Growing tomatoes in a raised bed

[Walla2]

What is determinate and indeterminate mean?

[Texas by God]

And damn happy about it no doubt

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[Budzilla 19]

With all that money you going to make, you can buy tomatoes!!! Bwaaaahhhaaaaa!!!!!



Sorry, that was to Reverend Al.

[robg]

my wife planted tumbling variety in hanging baskets we had a good crop and easy to pick.

[Smoke4320]

It depends on the variety, but I plant tomatoes 6 feet apart (social distancing, LOL) in the garden.

So 1 gator apart?

[Gregorious]

What is determinate and indeterminate mean?

https://www.tomatofest.com/tomato_questions_s/128.htm

https://bonnieplants.com/gardening/l...growing-terms/

Determinate include bush and reach a certain size and stop growing

Indeterminate continue to grow until killed by frost. They need staked and are probably the one most people think of.

[Wisest.fool]

i cut a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. plant them in it upside-down hanging from the holes. no stakes required. just need a sturdy place to hang them. note: does not work with all varieties. see example:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=...AAAAAdAAAAABAE

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

So 1 gator apart?

Yep,
but for reference, this is the only Gator you'll find in my area

Attachment 261403

[IHuntDragons]

By the way, the Earthbox method cuts back on the expense of cages too. Each Earthbox uses one tomato cage for two tomato plants.

https://earthbox.com/gardening-syste...rdening-system

Attachment 261171Attachment 261172

These are spaced so a 50" mower deck will pass between them.

I like this setup. I've seen some earth boxes for sale locally on the FB pages and wondered who was having any success with them. What's your typical yield in pounds per box each season?

[bmortell]

im failing to see the fundamental difference between an earth box and a raised bed

[jonp]

Not sure how this would work for Tomatoes. Some around here with heavy clay set bales of straw out in the fall and layer with fertilizers letting set thru winter to saturate with water and start to decompose. In the spring they plant the carrots potatoes and other root crops in them. Saves digging them in the hard heavy ground, come fall just break the bale apart and harvest.

We used old fencing with a 4" square and formed 18"- 2' dia by 3-4' tall hoops for around the tomatoes, and even string beans. The plants grew up inside and climbed the hoops and the fruit was kept of the ground. Made picking much easier

There was a thread on here a few years ago about haybale planting. I thought about trying it but forgot about it. I'm going to give it a shot this year or next by now it's too late to get it started. I don't remember any fertilizer being used but it can't hurt.

[jonp]

I like this setup. I've seen some earth boxes for sale locally on the FB pages and wondered who was having any success with them. What's your typical yield in pounds per box each season?

Interesting but it would seem that a plastic bin from Wally's and a hose would be about the same thing for less money. Great for patio gardeners.

im failing to see the fundamental difference between an earth box and a raised bed

Hard to do a raised bed on a patio or a balcony.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

im failing to see the fundamental difference between an earth box and a raised bed

https://earthbox.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw...4aAl7WEALw_wcB

The Earthbox is self watering....the way I see it, it's a Hybrid between hydroponic and container gardening.

[725]

I made a "flower box" of three 2x8's, planted tomatoes and fertilized them with Miracle Grow. Holy cow! I had more tomatoes than you could shake a stick at. Watering was the key. Too much and they would split. Other than that they were fantastic. Better than ever growing them in the ground.

[wgr]

get determinate plants, not indeterminate to save space. put Epsom salt in the hole when planting for blossom rot. use weed control fabric with a hole cut out for the plant, will save a lot of back breaking weeding. drip irrigation works well and saves water.

does it matter what kind of epsom salt

[Gobeyond]

I plant mine two feet apart in baskets. It’s the French intensive method. Sometimes it’s dug two shovels deep. You should get about 48 plants in two by 96 feet.

[Freightman]

Best tomatoes I ever grew was in old hay bales that were moldy and unfit for animal's. dig a hole three times as big as the plant ball fill with potting soil and keep wet and fertilize every three weeks. Drip irrigation works well. I moved and have no room to do this now, such is the cost of getting old and crippled up.

[DougGuy]

Attachment 261172

I was given two Better Boy (indeterminate) plants, and I have two unused recycle bins laying around doing nothing, they already have drain holes, they are about 16" x 24" and maybe 15" deep. I plan to set them a couple feet apart on a grassy part of my yard, drive 1/2" rebar into the ground on each side straddling the bins, and tie wire some heavy duty cages to the rebar. This setup will hold the heaviest plant when it is loaded with tomatoes.

They will sorta resemble the pic that tatume posted.

Attachment 261576