Sharing is caring!

Here’s a Hack for Watering Tomato Plants!

I’ve gotten really into gardening since the start of our Cinder Block Raised Garden bed article that went viral a few years ago.  I have a huge 30 ft by 30 ft garden now.  What a difference!  Last year we didn’t do very well growing tomatoes.  We just moved to a new area and learning how to grow in this soil is different.  This year the weather has been completely different.  Here in Texas we didn’t get enough of the freezing winter days so I know the bugs are going to be bad this year.  I also started my garden about 3 weeks early than last year too.  I could tell it was time by all the natural flowers that were blooming all around me.  I did decide to run an experiment on my tomatoes though…  check this out.

It was about two weeks ago that I started planting in my garden.  Some things I did from seed and some plants I bought small.  I purchase 6 very small tomato plants.  I also purchased a large 20 gallon trash can.  I already had my 6 tomato plant cages from last year so I was good to go.  The test was to see if the tomatoes would do better with a self watering system so to speak.  I planted 5 of the tomato plants around a large trash can that I planted in the ground about a 1/3 way down.  I drill about 5 or 6 holes in a straight line down to the bottom of the trash can making sure the holes would be buried in the soil.  I planted each of the 5 tomato plants near one line of holes around the can as seen in the photos below.  I probably could have squeezed one more plant around the can but I really wanted to plant one on it’s own and water it just as I have always done in the past.

Here’s how I set up this hack to water these tomato plants.  I filled up the bucket about 1/2 way every 2 to 3 days.  I usually water the rest of my garden about once a day.  So the 5 tomato plants that are planted near the can had water when they needed it.  The 1 other plant off to the side was watered daily.

It has been 2 weeks since the time I took these photos and measurements!  We have had a few good days of rain and on these rainy days I did not water at all.  It turns out the tomato plants that I have planted near the can that have been slowly watering themselves with the holes along the sides have doubled in size in just two short weeks!  I couldn’t believe it!  It seems that the water that gets to the roots allows these plants to grow faster and taller!  It’s only been two weeks but the results are amazing!  I can’t wait to see the crop we get from these plants!  I was tempted to move the other plant over but I’m not going to because I really wanna see how this experiment plays out.

Things to note:  If I had to do this over again I probably would have purchased a smaller round plastic trash can just like this one.  It’s much cheaper and it would do the trick.  I would also make sure to use a small drill bit such as a 1/8 size or so.  This allows a small amount of water to come out as needed.  I also put a very small amount of liquid fish fertilizer in it too.  It smells awful but a friend told me it works without burning the plants and boy is she right.  One other thing that is important to note is knowing your soil.  I highly suggest testing your own soil using this simple soil kit to see if you are missing any nutrients in your soil.

 

I’m sitting here sweating my tail off and I look over to find my boxer sleeping next to me.  Isn’t she a cutie pie?  She can sleep in just about any noise and any place but she must be near us.  She’s such a sweetie.

 

I cannot believe the results after only 2 weeks!  They have more than doubled in size!!!!  LOOK!!

 

This other plant that I have kept off to the side has only grown a couple inches in two weeks.  It clearly makes a huge difference!!!

 

Feel free to Pin It here for later: