QAGuy's Garden 7 22 07

[QAGuy]

Here's where all those tomatoes I've been posting pictures of
come from. It's small, but I make the most of it.

Size is around 40 feet long and about 9 ft wide. I use my PVC
cage design to maximize the space. The cages are 7 feet tall.
Each bed is about 3 feet and 3 feet of walkway between
them.

It's brand new this year, but I've had the portion along
the fence for 2 full years now.

Most of the plants have done very well, but I lost two to
Timber Rot. One was Brandywine, the other Momotaro.

I've been growing tomatoes for a few years now, starting in big
pots for a while since there was no place for a real garden.


Then we moved to a place with a small side yard only about
6 feet across with a concrete walkway and only 2 feet of dirt
on each side in which to grow.

After yet another move, I've finally gotten a 'real' garden. I had that
fence put up this year and I'm loving my new garden area.
It's exactly as I planned it. It's working out great!

[Vince]

Really nice utilization of space, and beautiful plants. Mine are about 85% pulled already and the fresh fall transplants nearly ready to go in. I still can't believe you use no atifungals especially with the plants so close. Cheers, and good growing.

Vince

[Hilde]

That is a really nice set-up and gorgeous plants, so large and so incredibly productive! Thank you so much for sharing the pictures!

How do you like your pvc cages? I am thinking about getting cages next year, maybe use them in addition to the cattle panels I currently use. I want Texas tomato cages, but they are quite pricey.

Hilde

[bbjm]

Amazing pictures. I'd be interested if you use a special soil mix. Also, what and how often do you feed. Those are some big productive plants and I'd like to know your secret. Link me if you've already posted that info.

Thanks.

Bret

[QAGuy]

hilde - I love my PVC cages. They're my idea after all. They do cost
a bit though. About as much as the Texas Tomato Cages. But
they're stronger. One GW tomato board member used my PVC
design, TTC's and one other design and had the remnants of
a hurricane come through. My design stood up better than the
others.

One thing though, if you use the PVC, you can buy the parts in
increments. Get enough for the first tier, later the second tier
and then the third tier. Spreads out the cost that way.

You can go here http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/tom_pvc/
to see the write-up I've put together. Feldon hosts it for me.

bbjm - soil is native SoCal adobe (which is basically a sandy clay) with
Kellog's AMEND (humus and composted rice hulls), lots of grass clippings
(first as mulch and then dug in at the end of the year) and lots of coffee grounds.

Didn't feed all that much this year, used Miracle Grow for tomatoes
about once a month.

[pbud]

Wow!! Impressive set up and plants. What's the super productive, middle bottom row?

Hilde, lots of folks here also make cages out of concrete reinforcing wire, which is cheaper and quite sturdy.

Paul

[QAGuy]

pbud - that's Tigerella. It was tagged as Mr Stripey, but our
resident expert, Carolyn correctly ID'd them as Tigerella.

[BigdaddyJ]

Very Nice Work!

[amideutch]

QAGuy, They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In your case a thousand tomatoes. Awesome plants that look like they be on steroids. Nice work and you definately have the right ingredients for a bountiful tomato patch. Ami