How do i keep my tomato plants from wilting?

I live in southern missouri and the temperature is reaching about 100 a day right now. My plants start wilting in the midday sun. I water them thouroughly every night. About 3 gallons of water for 3 plants. Do I need more water? less water? should I try to cover them during the day? any ideas???

How do i keep my tomato plants from wilting?
You can't. Just keep them well watered and all will be well, as long as you did everything else right.
Reply:use a light sprinkler during daylight hours as this will both keep the plants watered and keep them cool.
Reply:The sun makes them appear wilted, they are just absorbing energy. Water them in the early morning, and the evening. they need a drink during the day. Be sure you water them one day be fore you fertilize. They need a drink before they eat, that way you won't burn them.
Reply:put them inside bras .no i am not joking i saw it on tv
Reply:water them in the morning and at night- water the soil not the leaves
Reply:Aloha--


I live in Kauai, Hawaii where the temperatures are somewhat more moderate but still pretty high all year 'round, particularly this summer. I have grown tomatoes here for several years. After the first year, when the tomato plants in my garden kept wilting (and some finally died), I found out from a friend who is an Ag instructor that I simply wasn't giving my tomato plants enough water, though I was afraid I was over-watering them. He told me that they need to be watered more frequently--both morning and evening--with about 1/2 to 1 inch of water each time so that the water could soak down to the roots. LOTS of water--tomato plants need a lot of water to keep producing and to keep from wilting. I have to water before the sun gets hot though otherwise I get mildew on the leaves and/or the leaves get sun-burned. It seems to me that my Roma, grape and cherry tomatoes need less water than the Beefsteak and other large "slicing" varieties though, but I'm not sure that this is a "scientific" observation. You didn't say how big the plants are, but 3 gallons for 3 plants doesn't seem like near enough water unless the plants are very small. Are they in pots or in the ground?





Just a thought--you also might want to try some sun protective netting over them to help avoid such intense heat. I know that in the Central Valley of California where they grow lots and lots of tomatoes, the heat gets up over 100 almost every day and I don't think that they use protection but perhaps the commercial varieties that they grow there are a bit more hardy than those that we home-gardeners have available to us.





Can you share any hints on getting rid of the pesky little flies that have attacked a couple of my tomato plants without using commercial poisonous pesticides? I may have to resort to those to keep the plants alive, but right now I don't want to go with poisons if there is another way to get rid of the flies. I'm getting a lot of tomatoes from my plants--I have to give some away--but the plants just don't look very healthy with the small flies on them.
Reply:I would suggest finding some way to keep them cool (like shade). I've heard the best time of day to water plants is early in the morning. Otherwise you can get mold and mildew growing on them if they don't dry enough before dark. It's been steaming hot up here lately (Wisconsin) and I've been having the same problem. I've used MiracleGro on my tomatoes though and they seem to be doing really well.
Reply:you should water them throughout the day as well as at night. dig a shallow trench around them in the soil so that the water doesn't run away. it will soak into the ground slower that way, and stay at the base of your plant. don't worry too much about a little wilting, though. ours always do, and we still get great veggies...or fruit, or whatever they are:-)
Reply:Water them more. Every time the soil is dry.
Reply:Don't worry about the wilt. I would increase the daily water to two gallons per plant per day. NEVER cover the plants as they will burn right up in the Missouri heat. Water your plants in the early morning as they will be less prone to top rot or night mildew.
Reply:it sounds like it might be the dirt you have them planted in.you should aerate the plants and spray them with some type of plant food.good luck. theres nothing better than garden fresh tomatoes.
Reply:keep the same amount of water but yes cover them during the day. Thats what my mom does.
Reply:anytime i've ever seen a tomato plant, it's tied to a stake.
Reply:covering them will only make the heat worse, alot more water would be the best bet. make sure you cut off any dead leaves and water water water
Reply:With the weather getting so hot try to shade the plants a bit in the afternoons with some cheesecloth, you can find it at a local hardware store or ask around the grocery stores then water your plants with a mist in early evening or early morning that should help you a bit. Good Luck and watch out for the hungry tomato worms they will act fast when the weather gets hot! GOOD LUCK!!
Reply:I think I have an idea for you that you havent heard yet. First of all the plants you have now... you need something on the ground to help hold the water in. Try mulch, or when you mow your yard rake some of the grass and put around them or like the answer above use newspaper. You are doing good with watering them at night, a little water in the morning will help too, some wilting is normal. Next year try this little trick. Use a set up something like a wooden clothes line only instead of rope use a bar, kinda like you would have in your closet in your house. . That you can hang several buckets from, in the buckets cut a hole in the bottom. put your tomato plants through the hole in the bottom of the bucket and add a mixture of dirt and potting soil. hang the bucket on the bar so your plant is sticking out the bottom. You will not believe how wonderful this works. I only have 6 buckets and I have more tomatoes then I know what to do with, I have a family of 8 and I am giving tomotoes away we cant eat them all. My plants are hanging 7ft high and has a water hose with little holes that are right over the buckets. Plus the buckets hold the rain water. This is the 3rd year I have done tomatoes this way. Last yr I canned 14 Qts of tomatoes off of 6 plants. Plus all we ate.
Reply:Tomato plants are usually grown in a greenhouse so if watered they will only wilt when their time is up.
Reply:i from texas and i work at the plant shed. try watering early morning that way the soil will be still wet if not damp for most of the afternoon. i cannt water at night because of that same reason. and water more depending on how big they are. if they are about a foot an half or more water about 2 gallons. what i so is let the water hose fill the pot up. or get a long stick or something long and straight and stick it in the soil as far as it will go then pull it out. and if it is dry water more slower that way it will have more time to soak in to the bottom. alos stick more holes around the soil to help drain to bottom.
Reply:I have been gardening for many years, you must give enough water and food, but one very important thing, you must keep the roots cool, use mulch old grass clippings around the plants, help keep the soil moist and cool, that is about all you need. one gallon is not enough because the water evaporates and spreads out into the surrounding soil, that is if you have them in a garden instead of pots, if it is in pots, that is enough water, you have to keep the roots cool. Don't cover them.
Reply:I'm not really sure here, but try watering them in the morning, before it heats up. I do that to my tomato plants. It's been in the hundred's here too. They aren't the in best shape, but wow are they producing tomatoes! They aren't drooping too much either. I wouldn't cover them, I think that would trap more heat it.
Reply:Try planting them in miracle grow and resoiling them every three to six months and buy some ortho bug be gone to get rid of pesky insects that attack your plants.
Reply:Stakes.
Reply:shred news papers and add about three inches around the plants this holds the moisture in and stops weeds aman in tennesee grows an entire mulch bed garden in shredded newsprint and feritlizers kept damp daily
Reply:I suggest ICE CUBES in the morning. When they melt, they turn into the water that everyone else is suggesting - but while frozen, they provide the lil' TREAT the plants so richly deserve.
Reply:Water early every morning. Fertilize (should have been done in early July) with a high potash (potassium) fertilizer like tomato-tone.
Reply:more h20
Reply:Water it?? Obviously...
Reply:when the sun is too much, i throw a white sheet over my veggie plants after noon. make sure the sheet doesn't crush the plants. make sure you have about 3-4 in of mulch around the plants. in theory, that should be enough water. try covering them. you could also try more water- but be careful- tomatoes don't like wet feet. good luck!!
Reply:water them after the sun goes down, and water them well.
Reply:I would say defiantly give them difused lite with temps really high i.e. 90 and up and if can mist them, but dont over water misting helps keep the temps down to a more adequte envirement.
Reply:In your heat wave water them at night and be sure they are on stakes , the heat wave is suppose to end soon , good luck

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