A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Too much or not enough Water? Again......

I know this is an never ending question but I can't figure out if this is too much water or not enough. They tend to pick up a little but not fully during the night but as soon as the sun hits them, down they go. These two are one Early Girl and the other a Red Beefsteak which both already have small fruit on them.

I've been reading and looking at pics of Bacterial Wilt I'm thinking maybe this is what this is. It says to cut off a stem and if a white milky substance comes out, it's infected, if it's brown it's OK. I did this and nothing comes out, the stem is solid green with nothing coming out of it. I also checked the moisture with one of those meters and it is really wet so maybe I need to let it dry out for a dew days and see what happens. Any thoughts, anyone?

Well IMO. Sometimes it is hard to tell over watering to underwatering. Are you planting in pots, a raised bed Or a conventional garden.
Perhaps try what one might do in a potted plant...stick your finger down into the dirt. If it is dry say to your first knuckle, water. ( I usually give about 1 gallon per plant). If not do not water . Try that and see if there is an improvement.

These are in a raised bed. I did test with a meter and it said it was really wet but I'll try the finger test and see what that tells me. You said you water 1 gallon per plant, how often do you do that?

I water it when it is dryish...and that depends on the weather. But try checking every other day. You may be able to water every 3 days...right now, ( it is spring here)

Keep us posted.

I'll keep checking and let you know when it dries up enough to water again, so far this will be 3 days without watering and the soil is still soaked.

Yes, it sounds as if you were over watering. I have a raised bed, and with mine, the top looks dry but if I check, the dirt down a bit is wet. But do keep checking. To dry is not good either. What does your meter say.