How often should I water my tomato plants after the fruit starts to ripen?

Question

How often should I water my tomato plants when the fruit begins to ripen?

Answer 1

we water everyday is it is needed...we use those drip hoses.....turn them on for awhile and then turn them off.  If you use a hose you need to water at the base with the same kind of long metal entender that rose growers use to keep the tomatoe plants dry to avoid fungus problems.

Answer 2

It depends on if you have determinate or indeterminate plants and where you are.

All gardening is local.  Do you get summer rain?  there may be no need to water the plants, in fact, here in California we get no summer rain and we usually water tomatoes once or twice a week.  If they look limp in the morning then it is time to water.  If they look limp in the afternoon, wait until morning to judge.

You can do the pencil test.  Push a new, sharpened pencil into the ground six inches and when you pull it out what does it look like?  If it appears wet or damp-mud or bits of soil on it-dont water.  If it comes out bone dry, water.  Check again in about four days to see if it is time to water again.

Out here the best tomatoes are dry irrigated-little or no additional water once they start to ripen especially if they are determinant..

Answer 3

Twice a day early in the morning and again in the cool of the evening. But not in the heat of the day because it will cook your leaves. Remember plants take in the energy from the sun during the day and using it to grow at night. The evening watering adds in growth of the plant, and the morning water keeps the sun from burning up the plant. Don't forget tomatoes are mostly water.