Generally they will use some water overnight, but not as much as during the day. If the soil is moist (under the surface) they should be fine.
Normally you should not need to water every day. Their roots go down below the surface and that is what needs water. A little water every day will only keep the top of the soil damp and may not be helping your plants at all.
I'd go ahead and water them if they need it, regardless of what time of day it is. I've always done this: especially when I worked, plants had to take their watering whenever it was convenient for me to do it.
Probably others would do differently.
Pat
Keep the foliage dry and don't splash soil up when watering. You can give the pots a drink anytime they need it
Clay pots dry faster and will need more water. I have dwarf sunflowers growing in small 4" pots and I water them twice a day on hot days. After a warm night I often find a dead-looking lump of green hanging off the side of the pot. However the bigger the pot the better the retention. Make sure when you do water it you water deeply. I usually water my big one with a quick layer of water across the topsoil, then let it seep while I work on other plants, come back for another short bath and then back to others. By the third check I usually see water coming out the bottom and know I've got water down through a reasonable amount of the dirt.
DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email) Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener
Get some plastic gallon milk jugs. Poke a hole in the bottom of each one with an ice pick. Place one beside each tomato plant, on the north side, so as snsot to shade the plant. Bury them slightly-- an inch or so.
Water your tomatoes by filling each jug with water. The water will go into the soil where the roots are, and the foliage will not get wet.
An additional advantage is that you will not be watering surface weeds.
vince norris
Amount of water is less important than delivering it consistently. Too much water followed by too little produces cracked tomatoes. A cheap timer and a soaker hose are your plants' best friends.
If your tomatoes haven't wilted by midday, they're getting a surplus of water. Soil surface appearance can be misleading. Soil six inches down gives you a more accurate indication.
Just water the b***** things in the evening, don't wet the foliage. This way they have the night to take up water without the stress of the sun. There is so much Bull Sh** spoken about watering plants, Don't water in sunlight or the droplets of water act like magnifying glass and burn the leaf, Don't water at night. Hose over the plants with week feed as folia feed. Don't get the leaves wet Etc. Etc. Look at what the commercial growers do. I have known us watering 24 hours a day in hot dry weather, we try to not have the plant wet in humid conditions.
A 6ft tomato plant can use 10 pints or more water a day, so water accordingly. When you water make sure the water goes DEEP. not just the top 2 or 3 inches , its better to water well once a week with the water going 12 to 15 inches down. After watering, hoe the surface lightly to leave a loose top half inch or so, this will stop most of the loss of water from evaporation as it breaks the capillary action that draws the water to the surface, also prevents any weeds that would compete for the water. As an alternative to milk containers you can cut the bottom off 2 litre(4pint) and sink the bottle leaving a 1 inch rim easier to fill, or plant the bottle neck up and punch holes in the bottom, slower watering and slow to fill.
I agree. I water (basically) when it's convenient for me to do so.
Pat
Whether they be tomatoes, corn or African Violets, the best time to water your plants is when they need it. A lot of hooey has been spread by newspaper and magazine writers who have to come up with something to write every day or month.
Bob Chicken Little was right.
I find this stricture on watering at night to be problematic, since here in Camelot it only rains after sundown.
Of course, it always clears up in the morning, usually by 8AM.
"....I find this stricture on watering at night to be problematic, since here in Camelot it only rains after sundown ...."
And you have so many good Knights...........
That was always my thought too.
Also, 'the water droplets burns the leaves if it's sunny' - it often rains, and then the sun comes out... no leaf burning takes place.
Pat
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