produce the best tomato. I want the best tomato and not just a'premium' tomato. I'd go one on one in a taste test against any commercially growth tomato.

I'm too a big fan of the dry farming. I live near the coast in the west. For me I would much rather have tastier smaller fruit than bigger bland tomatoes. I've had to do some watering but I'm keeping it to a strict minimum. I really do notice the difference.