My Garden Plans

[Too Tall Toms]

Since there's no gardening to do, I thought I'd lay out plans for next year's tomato garden.

I'm looking at having 6 varieties and 2 of each for a total of 12 plants. I haven't figured out which varieties I want(there's too many to pick from!!) but I know I want all indeterminate.

Everywhere I read, I get different answers to plant spacing. I thought I would have three raised beds at 6ft x 4ft and 12 inches deep. I think I would be able to comfortably fit 4 in each bed.

As far as supports go, I am looking at all of the options out there. I'm thinking that maybe I'll attach a trellis setup to each bed.....that way there's less of a chance of the support toppling over. Either that or maybe one of those collapsible "cages" I've seen ( I forget where though)

Would 4 indeterminate tomatoes fit into each of those beds?

Here's a simple drawing I did. There's going to be about 2 ft of space between each bed

[cornbreadlouie]

8 plants per bed. Unless you're going to plant some other stuff around the tomatoes.

[Too Tall Toms]

Originally Posted by cornbreadlouie

8 plants per bed. Unless you're going to plant some other stuff around the tomatoes.

I was figuring 4 plants per bed and giving myself room to potentially have monster plants.

Maybe I should assume my plants won't get that big.

too tall,

I have eight foot long beds with some three feet wide and some four feet wide. I plant 75 onions in the front twelve inches of each bed. I plant four or six squash plants behind the onions. I plant two each of four varieties of tomato on the tomato trellis. I plant lettuce, or radish, or Swiss Chard in the twelve inches behind the tomato plants. Since I plant the onions in January, they are about three inches in diameter when the squash plants over shade them in April or May. I had many onions over six inches in diameter when I pulled them this past summer. The tomato plants grow tall so they get plenty of sun after being planted in March. The leafy vegetables behind the tomatoes appreciate the shade of the tomatoes and perform later into the hot summer than they would without the shade. My tomato plants grow tall and bushy on the trellis. I grow a lot of stuff in each eight foot bed. My beds are very, very crowded but since we have low summer humidity, the crowding doesn't seem to be a problem.

If I plan on saving seed from a tomato plant, I only save from the first fruit set to prevent cross pollinated seed. Normally the first fruit set occurs before pollinators like bees or high winds start in the spring. Cross pollination is one disadvantage of planting tomatoes crowded.

Ted

[Too Tall Toms]

I originally was thinking that I would plant other veggies in addition to the tomato plants but then I started thinking that I REALLY would like to put all of my efforts into tomatoes.
Ultimately I would love to have monster tomato plants, but now I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't set my heights so high. If I could get 8ft tall plants I should be happy with that.
I could at least experiment with companion planting. I know that marigolds around a veggie garden helps keep some bugs away and I think basil is supposed to do the same thing.

I don't know.....It's not like I have to have this all figured out by next week. I do have until next spring

[Alpinejs]

If you are going to be restricted to six varieties, these would be my choices.....

l. Brandywine Sudduth.....fabulous flavor of which everyone deserves a taste. There are
better producers, however.
2.Cherokee Green........ Another of fabulous flavor. Don't let the "green when ripe"
discourage you. It will become a "must plant" for you.
3.Kosovo...... A heavy producer of large meaty "heart" type (Carolyn Male's
favorite class). Again, great flavor.
4.Indian Stripe.............. If you haven't experienced dark varieties, you should. I think this
one rates the top spot due to flavor and production.
5.Mariana's Peace........ After Sudduth and CG, this one is my favorite for flavor. A large
terrific 'mater.
6. Cherry tomatoes..... Were it me, I would go for one each of Sungold f1 and Black
Cherry. They are different but both great. The next year, I would
substitute Green Doctors for one of these two.

If you do expand, there are soooo many to recommend. Aunt Gerties Gold, KBX, Black
Krim, Cherokee Purple, Green Giant. But for now, I think the above 6-7 will give you
fabulous flavor, great variety and a reference point for future planning. Good luck on
whatever choices you make. PM me if you need help on seeds.

[Too Tall Toms]

Thanks for the tomato plant suggestions.

If I had a bigger yard, I would love to grow more than six varieties. Again, it's not like I have to have everything figured out next week, so.....I might figure that I do have enough room for more plants.
These are the plants I was thinking of....

1) Brandywine Red.....because they are better producers than other Brandywines
2) Mortgage Lifter.......it looks like it would be a great tomato, and I think the name is funny.
3 Wapsipinicon Peach......I read about Garden Peach and that got some really good reviews but this one got better reviews. The light fuzziness on these tomatoes seems very interesting.
4) Omar's Lebanese......according to the book by Carolyn Male, this one can get upwards of 3-4 pounds.
5) Either Bloody Butcher or Eva Purple Ball.
6) Either Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, or some other black tomato....Indian Stripe maybe?

I grew Black Krim and Cherokee Purple, but that was a while ago when I thought all you did was stick a tomato plant in a hole, watered and fertilized, and hoped for the best. Things are different with me now.

Actually I have also been thinking of getting 3 of those upside down tomato planters(a local department store has them on closeout for 2 bucks each) and using them for some determinate tomatoes. I haven't looked at many determinate varieties yet so I haven't decided on what varieties of those to get.

I also had Black Cherry a few years ago and I thought they were great. I've been hearing a lot about Sungold and it sounds really good.

Saturday it's supposed to be pretty nice outside and I will take a picture of the are of my yard where I'm growing my tomato plants.

I have a lot of seed companies in my favorites folder and I'm thinking that I want to place orders right before Christmas. Tomatofest.com seems to have a great selection.
I don't have the time, patience, or space to grow tomato plants from seed so I asked a local farmer who sells all sorts of veggies, and veggie plants if they would be willing to grow tomato seeds that I give them. She happily said yes.

With 2 of each of the six varieties, plus maybe 3 in those tomato planters, and one other determinate in a pot that I have in the shed, I will have a total 16 plants. Pretty crazy huh? LOL

Do you have any suggestions for determinate varieties? Or at least indeterminate varieties that could grow(without getting too huge) in the 3 upside down planters and one pot?

Thanks!

I strongly suggest growing some of the new dwarf varieties discussed on this forum. They are great producers of high quality, full sized tomatoes. The determinate to semi determinate plants are also very attractive with their rugose foliage and they seem to produce their fruit beneath the foliage, close to the main stem. Their size is perfect for growing in pots if you don't have enough bed space. I may try growing a few in beds next spring, but I think most people including me, have only grown them in pots.

I can't recommend anything but some small cherry varieties for growing in the upside down planters currently available. Most of the upside down planters I have seen don't hold enough soil for a large plant to thrive. A few people have complained about the thin plastic they are made of failing from the strong sun light in the middle of the first growing season. They may work great, but I haven't heard many good reports.

Ted

[dipchip2000]

I agree completely with Ted on the upside down planters. Dont waste your money. Because plants grow up seeking light, they will turn up and grow and when they get heavy with fruit will bend down and break off ruining the plant and fruit.
What I have found that works great for smaller plants like cherry tomatos is as follows
Use a plastic 5 gallon sturdy bucket.
Cut 3 holes around the sides close to the bottom equidistant from each other. Make the holes about 3inches across in an arc using the flat bottom of the bucket as the diameter.
Place the Tomato plant on its side with the roots and a couple of inches of stem into the hole. do this in all three holes with with 2 more plants. You can use all one variety or 3 different varieties. I like to use Sungold, BlackCherry,and Rose Quartz.
With bucket sitting on the ground with all three holes filled with plants, gently fill bucket about 3/4 full of good potting mix.
Water the plants from top of bucket about a gallon til water runs out the holes.
Hang bucket from sturdy hook in good sunny location
Water twice weekly till water drips from holes
I water every other time with liquid fertilizer
This will produce more cherry tomatoes than you can consume

Works for me

ron

One full sized variety which may perform well in an up side down five gallon bucket is "Bush Goliath" hybrid. I grew them a couple of years ago in beds thinking I would stake them up. It's almost impossible to stake them. They insist on growing down instead of up. They are great producers of full sized tomatoes which taste very nice. They seem to have a lot of disease resistance and are impervious to the high summer heat. I planted mine in beds in mid July when the temps were over ninety degrees F. I planted them to replace other plants which had died from the heat. They grew quickly and produced tomatoes while the other plants were waiting for cool weather to arrive before blooming again. I'm growing some next year in cages thinking I can force them to grow up instead of down. If you don't want your beds completely covered with large tomato plants, don't plant Bush Goliath.

Ted

[dipchip2000]

Taryn

I cut the holes with a drill bit designed to cut on the shaft of the bit rather than the tip.Lowes has them for about 3 bucks. You could also use a jig saw after starting a hole with an electric drill with an 1/4 in bit. A keyhole saw might work if the teeth are real close together to cut the plastic. I also think an electric soldering iron could be used to melt a hole in a semicircle fashion. Keep in mind that it doesnt have to be pretty to work. I know for certain that razor blades or utility knife do not work well. Be careful whatever you use and it helps greatly to have someone else hold the bucket firmly while you cut the holes. Do not leave a sharp edge on the bottom of the hole as it will cut into the vine as it grows and hangs down from the bucket. I have three of these hanging on my patio and they are perfect for growing cherry tomstoes. I just dump them every year and mix new soil to start each season and have been using the same buckets for 3 years. It works better and last much longer than the store bought upside down planters. Hope this helps

ron

[Too Tall Toms]

Originally Posted by dipchip2000

I agree completely with Ted on the upside down planters. Dont waste your money. Because plants grow up seeking light, they will turn up and grow and when they get heavy with fruit will bend down and break off ruining the plant and fruit.
What I have found that works great for smaller plants like cherry tomatos is as follows
Use a plastic 5 gallon sturdy bucket.
Cut 3 holes around the sides close to the bottom equidistant from each other. Make the holes about 3inches across in an arc using the flat bottom of the bucket as the diameter.
Place the Tomato plant on its side with the roots and a couple of inches of stem into the hole. do this in all three holes with with 2 more plants. You can use all one variety or 3 different varieties. I like to use Sungold, BlackCherry,and Rose Quartz.
With bucket sitting on the ground with all three holes filled with plants, gently fill bucket about 3/4 full of good potting mix.
Water the plants from top of bucket about a gallon til water runs out the holes.
Hang bucket from sturdy hook in good sunny location
Water twice weekly till water drips from holes
I water every other time with liquid fertilizer
This will produce more cherry tomatoes than you can consume

Works for me

ron

Hey....can you show me a picture of this?? I'm having trouble visualizing this bucket.

[tgplp]

Wow, Ron, good idea. How did you cut the holes? I'm gonna try that next year- my mom and sister love cherry tomatoes.

Too Tall Toms, you should definitely have Sun Gold in your garden next year! It's deliciously sweet and a heavy producer. I also grew Chocolate Cherry last year, and loved it. I heard Black Cherry is even better, so I'll try it next year instead. Another cherry I loved was Supersweet 100. It was perfectly sweet and acidic in my climate! Yum it was so good. In fact, maybe I will grow these three types in Ron's bucket-hanger idea. If you want a salad type/conversation peice, Green Zebra is beautiful and tastes unique.

Taryn

[Dutch]

I use selving contact paper on my buckets and they last for years.

[Alpinejs]

Ted....I get my buckets (5 gal.) from two oriental restraunts. They get soy
sauce in them and amazingly, I get about two pails per week from each
and have gotten about 45 buckets so far. I gave them some tomato
seedlings last spring. I need them as I do all my Canada gardening on
floating docks in the lagoon. I have no unshaded areas on land due to tall
pine trees.