Watering tomatoes

[wiltingplants]

Going away for 3 days at the end of the month. I've got about half a dozen tomatoes in pots - we're in a flat. I can't get anyone to come and water them, so what can I do? They're thirsty buggers and get through a litre of water at least between them each a day.

Will a wick set-up work? Help!

I sit them in the bath with an inch or so of water. That ought to do it.

thank you @toffeebutterpopcorn I could try that but I'd be a bit worried it would drown them.

I am a tomato newbie in case you can't tell!

You won’t drown them! What types have you got?

OK! they are called super marmande and gardeners delight.

Could you take them to someone to look after for you? I do think they will be fine in the bath for a few days though. My plants are just flowering and my seedlings are almost ready to plant out. Very exciting!

No unfortunately I don't know anyone locally and I think they're a bit tall to fit in a car anyway. Bath it is then. Thank you for the idea.

I have some little pea-sized green tomatoes. I'd be gutted if I killed them or if they fell off as I can't wait to pick my own tomatoes!

Can you not set your hose on a timer?

If it’s just a couple of days, you could just give them a good drink then put a bath towel in the bottom of the bath and add water so that they are just sitting with their bottoms in the water. The towel gives them enough to sook up for a few days of days and they will probably like the humidity of a bathroom.

I used to do this when I went away for up to 2 weeks and it was fine (even for big drinkers).

Or these: amazon.co.uk/SevenMye-Watering-Automatic-Self-Watering-Irrigationdevice/dp/B085QGN4NF/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=plant+water+globes&qid=1623439909&sr=8-3]]

take a large waterbottle, remove the cap and push in old knickers a piece of fabric.
then push the waterbottle upside down into the pot.
and yes water very well before you go.

I went away for 4 nights and put them in bowls of water, they were fine when I returned.

@AlwaysLatte

Can you not set your hose on a timer?

I live in a flat, downstairs might complain

Might not work in your space, but I have a quadgrow - it's brilliant for tomatoes if you need to go away. They're not cheap, but reckon it saves a lot of water as it doesn't evaporate from the soil surface (& arguments as DH never remembers to water things!)

I've cut strips of capillary matting, put one end in the pot and the other end in a bucket of water - worked fine for a week.

@Minimonkeysmum that quadgrow looks handy! It is expensive but it's something you would use for many years. I mean, £46 over ten years = cheaper than buying a neighbour a bottle of wine each holiday!

I wonder if I could create a DIY version as it seems quite low-tech.

@corlan did that provide enough water for quite big tomato plants?

[quote wiltingplants]@Minimonkeysmum that quadgrow looks handy! It is expensive but it's something you would use for many years. I mean, £46 over ten years = cheaper than buying a neighbour a bottle of wine each holiday!

I wonder if I could create a DIY version as it seems quite low-tech.

@corlan did that provide enough water for quite big tomato plants?[/quote]
That's what I keep telling myself! I reckon you could do it with a bucket with a lid with a hole in and capillary matting - it's basically just a neater version of that!

Get an empty plastic 2l pop bottle and a needle or a skewer and make 3 holes near neck of bottle, fill with water and with cap on, invert into plant pot. Water will dribble just enough

I left mine in the bath for five days and they were fine. A bit yellow on the leaves as it’s not the lightest room in the house, but they’ve recovered fine.

Monty Don literally just said on gardeners world to water tomatoes once a week. Which was a surprise to me!

@JudyGemstone

Monty Don literally just said on gardeners world to water tomatoes once a week. Which was a surprise to me!

I haven't watched yet but is it possible he said to feed once a week, not water?

They are thirsty little buffers. However one year I manages to kill one plant and lazily shoved it onto the balcony to deal with later. I completely forgot for ages until I saw a few tomatoes! I am still looking for the ‘perfect’ type, since I don’t have much room and find the tall ones a bit unwieldy once they get going.

Monty meant for ones planted in the ground. Not ones in pots. I also assume you'd water a lot more in very dry weather like we are having currently.

But yes, I was still !

The fruit can split it you overwater. As I learned last year.

I have gravel trays without holes from wilko and the pots sit in those full of water

corlan did that provide enough water for quite big tomato plants?

Yes- I've never had any problems. I suppose you can increase the amount of water drawn up by using several strips of capillary matting per pot?