QUESTION: Should I water the leaves of my tomato plants?
ANSWER: Do not water the leaves of your tomato plants, and be especially careful to avoid splashing water droplets onto their foliage when the sun is hot. Instead, water your tomato plants at the base, in a circle around the stem of the plant. If water gets onto the leaves of your plants when it’s the hottest part of the day, the sun can heat the water until it burns and damages your plants.
On the other hand, getting the foliage wet during cooler times of day could contribute to fungal disease. That’s why we recommend only watering the base of your plants, and by watering around the stem instead of directly on it, you encourage the expansion of your tomato plants’ root systems.
Tomatoes also get rained on so their leaves naturally get wet. I don’t understand why tomato plants would not tolerate watering on their leaves then. The reasoning that it causes fungal diseases doesn’t make sense given they get rained on!
Im with you. I can see that you don’t wanna wet them in the midday sun but why not early morning or evening time when the sun is low? How about on cloudy and/or overcast days…is it okay for the leaves to get wet at those times?