An automatic plant watering system for your tomato plants may just solve one of your biggest problems

For many people growing tomatoes, the biggest problem they face is establishing an effective plant watering system. Whether that is due to a busy lifestyle, being a little forgetful or just don’t like the routine of watering the plants on a regular basis.

Whatever the reason the most likely result is blossom end rot of the tomato plant fruit.

The main cause of blossom end rot is inconsistent watering. This is  compounded further when you encounter extreme weather conditions. So you can see that having a method for regular and consistent watering of your plants is actually quite important and needs to be taken care of. Buying and setting up a micro water irrigation system is relatively cheap and easy to do but could be the one action that ensures you get lots of lovely tomatoes.

The most popular micro water irrigation choice including accessories for a full working system

Visit the store below to get a watering kit which comes with 75′ 1/2″ tube as the basis for the system, 1/2″ is a great size for a micro water irrigation system. The recommendation is that you buy the basic kit first, with a timer if you need it, and then work out after that if you are going to need to extend the system to reach all your plants you want to water. You can find all the bits and pieces you need in the store for any extra individual items you might require and when you have the system in front of you, it is much easier to work out exactly what you are going to need. Plus you only have to wait a few days to get your hands on the extras and you won’t waste money buying items you don’t need.

Visit the HOMEGROWN TOMATOES STORE for a selection of micro watering systems and accessories

So why do you need a watering system

Tomatoes like a consistent soil moisture condition that is neither saturated or dried out, so in order to satisfy this condition you either need to provide a regular manual watering regime or invest in an automatic watering system controlled by a timer.

To be honest if you are disciplined and can organise your life in a way that allows you to get out in the garden and use an old fashioned watering can you really shouldn’t need any other watering systems.

One of the tricks my old dad taught me about growing tomatoes was to put a few buckets of water in the greenhouse and leave them so that the water got to warm up a little, ideally to the same temperature as the inside of the greenhouse. Then when you use the water there is no cooling of the soil and no shock to the plants and all you do is refill the containers after watering and leave them again until the next visit.

Tomatoes do actually like warm feet and warm soil to grow in so you can see where he was coming from, plus he was an absolute perfectionist and an ardent gardener so there were no shortcuts for him.

Unfortunately not many people have the luxury to tend to their gardens in this way and more often than not there is a quick dash outside, a sprinkle from the hose or a quick filling up of the watering can followed by a splash before shooting off to work or settling down for the evening.

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So here is the crux of the problem, if this is the way you water your tomato plants then at some point in time it is pretty certain that you are going to encounter what is called, as previously mentioned, blossom-end rot which is due to a condition referred to as variable soil moisture, a condition that tomato plants really don’t like.

Now that is not the only cause of blossom end rot, you could be over feeding them with too much nitrogen or it could also be your soil conditions, sandy or limey soil will cause the same problems.

But I am pretty sure that the main reason is down to infrequent and inconsistent watering , especially if you are growing tomatoes in a greenhouse or have periods of very wet or very dry weather.

It is pretty clear to me that if you want to resolve your plant watering problems and you fit in any category other than the absolute perfectionist, ardent gardener with time on your hands that you are going to need some form of water system which also means you will have to compromise on the warm water technique.