tomatoes and peppers

i'm going out of town...how long can tomatoe and pepper plants survive in a pot without watering?

ersalan

Reply to
Ersalan Rahman
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Hi I am growing some tomato and pepper plants in pots on my patio. How often do tomato and pepper plants need to be watered? How long can they survive without any water?

Ersalan

Reply to
Ersalan Rahman

It is hard to guess....there are a number of factors... the size of the pots, how much surface area of soil that will allow evaporation...how much reflective heat that will be bouncing off of the patio and the wall of the structure. Think that there are soil additives that will hold moisture and slowly releases the moisture back into the soil for over a longer period of time.

Lar

Reply to
Lar

I agree with your assessment. Mine on elevated deck, if it does not rain and is not cloudy, are watered daily when mature. Otherwise they dry out a lot faster than if in the ground.

Frank

Reply to
Frank

How big are the pots? Height and diameter, please. And, are you home all day, or away at work?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

When I was doing them in containers, I gave the tomatoes at least one litre per day, per plant. And the peppers/capsicums got one litre each, on alternating days (same deal with my lettuce and spinach.)

Now, in the ground, I give them a good soak with the hose every day. The peppers/capsicums get less, because they are rather small this season, probably due to the poor weather.

It depends on your climate. I would do daily watering anywhere, and more than that if I were someplace really hot.

I don't know how long they would survive without water (partly depends on your rain prospects, of course.) But tomatoes need daily water to stay healthy, especially by autumn, when they have lots of fruit.

And a big issue is consistency - try to stay disciplined with a set, regular schedule. Meaning, don't let them go for a random number days without water, and then overcompensate by flooding them.

Also, while they are thirsty, they also need good drainage - they don't like to sit in a puddle.

Reply to
Usenet2007

How long is a piece of string?

The answer to your question depends on pot shape, glazing, size, size of plant, temperature, wind, weeds in the pot, insolation, humidity, soil type...

If these are small plants, big enough pots that the plants look lost, soil with lots of organic matter, and temps and winds should be mild, they'll probably do fine for 2-3 days. But if you want to make sure, or this will be a fairly common occurence, install some drip irrigation. It'll increase your harvestable fruit, too, and probably decrease pest and disease problems.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

and don't let them wilt down. it takes alot out of them when you let them go like that. yeah daily is what i say like everyone else. if you are going away have a neighbor water them.

Reply to
qwenecolly

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