Debate: Bottom watering vs top watering - which actually works better for balcony tomatoes?

Used to top water everything for years until I switched to bottom watering trays last spring and my cherry tomatoes stopped getting leaf spot, but now my rosemary is struggling with soggy roots - am I just doing it wrong or is bottom watering overhyped?

2 comments

2 Comments

eva_hayes12d ago

Gasped out loud when I read about your rosemary drowning in bottom watering trays - I killed three rosemary plants last year exactly the same way before I realized they hate having wet feet. Those herbs from the Mediterranean want to be bone dry between drinks not soaking in a tray like a tomato plant. Bottom watering is brilliant for things like peppers and basil that get leaf spot easy but rosemary and lavender just rot out from underneath. I do half and half now with my balcony garden - bottom water the tomatoes and squash but top water the herbs from the side so the stems stay dry.

harper_singh1812d ago

Bottom watering gets all the hype but @eva_hayes you're totally right that it's not a one size fits all thing. My rosemary sits in a clay pot with extra perlite mixed in and I just water it from the top real slow, letting it run out the bottom instead of sitting in a tray. The leaf spot on tomatoes is real though - I had issues until I switched to bottom trays for those and my basil, but the herbs get their own special treatment.