Raised Bed Garden

[raydawg]

Here is my 8 x 10 raised bed garden. I filled it with four truck loads of leaf mold. The awesome thing about the leaf mold is it is mostly black and crumbly with small bits of leaves mixed in. I planted on April 22 and have not had to water yet. The bed is actually only about half full, due to settling after a couple of rains. This fall I plan on making a second one and filling this one up higher. There are 12 plants in rows of two and three alternating. Next year I will reduce it to just 10. Too freakin crowded... and may reduce it more after I build another bed. So far I have about a dozen small maters on the plants. They are:
Early Girl
Paul Robeson
Better Boy
Eva Purple Ball
Black Krim
Aunt Gertie's German Green
Cherokee Purple
1884
Chapman
OTV Brandywine
Mortgage Lifter
Brandywine(Sudduth's)

On the side of the house I have six more from the group listed above, that I just had to find a place for. They are planted in red Georgia clay. I will be ####ed if they out perform my leaf mold pampered main crop.


I also have six on my deck in large tree planters from a nursery. They are two brandyboys on the left two dwarfs from the projects...that sounds funny, and two more brandyboys on the right. They are in MG potting mix with moisture control. That gives me 24 for this year.

The pics of small maters are three Paul Robeson

[tomatoguy]

"They are two brandyboys on the left two dwarfs from the projects"

I would definitely keep an eye out for gang related graffiti.

mater

[Earl]

Nice looking setup, but I think you've got too many plants in the bed. Gonna be a jungle in there. I've grown several of them and they get big, tall and bushy.

[raydawg]

Earl,
As they say I think I'm putting five pounds in a two pound bag. They are just four feet tall right now and you're right it's a jungle. What I want to know is why didn't you tell me this when I planted out?

It makes me shake my head seeing posts warning of spacing, and I squeeze them in anyway...kinda like when your waiter says the plate is hot and you touch it anyway...and say ouch thats hot...

[raydawg]

Here are some newer pics. These are about a week old, and the plants are now touching the tops of the wooden stakes. All twelve plants are loading up the fruit, but I still haven't picked any yet.