watering

[vegyman]

I recently hooked up a automatic watering system for my garden, bubblers for my maters and 1/4" soaker lines for the rest of my vegy's. I have it on 2 separate timers.(1 for soakers, 1 for bubblers)I am on the west coast of Canada, any advice on how often i should be watering my maters.
thanks

[feraltomatoes]

Lots of things to consider. How many liters an hour are your emiters?
What kind of soil?
Whats the weather like?
Any subsurface water for tomatoes to tap into?
How big are your plants?

I like to give them more water until lots of fruit is hanging and then be very stingy.
Brad........

[username5]

Originally Posted by vegyman

I recently hooked up a automatic watering system for my garden, bubblers for my maters and 1/4" soaker lines for the rest of my vegy's. I have it on 2 separate timers.(1 for soakers, 1 for bubblers)I am on the west coast of Canada, any advice on how often i should be watering my maters.
thanks

What are bubblers? Drip emiters?

Anyway, in my experience, which isn't at all peer reviewed or authoritative most plants do best with consistent conditions. Consistent fertilizer, consistent temps (within their prefered range), consistent water etc.

So, how often to water your maters? Really depends on the climate, soil type and all that.

With maters I think even moisture works best. By even I mean keep the top few inches at a steady, moderate moisture level.

Down lower it will be more moist.

Tomatos seem really tolerant and adaptable (at least in my garden), but the one thing they seem to resent is inconsistency. Blossom end rot is generally caused by inconsistent watering affecting nutrient availability (calcium primarily as I understand it).

I have also noticed that witholding water until plants get wilty is OK if they are then watered quickly, but more than a day or so of wilty plants and performance drops off sharply and permanently.

As a result I would suggest you go with whatever soil moisture level you wish to try out and then adjust the watering schedule to keep it consistent (as best you can).