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Neglected tomato plants

So, I've not watered them for the past 4 days, they're in the greenhouse and they've started fruiting. Have I ruined them by neglecting them or will they will be ok?

Posts

  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    if they are not crispy they will recover, go and give them a drink! when the fruit get close to ripe inconsistent water will cause them to split, and inconsistent watering now may cause blossom end rot, but in both cases it will only ruin the fruit that you see with it, not the plant and not any other fruit.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    It depends a bit what size pot they're in. Mine are now mostly in their final pots and I only water them twice a week unless it gets really hot. A good soak twice a week, a feed once a fortnight is my routine and as Skandi says, routine is generally the key point. 

    If they're still in 'potting on' pots, they might have got a bit limp after 4 days, but you'd be able to see that easily enough.

    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 753
    @Skandi I’ve come across the advice to water consistently to prevent fruit splitting.. my question is, if I grow my tomatoes outside I would have no control over the weather and therefore there may be times when the plants get overwatered by the rain.. does it mean I should keep up with that and continue to overwater them? Also.. weather changes all the time.. if it’s been hot and sunny surely the plants will need more water than a week of overcast cool weather? 
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    edited June 2020
    @Skandi I’ve come across the advice to water consistently to prevent fruit splitting.. my question is, if I grow my tomatoes outside I would have no control over the weather and therefore there may be times when the plants get overwatered by the rain.. does it mean I should keep up with that and continue to overwater them? Also.. weather changes all the time.. if it’s been hot and sunny surely the plants will need more water than a week of overcast cool weather? 
    You can't help the rain, just count it as a watering. I water mine twice a week, one is the feed watering on a Saturday. If it rains during the week, then I don't water mid week. If it doesn't rain then I do.

    Think of it more like you don't want them to go through a really dry period, then suddenly get water. If it rains all week, don't water. If it is dry all week, water.

    It's the same with potatoes and it might be easier to imagine, if I deep water them every other day in dry weather, it isn't ever a shock to them when it pours down. If though they had been left dry for a week in baking sun and then it pours down... ...well the tatties are likely to split.

    It's slightly different for tomatoes when they are outside also, it's not so likely they will sit with 'soggy' roots which is the problem that often happens when they are grown in pots, containers grow bags etc. and they get over-watered. Really rain isn't too much water outside, it's letting them sit for days in baking sun with no water that might be an issue.
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