How Dry is "Dry Farming"?

I've heard about how dry farming makes tomatoes and other fruits taste better. Yet I'm not sure how dry it should be. Because our coastal Mediterranean climate means our summers are dry, I assume some amount of irrigation is needed. Are there any California coastal residents who've got experience dry farming and can offer some guidelines?

I water my tomato when it starts to wilt. When I first put the plant in the ground, I dig a real deep hole and bury all but about 2" of the plant. New roots form from the stalk. I have 1 cherry tomato (can't find the tag any more) that is about 6' tall and 10' across. I have been taking off about 15 - 20 lbs a week for the last month. South facing wall, so it get really good sun.

Ah, if only I got the heat you do down there. Well, I live up here for a reason. It's the eternal conflict - my favorite fruits like hotter weather than I do!

I didn't realize that we were more than a couple of degrees apart. I think the main difference may be maturity of trees around you. Beserkley has far more big ol' trees than we do in our newer suburbia. Your problem may be more a matter of light, rather than heat.

I have good light where I've got the tomatoes. Nothing blocking them until way late in the day. No, I'm in a microclimate. It's very windy here and the prevailing winds usually come from the direction of the Golden Gate. So it blows the fog straight through here. Tomatoes often succumb to fungal diseases of one sort or another here. Even when they don't, there's a difference in taste between a tomato that was grown somewhere that gets real heat and here. We get very hot days when the Bay Area gets a heat wave, but that's inconsistent.

That said, there are areas of Berkeley that are more sheltered from the wind and that are slightly hotter microclimates.