My Little Tomato Orchard

[vermiit]

Here's my thinking :

For too many years, I dig beds and overcrowd them with tomatoes. I have tomato plants falling over, cages and all. I can no longer tell what tomato came from which plant. I can't keep ahead of the bermuda grass, the 110+ weather keeps me inside. I'm bad about watering.

So this year I'm planting it like an orchard. No sticking 'extra' tomato plants because I see dirt. Lots of space around the cages. Easy to keep little circles around the tomato weed free. Weedwack the rest down and make it grass. No more $2.99 feeble tomato cages from the hardware store. I'll know exactly where to water, instead of somewhere under a mass of tomato vines.



So am I crazy??

[Leroy]

It looks like a good plan to me.

[bryanccfshr]

Looks good. If you get tired of weeding you can always try some landscape edging or a tire or even making a small 30" square raised bed for each tomato plant. Of corse with the method you laid out you can move your garden around each year. I think as long as you keep the weeds and grass back till the tomatoes get large they will throw enough of a shadow to then shade out the grass. You can also stick a 2" diameter PVC pipe(perforated by your handywork with a drill of course) at a 45 degree angle so you can water the tomato plants with a hose and not the grass.

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by vermiit

Here's my thinking :----------------So am I crazy??

Wishful thinking and yes, you are crazy. You will be doing the same thing again soon.

(That's what happens to me all the time )

[vermiit]

Busted! I've already added 2 more plants to my 'plans' ...it's hopeless!

[Earl]

If you had 4 by 16 feet raised beds and use those cages offsetting them 4 one side 3 the other you can get 7 indeterminate plants in one bed. To water just walk down the row with open ended hose and water each plant for about a minute. You should be able to get 3 rows into that area which equals 21 one plants. More if you get rid of those flowers. :-)

[vermiit]

Alas, all are mostly potentially huge indeterminate heirlooms. I'm also planting each tom with a basil inside there, and plan to grow 4 or 5 beans along the West side of each cage to provide some relief from the blistering sun as summer comes full blast. Should look interesting, to say the least. I have too much fun gardening...