Need some advice...tomato ring attempt.

[heirloomdaddy]

Hey guys-

This is my first-non introduction post, and I'm looking forward to getting some inside scoop. Please chime-in if you have an opinion.

I'm doing the bulk of my planting this season in a proper garden/raised bed situation, a few miles from my home....about 20 plants or so.

As far as the planting at home is concerned, it's a little more tricky. We have tons of shade and bad soil. The best spot, in terms of sunlight, is all concrete...however my lady doesn't want grow bags or pots everywhere.

I've decided to try a tomato ring. I've built a 4x4 bed, 18 inches high, and will be putting a cage filled with compost, soil, and organic supplements in the middle of the bed. It will be roughly 5 feet tall and 3 feet across.

This is what I would like y'alls input on-

I have decided to go with determinates for this application, as I'm hoping to get a few more plants into the box/around the ring, and keep it from becoming hectic. At first I was planning on one plant per corner of the bed...Do you guys think that's pushing the limit? Part of me thinks that I could maybe even fit 3 plants per side, a total of 8 determinates in 16 sq. ft. Is this nuts?

I'll try to get some basil and marigolds in between the toms as well. Any thoughts on this plan would be enormously helpful. As i've only done traditional beds before, I'm a little nervous that this is gonna bite me in the *ss.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

[durable_now]

Is this the same as the much touted Japanese tomato ring from a few years back? If it is then my try at the Japanese ring was less than succesful.Not quiet the yield as the same variety as regular planted but a lot more work.

[brog]

My thinking is that one at each conner is all that will grow with any success in a 4x4 area. GOOD LUCk Bill

[heirloomdaddy]

Thanks for the input Bill. I think you're right... 4 is as much as I should fit in there while still expecting health and production. And yes, this is the "japanese" tomato ring....It's not an ideal situation, but It's a great solution for limited space and concrete. Will keep you guys updated.

[TomatoDon]

I think we had a thread on this a long time ago. I'm sure it's there somewhere if you do a search.

But isn't five feet tall a little too much? How will you even pick the tomatoes? Or did I miss something there on your dimensions?

[brog]

I think he refered to hight of plants.

[habitat_gardener]

I put together one of those early one year, but after I'd filled it halfway, decided it'd be too much work to maintain. I'd made something similar for growing strawberries and found that as the compost settled over the season, the level dropped a lot. So it seemed like it would be too much work to maintain the middle portion, and the tomatoes would not have enough space to spread out.

[amideutch]

I did a little google diving yesterday concerning the "Ring Culture" and there seems to be two types. One where they cut the bottom off of 1 gallon plastic pots and insert the pots into bagged potting soil or in a raise bed and plant the seedlings in the pots which are sticking out of the bag/ground.
Here is a link to the other one Matt is talking about. Ami

http://www.santarosa.fl.gov/extensio...tomatoring.gif