Tomato Planting Tips

Master gardener William Moss discusses his tips for planting hearty tomato plants that produce a lot of fruit.To view over 15000 other how-to, DIY, and advi…

Question by trotter: Is it a bad idea to allow my patio tomato plant wilt prior to watering it?
I have a patio tomato plant, am I supposed to plant it in the ground or leave it in the planter I bought it in?
Also, it seems to wilt late afternoon each day, and then I water it.
Should I water it each morning to prevent that?

Best answer:

Answer by mrs_G
Unless the container is bigger than a couple gallons, you should re-pot it: the fact that it dries up so fast indicates the pot is too small.

Each time it wilts, it loses some momentum, so water every day thoroughly, and get it into a bigger pot. If you allow it to get too traumatized, it will never produce fruit.

What do you think? Answer below!

10 Comments

  1. this showed absolutely no usefull information what so ever

  2. Awesome video..very helpful! =)

  3. More presenters like this and I won’t care what their talking about. Where can I find a gardner like him in the UK? Hawttt!! Seriously though I’m growing tomatoes right now so this is helpful.

  4. hi

  5. Generally, you should water a plant before it becomes wilty from having little water. This will lessen fruit bearing of the plant. I would water in the cool of the morning, making sure not to get water on the leaves. Getting water on the leaves can lead to scorching from the water magnifying the sun rays. You can also water at night, which gives the plant the night to recover. Make sure to water well for the day ahead. Make sure to feed a good, dilute fertizer such as Miracle grow roughly every week to two weeks. Diluting the fertizer keeps the plant from being scorched.

    You can either leave it in the container or put it in the ground. There is a reason why you can grow them on the patio. However, make sure your plant has enough room in the container for its roots to spread and not become root bound. Tomatoes generally do not need a lot of room and staking them up helps to keep fruit off the ground (or patio). You also need to make sure your soil is a good environment for your plant. Red clay is not a good environment and you would be better off leaving the plant in the container. Lots of woodland animals also like to munch on young tomato plants, so bear this in mind should you plant it away from the house.

    You can do some research about tomato plant growth and care online for more additional tips. Good luck and happy planting!

  6. you should always replant a plant into a bigger container so it has room to grow,never wait until plants wilts before watering,especially if its in a container

  7. Plant it in the ground, or a large container(mine are in 5 gallon buckets with holes). Tomato plants need 1 inch of water per week. Yeah, try watering in the morning, a plant wilting everyday is not good.

  8. Needs to be in the ground and not staked. Water in the mornings. Gently shake it. When tomatoes start to grow, cut leaves that shade them to let the sun on them and they need the air flow. Pick the big green worms that might get on them off.

  9. Tomato plants are water hogs. Don’t let them wilt. They want all the water they can get. To decide when to water them, stick your finger into the dirt about 1″. If it’s dry, they need to be watered, and you might even need to water them twice a day in dry weather.

  10. Yes it’s a bad idea to let it wilt. One of the main causes of tomatoes splitting before ripening is uneven watering or an inconsistent water supply.

    How big is the planter? If it’s 10 inches across or bigger, you can leave it as it is. Patio tomatoes are bred to stay small and do not need staking.

    If the planter is less than 10 inches, I recommend repotting in potting soil in a pot that is at least 10 inches or larger. If you can, you should also bury the lowest set or two of leaves into the new pot.

    How are you watering? Is there water draining from the bottom of the pot? If not, you need to water more deeply and thoroughly. Do not let the plant sit in the drained water though.

    Water when the top inch of soil is dry in the pot.

    You can add mulch, especially red plastic mulch, to the top of the pot to help with water retention and improved tomato production.

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