My neighbor's tomato plants taught me a lesson about watering I never expected

So I've been growing tomatoes in my backyard here in Austin for 3 years now and always watered them every single day like clockwork. Last month I tried skipping a day on purpose just to see what would happen since I heard someone say less is more. Turns out my plants actually produced bigger fruit and the leaves looked way healthier after only watering every other day. Has anyone else noticed their veggies doing better when they back off the watering schedule?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_anthony26d ago

Hold up, you're not exactly right that skipping a day universally makes things better. It really depends on your soil type and the weather. Here in Austin with our clay soil, watering every other day works great because the ground holds moisture longer, but if you've got sandy soil it drains way faster and your plants might actually need daily watering during a heat wave. I learned this the hard way when I tried the same trick with my peppers and they started drooping bad until I found out my soil is different than my neighbor's. You gotta feel the soil a few inches down to really know when they need water instead of just sticking to a fixed schedule.

jesse_williams6226d ago

Hold on, wait. You mean you actually skipped a whole day and they did better? I have been watering mine every single morning for years, afraid they'd wither up on me. Now I gotta try this.

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