Have a great invention to help with gardening? Are you the self-reliant type that prefers Building It Yourself vs. buying it? Share and discuss your ideas and projects with other members.
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
May 3, 2009 | #1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 208
|
Building a Raised Tomato Bed
What are your thoughts on building a Raised Bed just for Tomatoes?
I have 3 other raised beds now. 2 for Garlic and the other will be for herbs. The 2 Garlic beds are made from treated 2X8's (I know treated lumber can cause problems, but It works for me.) I plan to do the same thing with the tomato beds. Last edited by Amigatec; May 3, 2009 at 11:09 AM. |
May 3, 2009 | #2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 208
|
The space I have layed out will be 40 feet long.
|
May 3, 2009 | #3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Tulsa, OK
Posts: 157
|
A few years ago, when I lived somewhere else, I had four 2x12 raised beds for tomatoes and it worked great. The area that they were in had really horrible rocky soil. The plants all looked really good and made really good maters. It sounds like a good idea to me.
__________________
Kevin without violins."- Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking
"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet |
May 3, 2009 | #4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
|
If you have good soil as it looks like you do, I wouldnt waste my time.
An option would be to put a border around the garden and just add compost to it every year. The reason I say this is because in my area a raised bed invites root growth from the trees and once the roots are in the beds the only option is to romove the beds and get rid of the roots. I cant even set a planter on the ground without out the roots from the elms growing into it. If you do, put something down first to stop the outside roots. Worth |
May 3, 2009 | #5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 208
|
Here is the area where I want to place it. It is a low spot and grows really thick grass and weeds.
Last edited by Amigatec; May 3, 2009 at 03:01 PM. |
May 3, 2009 | #6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Kansas CIty
Posts: 560
|
Nice greenhouse...is that the Harbor Freight kit?
As for raised beds...I've almost got my entire garden turned into raised beds now. Some are 10 foot long, some are 14 and some are 16 foot. My paths are covered in landscape fabric and a layer of mulch...I refresh the mulch a little each year. I haven't fired my mantis tiller up once this year. The only time I plan on using it is for the remaining section of the garden I still have in the ground and walk on. All of the beds have amazing soil...a huge worm population, light, fluffy, very fertile soil. All I do is remove the mulch, run a rake over it and I'm ready to plant. Having as many beds as I do makes it easy to rotate crops from year to year. Beds are dedicated to a particular group of plants each year and I never have to plant the same thing in the same bed from year to year. They are a lot of work to install and fill, but once they are established...they are extremely low maintenance and highly productive. The only changes I can see me making to them is to raise the height over the next few years...as I get older, it would be great not to have to bend over so far If I had that big patch of yours next to your greenhouse, I'd have it covered in 3-4 foot wide raised beds!
__________________
Kansas City, Missouri Zone 5b/6a |
May 3, 2009 | #7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Bloomington, IN
Posts: 123
|
I am another raised bed gardener. It is easier to improve the soil in raised beds & not walking in them keeps the soil from becoming compacted. I admit I am greedy for the growing space, though. My raised beds are 5 ft wide separated by 3 ft walkways. The width is at the upper limits for being able to reach comfortably into the middle of the bed from each side. Any narrower & I am fighting the various squash & melons constantly for growing into the aisles & sometimes they win!
Steve |
May 3, 2009 | #8 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 208
|
Yes it is the 10X12 version.
Quote:
That is my Giant Pumpkin patch. |
|
May 3, 2009 | #9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Austin, TX Zone 8b
Posts: 531
|
When I build my my raised beds I put down newspaper 20 pages thick then what ever bags of leaves I have then several inches thick of the peat moss water in real well then I buy all the broken bags of Garden soil and Garden Mix from Homer and Lowe's with several bags of Black Kow. This is one of my established beds of two years.
|
May 3, 2009 | #10 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Kansas CIty
Posts: 560
|
Robin...love that rock work! Eventually I'd like to do the same with the native limestone on my property...eventually.
As for filling them. I till the existing soil...it was grass at one point in the past. Then I cover with a layer of compost...I buy it by the yard from recycled yard waste...leaves, sticks, grass etc. Then I till it again to avoid a stratification layer. Then I fill the rest with a 8-1-1 ratio of compost/perlite/vermiculite.
__________________
Kansas City, Missouri Zone 5b/6a |
May 3, 2009 | #11 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Austin, TX Zone 8b
Posts: 531
|
Thanks huntoften. The reason I do what I do is it is weed and disease free.
|
May 4, 2009 | #12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Rock Hill, SC
Posts: 5,346
|
I love raised beds. I know they are not cheap to build unless you can get the materials recycled.
I would do multiple 12-16 foot long beds. I would not do a 40 foot bed or you'll drive yourself nuts having to walk around it to get to the other side.
__________________
[SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I] |
May 4, 2009 | #13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Abilene, TX zone 7
Posts: 1,478
|
Raised beds are great. I also like them, as you only have to concentrate your efforts and amendments in a small area, as opposed to one giant chunk that doesn't always grow stuff.
|
May 4, 2009 | #14 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 208
|
It would next to the fence, so a walk around to the other side would take several minutes.
|
May 4, 2009 | #15 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: austin, tx
Posts: 249
|
Quote:
|
|
|
|