Speaking of tomatoes, would you like to see how we set up our tomato patch? We’ve tried lots of different methods, from simply sticking the plants into the ground, to using that fancy red plastic mulch (which doesn’t work at all), but this is our absolute favorite method because it really gets water to the roots. It’s a method adapted to our needs from the book, How to Grow World Record Tomatoes (an excellent read). Grown this way we easily get 6 foot – 10 foot tomato plants each year, organically of course!
First we bought a few yards of drainage pipe (like PVC pipe with 1/2″ holes drilled into it) and cut it into 18″ lengths. Then after tilling the beds, we dig a hole with the post hole digger on either side of where the tomato plant will be planted.
Place a length of pipe into the hole.
Fill the hole back up with dirt (but not in the pipe!).
And place our custom made five foot tomato cages on either side (made with wire fencing). We even have a few cages that are twice as high for our larger 10 foot plants.
Try this method this summer. You won’t believe how getting the water down to the roots that deep affects the tomatoes. We used to use the small, store bought cages for our tomato plants and now after applying this method, we definately need our hefty custom cages.
Great tip for the tomato’s!!
Great idea for the tomato’s!
This is impressive. I hope you post photos occasionally through the season. I can’t wait to see them.
First let me say that I have been enjoying your blog. I also live in Sonoma County and enjoy reading about what my fellow local gardeners are up to. I really like what you’ve done with your tomato plants. I think I might give the buried drainage pipe a shot in my garden this year. i haven’t got my plants in the ground yet. Hopefully this weekend. I look forward to watching you garden progress.
Sarah
Very cool. Not a tip I’ve seen before. I’ve been hoping to set up a soaker hose system for my garden (which is fairly small.. only 21X21), but this would be a very simple way to get crazy water to the tomatoes right at the root. Definitely going to give this a try.
That is a great suggestion. I think I will try it this year. Can you tell me about how many inches away from the tomato plant stem you place the two pipes?
Hi Rick, we place them roughly 18 inches away from the stems. We put them in between each plant in our tomato row.
This is so great. I love the pipe idea. We usually bury coffee cans or barring that, yogurt containers with the bottoms cut off. Then we water into those. Usually 2 containers for each plant. It does really make a difference, that and a heavy mulch. Do you use a fertilizer mid-season at all? Liquid kelp or anything like that? I’ve neglected that this year, but still seem to be doing not bad. I think we’d have had more fruit if I was to have fertilized though.
Hi,
I put in deep pipes for my dwarf fruit trees and am watering them with rinse water from the kitchen which I am amazed to discover I have an abundance of, about 2 buckets per time working in the kitchen. After thinking I wouldn’t have enough water this way I now believe I have a surfeit an am anxious to put in deep pipes for my tomatoes and possible zucchini and other fruiting plants.
My question is, how often do you water your plants? I pour the water down the pipe and it promptly disappears and I have no idea how moist it’s staying down there around the tree roots.
I have thought about getting a moisture meter but thought I’d ask you what your experience has been with general frequency of watering with this method. I don’t want to overwater.
Thanks
Hi Windsor Cindy,
We watch how the tomatoes are doing and water based on that. We’ve found that with our soil and climate that doing a deep watering once a week is all we need to do. We do fill up the pipes a few times during that watering so we give them plenty of water. I love your idea of using kitchen water scraps to water with. I was going to use watering cans to hold water scraps, but buckets would be much better. It’s amazing how all that water adds up, isn’t it? Thanks for the comment.
hi, my question is how do you guys fertilize these tomato plants, with liquid fertilizer, down the pipes or on top,around the plant or how? I put in the pipes last night, and wired it up, just 1 plant in the ground now though, and 9 others in 5 gallon pots cherry tomatoes.
thanks rt
Hi rt. We don’t fertilize them at all. We condition the soil well before we put them in and then they are on their own. We do add compost around them mid season, but other than that we just give them tough love and water.
I implemented the PVC pipe watering suggestion and have had the greatest crop of tomatoes in 20 years!!!
I live in ND where the summer was very cool but despite the weather, I watered
every other day and have never seen anything like this years crop. And, I night add, not blight, worms, disease of any kind.
Thank you.
CR
I’m so glad to hear CR!