How Much To Water Your Tomato Plants For The Juiciest Fruit This Summer

Summer is coming, and depending on where you live, it's time to start planting your garden. Gardening is increasingly popular, and the  tomato is a favored plant grown for food. One benefit of growing your own tomatoes is that many find them more flavorful than store-bought ones. Store-bought tomatoes are often bred to look uniformly ripe, which can sometimes sacrifice flavor. Still, growing tomatoes yourself has its challenges because they need to be watered just right to get rich and juicy without cracking.

When you first plant your tomatoes, you should water them every day to get the roots to spread out and become established. If you're somewhere hot, you may need to do it twice a day. Once that happens, you want to give your plants around 1 to 2 inches of water a week, depending on your climate. The quick and easy trick for determining if you should water is to stick a finger 1 to 2 inches into the soil. If it's dry below the surface, it's time to water.

Make sure you don't overwater, though! Waterlogged soil can result in root rot, blossom end rot, discolored leaves, curling leaves, and drooping leaves caused by internal fungus. Once you master this watering process, you can grow one of the 16 varietals like Campari or Brandywine you may not have heard of and may not find at your local grocers.

Some gardeners are often more into the soil than they are the plants. Healthy, nutrient-rich soil provides the foundation tomatoes need to grow to make your food more flavorful. If you have access to compost, it's ideal, as it is full of nutrients and beneficial bacteria and fungi. On top of that, you want your soil to be slightly acidic with a pH between 6.2 and 6.8.

Another key factor for tasty tomatoes is the sun. Your tomato plants should get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. If you live somewhere especially hot, you may want to make sure they get most light in the morning so the warmer afternoon sun doesn't burn them. Once they're ripe and ready to pick, it's time to use your homegrown fruit in one of our 22 amazing tomato recipes! (Yes, they are technically fruits even though, by law, tomatoes are considered a vegetable.)