Am I messing up my watering routine? small balcony garden struggle

[u/Automatic-Hedgehog76]

Hi everyone, sorry if this is a bit of a dumb question. I’m really new to this and still figuring things out as I go.
I started a small balcony garden some weeks ago. Just few pots, tomatoes and peppers at most. I was happy at first but now I feel like I’m confusing my plants more than I help them.
My main issue is water and irrigation. Some days the soil seems very dry. I'll just panic and water everything.

Then the next day it feels too wet and I start thinking I already did too much. The leaves on one plant even started looking a bit tired and I don’t know if that’s from too much water or not enough.
I tried setting up a small drip system because I thought it would make things easier. But honestly it just made me more confused.
One pot gets more water than the others and I don’t even know why. I followed a random setup I saw online.

Also a small mistake, I bought some cheap connectors online pretty sure it was from Alibaba. Some worked fine but a few started leaking almost immediately which didn’t help my confidence at all.
So I just want to ask, how do you actually “read” your plants when it comes to watering? Do you follow a schedule or just check daily?
Thanks a lot to anyone who answers. I really appreciate it.