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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on May 2, 2008 9:38:35 GMT -5
Using a new tool that makes raised beds so easy to make....I've made some more and am going to plant my tomatos in there. I'm wandering how closely can I plant the plants?
Any help is appreciated!
Patrick
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Post by johno on May 2, 2008 9:45:59 GMT -5
I tried planting them as close as 30" apart, and it wasn't far enough. They really need about 36" (or more) to get good air circulation, which helps prevent disease. That being said, there are people who plant them as close as 2'...
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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on May 2, 2008 10:32:16 GMT -5
Hmm, thanks John.
I was gonna plant some today, but its thundering and going to rain, it actually did rain on me some, that's why I came back in. Now it stopped again.....one of THOSE days.
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Post by Alan on May 6, 2008 15:43:05 GMT -5
I have those days a lot buddy! I would definetly go with about 36" spacing friend.
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Post by peppereater on May 6, 2008 21:28:56 GMT -5
From my limited experience, 2 plants spaced 36 inches are more productive than 3 at 24 or 30, hope this is helpful.
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Post by grunt on May 7, 2008 1:52:53 GMT -5
I think a lot of it depends on your particular climate. My default plant spacing is 18", and a good percentage of my plants went in on 12" spacings one year (autopilot, don't ask). I didn't notice any reduction in quantity, and am still blessed with not knowing from personal experience what a tomato disease looks like. I live on the edge of the flats at the bottom of a valley at about 2600' elevation, just north of the 49th parallel. Summers are hot and dry, with cool evenings. Statistics say we get an average of 1-1 1/2" of rain a month in the summer, but I haven't seen that much yet, more like 1/4"-1/2" on average, with some years (like the last two) having none at all from June 1st through to the end of August. We fortunately have unlimited water, and use drip irrigation only. I think the combination of dry, with cool nights is the main reason we don't have any disease problems. I probably couldn't get away with my close planting if we had either, warm nights, or humid conditions. My take on it anyway. Cheers Dan  |
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Post by giardiniere on May 7, 2008 20:15:14 GMT -5
I'm really somewhat new to raised bed gardens. I do have one this year, in addition to my main garden site. I have five plants in a 4' x 10' bed. The plants are one foot from the end and spaced every two feet. I also planted some radishes and onions along the edge, since I figure they'll be harvested fairly soon.
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Post by Alan on May 7, 2008 21:37:11 GMT -5
I'm doing everything but corn in raised ridges this year, so far so good. I bought a disc hiller from Agri Supply Company that I'm very happy with, does an excellent job. In between rows I'm gonna be laying out waste newspaper rolls and straw for mulch. Will report back on results.
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Post by giardiniere on May 8, 2008 8:26:39 GMT -5
I'm doing everything but corn in raised ridges this year, so far so good. I bought a disc hiller from Agri Supply Company that I'm very happy with, does an excellent job. In between rows I'm gonna be laying out waste newspaper rolls and straw for mulch. Will report back on results. I did something similar to that for my tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini this year. I hauled in about 12 P.U. truck loads of composted leaves and grass clippings and made raised ridges... or beds in the garden. I mostly did this because my garden has a drainage problem. As I look out this morning... after 4" of rain yesterday.. areas between the rows have some standing water, but where everything is planted, it's looking good. |
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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on May 8, 2008 9:34:26 GMT -5
I got this on another board, it makes nice looking raised beds.
<html>http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/56139-tiller-mod.html</html>
I've built my beds more permanent, surrounding them with boards to keep them there.
And it is just too wet right now to work in the garden.
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Post by americangardener on May 8, 2008 9:52:14 GMT -5
My entire garden is raised rows. I gotta do it that way cause it floods so much in the spring, if i didn't have raised rows everything would be under about 5 inches of water till around mid june.
All i do is hand dig the entire garden.. make my rows two spade widths wide (aprox 18" or so) and on each side of the rows dig it out and turn the dirt onto the row section. Makes for lots of irrigation ditches inbetween rows, and i gotta wear boots most of the year, and it's like working a rice paddy or something.. but it works great for the tomatoes. Makes it easy to water em too.. at least till the ditches dry up.
I guess i'm even worse than grunt when it comes to spacing. I plant mine in double rows in my one 18 inch or so wide raised row, one row on each edge; and i stager my rows so that none are directly in front of the other... usually about half the distance of my plant spacing. Which i'm probably the only one here who plants em as close as 6 inches apart sometimes when i'm running outta space. I haven't noticed any that were real poor on production though.. only problem i get is the diseases from being too close. But maybe it's because i make my planting holes 3-4 ft deep where i plant em. I just use a piece of heavy rebar and push it down as far as i can and wiggle me out a hole about 3-4 inches wide to plant my transplants. So maybe that's why i can get away with planting em closer.. my tomatoes roots go down rather than out. I pulled some out last year where just the main tap root alone was over two ft long. It works for me in this heavy clay soil. But then again i wouldn't suggest spacing em that close if you don't have too!
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Post by kctomato on May 9, 2008 10:35:43 GMT -5
Using a new tool that makes raised beds so easy to make....I've made some more and am going to plant my tomatos in there. I'm wandering how closely can I plant the plants? Any help is appreciated! Patrick
what is the new tool you are using?
btw I plant Florida weave stuff on 18" centers and caged items 24-30" depending on variety BUT I have 6ft between the rows |
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Post by jtcm05 on May 9, 2008 11:01:47 GMT -5
I guess it would depend on if you are growing indeterminate plants or not. My tomato garden is all raised beds. 4'x12' each. I plant 10 caged indet plants per bed and it works out great. May be better with 8, but I dont have the room to try that.
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Post by hoosierheightsfarm on May 9, 2008 23:15:38 GMT -5
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Post by canadamike on May 10, 2008 1:52:10 GMT -5
In 22 years, I have not used raised beds only once, and deeply regretted it, You don't need borders for raised beds. The most efficient and space saving are the convex ones, also the cheapest. The bottoms of the ''hills'' by the walkways are my favorite spot for extra green onions, radishes, lettuces ( not tcebergs or romaine though, too big) the gazillion leftover seeds in small herbs packets, like basil ( if picked) thyme, oregano ( a false perennial, it looses potency with years) beneficial flowers, sometimes dwarf beans depending where, and anything that is not too roomy and/or asks for re-seeding.
The roots protect the ''hills'' from erosion and my shoes don't really need the space anyway. It is amazing what amount of production is lost to these little places, anybody having had to practice square foot gardening will know that. It is like a compulsive disorder, I just can't let go that space, even now that I have lots...
KC, i will try the Florida weaving for the first time this year. What rope of twine do you recommend? Sure looks cheaper than all the new cages I would have to build...
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