My balcony tomatoes kept dying until I stopped watering them on a schedule

Dylan Stone · 2026-10-12T18:10:04.384072+00:00

For two summers in a row I killed every tomato plant on my south facing balcony here in Austin. I was watering them every single morning, same amount, like clockwork, because that's what I thought you were supposed to do. The leaves would yellow, the fruit would split, and by August I'd have a sad pot of sticks. Last spring I got lazy during a work crunch and skipped three days of watering, and weirdly the plant looked better than it ever had. So I tried a dumb experiment, I stuck my finger about two inches into the soil first and only watered if it felt dry down there. Turned out I was drowning the roots, the top of the soil looked dry but underneath it was basically mud. This year I've got four cherry tomato plants going and I've picked about 40 tomatoes off them since June. I also drilled a few extra holes in the bottom of my pots which I think helped too. Has anyone else had luck with the finger test, or do you use one of those moisture meters instead?

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My balcony tomatoes kept dying until I stopped watering them on a schedule | Balcony Veggie Gardens - Librear