Watering Pepper Plants

• 1). Turn on a garden hose until there is a small trickle of water coming out of it.
  
  
• 2). Place the end of the garden hose on the ground under the pepper plant with the water stream approximately 1 to 2 inches away from the plant. Watch the top of the soil to see if the water pools up and lower the water flow if necessary. The water should immediately seep into the soil.
  
  
• 3). Allow the water to run for at least five minutes. Stick your finger 4 inches into the soil under the pepper plant. If the soil is moist all the way to the bottom of your finger, stop watering and move to the next plant.
  
  
• 4). Repeat the watering each time the soil is dry to a 4-inch depth. During the summer months, pepper plants may require daily waterings.
  
  

Watering Tomato Plants

• 1). Stick a soil moisture meter into the soil directly beside the tomato plant. The device consists of a long metal rod which measures deep soil moisture.
  
  
• 2). Turn on a garden hose until a small trickle of water comes out. Place the end of the hose underneath the tomato plant and make sure that the water seeps into the soil instead of pooling. Reduce the water flow if needed. Water the ground under the tomato plant until it is moist to an 8 to 12-inch depth which may take between 30 minutes and one hour.
  
  
• 3). Look at the dial on the moisture meter and stop watering once it reaches the moist reading. The moisture meter only records the moisture at the lowest 1 inch of the metal rod.
  
  
• 4). Repeat the watering when the top of the soil feels dry to the touch. The tomato plant requires 3 to 5 gallons of water per week to thrive. It's best to water the tomatoes deeply once or twice per week rather than daily.