How to water tomatoes? "Reading" their leaves...

[@trebledog]

Great info. As a first time tomato gardener, it's a big help to go that extra mile reading the leaf curl. My climate is very tropical year round, 80% humidity, 79-89F day or night, so the plants are always hungry for water, but really need to know how to read that. This info explains why some of my tomatoes were not responding as expected when I watered too much. Thanks, another piece of the tomato puzzle.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You’re welcome and I’m so glad that it’s helpful. Tomatoes are a serious journey of discovery :)

[@dougtina]

You've answered all my questions regarding my tomatoe plants. Thank you.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Excellent!! Happy to help. :)

[@adamscountyrealty725]

You are amazing! This is the most helpful video on tomatoes I've seen! Thank you!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Thank you! I’m glad!

[@gmoeller18]

This was so concise. That you so much. I'm drowning mine 😓

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You’re welcome and I’m glad that it’s helpful.!It’s hard to fight that instinct to water everything that we love. 😂 I do it with my seedlings every year, despite knowing better.

[@augustvukosovich4683]

I'm new to gardening. My young tomato plant has leaf curl almost all the way up. The soil feels moist but not overly so. The leaves are green. The plant is inside, so I doubt it's disease. It happened aftķǰer it dried out quite a bit, and then I watered. However, I didn't water too much. So, I can't tell if it's under or over watered.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Did it initially uncurl when you did the recent watering? Or it never uncurled after getting dry?

[@HektorBandimar]

Sensible and helpful information, thank you.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad it was helpful!

[@harafkai]

Wow thank you for helping me help my plant.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Yes! Glad it helped. :)

[@shamimmohajer4951]

I was trusted with two tomatoe plants and I had no idea what I was doing. It's been a very stressful past two weeks, trying to figure out what the plants need. One of them acts like an angry teenager and the other one is a very depressed friend that came along just to find sadness in new things (and is turning yellow more every day). Now I know what was wrong. I was over watering them, thinking I'm underwatering them. 🥴😅 This video was awesome, thank you.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

1. I’m so glad it was helpful! 2. “a very depressed friend that came along just to find sadness in new things” is now a permanent part of my vocabulary. 😂

[@dahlia-2645]

Helpful and to the point. More videos like this. Thanks.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad that it was helpful!

[@tonymulreid6347]

Thanks this was so simple and informative.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m so glad!

[@EppingForest304]

Nice information 👍

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m glad!

[@Ryoufriggingserious]

Thanks for the great info. Now I know why the leafs at the bottom of my tomato plant are yellow! It's very healthy other than that.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You’re welcome!

[@adamsons2890]

Very informative. I’m in Southern Ontario and we’ve had more rain than usual. We have 5 large planters and the plants have really slowed in their growth and they’re not producing fruit. I’ll watch for that leaf curl beginning today. Aug 5/23,thank you.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m glad it was helpful!

[@belindasanders7072]

Very helpful! Thank u.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad it was useful!

[@shrinivasbhat]

Great info. Do you have a video on how you built your trellis ? Noticed them 😊

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Yup! How to build a cattle panel trellis (and improvements to our built-in pest control) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnmmhH2BlM-YsLc

[@jamestyrer6067]

THANKS FOR THIS INFORMATION 😊

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You’re welcome 🙂

[@MsSan61]

Awesome video!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Thanks!!!

[@MayaSaffrin]

Thanks for that helpful info! I live in Los Angeles and it has been extremely hot lately so I have been watering my 3 tomato plants nightly, but may switch to every other night. The two cherry plants seem to be doing really well...lots of little tomatoes coming out! My heirloom plant, however, seems to have an issue with the stem. While the leaves above the stem are green and healthy, the stem itself is brown, kind of mealy and weak looking, and it seems like only a matter of time until the weight of a certain heavy branch will break it close to the base. It is flowering too, but what's wrong with the stem?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Could be a bacterial canker on the stem but it’s hard to know without looking. If you do a google image search for that phrase you can compare to what you’re seeing.

[@UrbanHomesteader26]

Vary informative, intelligent video recommend to watch

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Thank you!

[@f.demascio1857]

Great explanation. Thx

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad you liked it!

[@marionbetham5017]

thank you - super helpful!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m glad! 🙂

[@oleglitvak6936]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m glad!

[@jessee7334]

Been at it a few years and with the high norcal temps moisture retention is a big issue. You prefer wood chip mulch toms or perhaps a mix? Rice straw helped but not 'mulch' lol Great vid thank you 💚

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Love the pun 🤣. For mulch my prior favorite was grass clippings or ideally (once fall comes) a mowed-over mixture of leaves and grass-to compost in place. Over time I’m shifting to living mulches, instead, and used mustard this year. Great for pollination 👍

[@jessee7334]

@@WellGroundedGardens same! Looking at rat tail radish white Dutch clover and mustard coincidentally... I think comfrey is also a good one :)

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Nice! I haven’t tried radish other than in a fall blend (peas, oats, tillage radish)

[@bayouelton]

Very helpful.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I’m glad!

[@Convict2Corporate]

What a cutie. Mine are the champions in zone 9. Slight curl, but healthy. It’s just really hot, albeit healthy I’m going to grab them a mesh until the greenhouse.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Ours have held up shockingly well in the current heat wave. Fingers crossed!

[@cedarridgen2791]

This is very useful info. Thanjsy

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dextermi]

Great information, thanks!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You're welcome! Hope it's helpful. :)

[@CamaguNcoso]

We've been on winter season and watering them twice a day. On plant gave out 3 tomatoes, one was bigger than the other two. They all had infection, blight. A friend said its cos they don't get enough water but been watering them twice a day for a long time now. One plant showed me a yellow leaf, I checked it today. So I came here for solutions and I see that I over did the watering. Most of them are in the process of fruiting, they have buds and have green leaves. I'll take a week without watering them cos I've been doing it daily and twice🤦‍♂️

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Did it help? Now I need an update 😂

[@catherinejiang7323]

Me too i need an update bc i live in La county California and i did the same thing you did i have 2 tomato plants new to growing its been a struggle from garden gnats to white butterflies

[@NazzarenoRusso-b4c]

What are those covers you have on the actual tomatoes?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

These guys? kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6TWoJKmh6uWhcU

[@johngirvan4437]

Does this apply to toms in pots too ?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Same principles but you’d want to check more frequently since they dry out, faster

[@CrowT]

It has been 95 degrees here in Mo for the past two weeks. I water them every other day and the soil is dry. They are in pots outside. Well drained. Put em in 1st week of may and they are fruiting. One is beefsteak the other is midnight cherries. They still look pretty raggedy. I dunno.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Pots dry out way faster and 95 is ROUGH; sorry. They’ll drop flowers at those temps. 😕

[@CrowT]

@WellGroundedGardens Should I maybe water them every day then? Dont want to overwater them either.

[@sarahdaramy-williams3062]

Thank you!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

You’re very welcome!

[@tonidinov4254]

Good to know, thx.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Glad it’s helpful!

[@Exxeron-ob3tv]

Was doing it by checking the soil. Feel kinda silly now. Thanks.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

That’s still an important thing to check!

[@sherimetschan961]

Could you explain the difference between leaf cupping from pesticide drift vs leaf curling that plant needs water? My husband sprayed Spectracide to get rid of clover in the lawn. I covered my raised beds with old bed sheets but I'm not sure how effective it was since it was porous. It was warm, low to mid 70's and the plants were covered approximately 3 hours so they got warm. The leaves do look similar to yours but I'm being overly cautious and want to make sure. If you can help with pesticide drift and when I could safely replant if necessary it would be greatly appreciated.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Hi! I haven’t had pesticide drift, myself, but from what I’ve read the main difference is that when you have curling from pesticides the leaves can’t be flattened to a normal shape and then when it’s from heat or low water, the curled leaves CAN be flattened to a normal shape. Hoping that’s helpful…I also found this resource from the University of Tennessee. They show Dicamba (ingredient in Spectracide) on page 5. extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W295-B.pdf

[@sherimetschan961]

@@WellGroundedGardens Thanks so much! I'm looking at as many resources as I can, OSU Master Gardener, Pesticide Agencies, etc. I may end up pulling all my plants but I hope I can find answers to reassure me.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

@@sherimetschan961 you’re welcome! I’d water thoroughly and see if they uncurl, if so, it’s probably not pesticide exposure 🤞

[@sherimetschan961]

@@WellGroundedGardens Thanks again. I will water and I will still call my extension service when they open this morning.

[@honeydew4576]

Will a drooping wilting leaf indicate too much water?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

This is one of those “probably annoying” answers but they’ll droop with too much water and with not enough. If you let the soil dry out a bit, see them droop, then see them recover when watered you know it was the latter. In general I try to err on the side of slightly too little water as that’s easier to remedy.

[@davefekete7187]

My branches are drooping but my tomato plant is healthy dark green with a little curl, no beige colour, they feel soft too i worry if i might of over water it. The soil is not too moist and cool, its not because of the heat because i live in canada the weather lately was not hot at all but humid and cool, i really don't know what it is at least my plant is still flowering properly and nicely.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

That sounds possibly like overwatering or possibly a bit of transplant shock-did you plant them, recently?

[@atreyugam3r108]

Hey, I had a question. I'm growing an okay-sized cherry tomato and a beefsteak. The thing is, the beefsteak seems a bit stunted, even though I water it every morning until it drains out the bottom. By the next day, if I check the soil, it's pretty dry. I'm in Virginia, and lately it's been between 80 and mid 90s. My leaves are a little droopy, with a couple slightly yellow or brownish leaves towards the bottom. The beefsteak is also quite a bit smaller than I believe it is supposed to be. I don't have good soil where I live, so putting it in the ground wasn't an option, so I put it in a five-gallon bucket with some decent soil I got from tractor supply. Do you have any advice? Most of the plant seems to be fine, I guess, but just droopy instead of the stems being fairly straight down the curve. not to a drastic degree, but just a little. I also noticed that even though it's maybe a little under a foot tall, it has a tomato on it. It has more blooms, but it seems the flowers on it have shriveled up and dried out.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Are you fertilizing it?

[@atreyugam3r108]

@@WellGroundedGardens didn't figure i needed to, it was a nutrient rich soil i used said it was would continue nurturing up to a 100 and smth days

[@pamelah6431]

Wondering how much soil you planted it in & if the pot is getting too hot. Just curious. I think the Epic Garden channel showed that tomatoes prefer some shade.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

They generally prefer full sun, but pots do dry out much faster than regular soil so in hot climates you’d need to water more often. @atreyugam3r108 You mentioned it’s dry the next day-is that on the surface; or an inch down in the soil?

[@maryparrett9671]

What about a very dry climate 7% humidity here and my timer waters for 20 minutes in the morning.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

If you’re giving them about an inch of water a week, watering right at the base of the plants and have a dry climate then honestly that’s pretty ideal. Much lower odds of disease issues 👍

[@lovemiranduh]

What about leaves that are drooping? It's still producing and no signs of any discoloring on any leaves

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Is it just the leaves and the rest of the plant looks ok? Or are stems also droopy? And: do the leaves seem thin?

[@lovemiranduh]

@@WellGroundedGardens The rest of the plant is fine. The leaves are just droopy and seem thin

[@WellGroundedGardens]

If they’re thin my guess is slight under watering-if you check the soil a couple of inches below the surface and it feels dry, then you should try watering a bit more often to see if it improves.

[@michaelsherron5750]

Can i send you pics of my tomato plant leaves? I'm not 100% sure what the issue is. Thanks!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Happy to give it a shot! You should also ask your local Master Gardener extension service (ours is really good); most of them have email and chat options where they’ll look at photos, and they know the relevant local issues. But yes, I’m happy to try, too. :)

[@bradolson3510]

What about potted cherries?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Same basic principles but they’ll dry out faster and I keep a closer eye on them in dry spells and hot weather.

[@willydiesel2081]

I really hope you can help me. I have a plant and the leaves are curling and the bottom of the green tomatoes are rotting or turning a nasty color on the branch. So agreeing tomato and it looks like it's rotting and they were small they weren't big enough yet to start turning red. What is that

[@WellGroundedGardens]

If they’re rotting from the bottom I would say blossom end rot-usually a sign of too little calcium; it can happen when the plant has a heavy load of fruit on it. I use a DIY foliar spray: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppDKhpKHoZdlrKM

[@willydiesel2081]

@@WellGroundedGardens thank you so much for getting back to me. I really mean it. But if I don't have eggshells is there any other way to get calcium to the soil or to the leaves like you're doing Is there something I can buy

[@WellGroundedGardens]

@willydiesel2081 if you have a Tractor Supply near you then you could pick up Bonide “Rot Stop” spray or else Amazon sells Tomato Tone fertilizer.

[@willydiesel2081]

@@WellGroundedGardens ty so much

[@kristinbrown2192]

Only question left--how much water do we give when water is needed?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I aim for them to get 1” of water a week; I have a rain gauge and use that to estimate how much more they need in any given week.

[@SimonHaestoe]

GENIUS 💪⚡🍻🙏

[@phillipgaines674]

i was wondering about the leaf curl had me worried

[@AmsterDanTheAmerican]

The leaves at the top of my plant are green but drooping/limp from the top to the bottom...leaves are not curled. Is this a sign of over watering?

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Do the leaves perk back up at night?

[@AmsterDanTheAmerican]

No. They are still limp but very green. Not yellow or brown or leathery.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

If they aren’t yellowing, or recovering at night, then that suggests it isn’t fusarium wilt, and you’d also expect yellowing if they were overwatered; it’s hard to tell from a written description but if you’ve already tried giving them more water, my only thought is a different disease. Only one plant is affected?

[@Reddirtdarlin]

Can anyone share with me what she's calling the leaves that are squeezing out a little water.... sounds like gatasian. The transcript says guitar and that's not right😄 It's a term I haven't previously learned and would love to know more about. Thanks!!!

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Guttation 😁

[@Reddirtdarlin]

@@WellGroundedGardens thank you so much! I hoped you would respond since the video is older. I appreciate it. Good to keep learning!

[@Twelvefourtyseven]

What if they are limp and soggy?? 😢

[@WellGroundedGardens]

If they’re limp/droopy and sitting in damp soil I’d worry about fungal diseases 😬

[@manjunathahn9493]

Pls send me medicine for folding leaves

[@WellGroundedGardens]

I don’t know of any specific treatments; if they’re curling due to water stress then moderate irrigation will help. If it’s a disease, though, then you’re often only able to remove the plants and avoid planting tomatoes in the same place for a couple of seasons.

[@yes350yes]

I would have like to have seen yellow leaves vs early blight, but of course you wont allow that in your garden so we dont see it , but many people do see it.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

So far we’ve avoided early blight, but I’m sure it’ll come for me someday. I did get verticillium wilt two years ago and it’s the pits

[@jeffrey19771000]

the big guy conference.

[@bretthong6137]

My leaves look bad on my better toamto.

[@WellGroundedGardens]

Bad, how? Curled up, or splotches?