I Never Was Very Good at Gardening
Here is what I typically get.
Sometimes I get lucky and they get slightly bigger!
I think the cost of watering them is much greater than if I just bought them in the store. However, they do not taste quite as ripe from store s when letting them ripen on the vine.
It may be less about watering and more about feeding. Tomatoes love high nitrogen soil with good drainage, they will send roots deep to find the water.
Next season, dig a hole 2 feet deep and 1.5 feet wide for each plant. Place a sturdy trash bag in the hole. Fill the hole 1/3 of the way with gravel, 1/3 of the way with sand and 1/3 of the way with a mix of topsoil and organic compost. Water until the water stays on the surface. Wait until the topsoil dries out (about a week) then plant the tomatoes and add 1 gallon of water. Once a week after that add 1/2 gallon of water.
This method creates an artificial water table that keeps the plants roots fed and a nutrient layer that feeds the plant. Once Every 4 weeks during the growing season add 1/4 inch of fresh compost around the edges of the hole, keeping it about 6 inches from the stem to avoid fertilizer burn.
When the tomatoes grow, there will be branches with flowers and branches without flowers. Cut off about 1/2 - 2/3 of the branches without flowers at the main stem, this sends more water and nutrients to the fruit.
Thanks for detailed info. You get an up vote for that and I will try this next year. (if I get ambitious).
No problem. I love gardening and helping other people become self sustaining.
Lol, oh goodness! I'm starting to feel the same way about my gardening. Water water, no fruitful results.
Thank you for sharing. Aloha!