No Go on Tomatoes in my raised beds?

[CortneyRae]

So Martha Stewart got on TV today and told everyone that tomatoes shouldn't be planted in raised beds, but rather their own containers, because they will crowd out everything else. Wha? No gardening book I've read ever mentioned such things. But I have to admit that crazy or not, Martha does have some pretty amazing gardens (which are likely due to a professional gardener, not her personal skill set). It sounds wrong to me that you couldn't put them in the back row of your beds to prevent shading other plants too much, but I'm a newbie so I don't trust my instincts yet.

Whats the verdict? Do y'all have success with tomatoes in raised beds or should I be thinking about segregating mine?

[fritz_monroe]

I plant mine in my raised beds.

If you decide to plant them in containers, you need BIG containers.

[Jason Akers]

Neither thing is necessarily wrong.  But I do agree with Martha.  Rather than take up most of a raised bed with a huge tomato plant wouldn't it be better to dig a decent sized hole, compost the hell out of it and put the tomato plant in it? 

Just my thoughts, there is no wrong or right, just more or less efficient, easy or inexpensive.

Jason

[heliotropicmoth]

I have always put my tomatoes in raised beds (post apartment living). I put 4 plants in each bed (3'x3') and plant basil, borage and marigolds under them. It all comes down to what works for you. I have a lot of raised beds so 4-5 filled with tomatoes works for me.

I would be interested to know if Martha is the life long gardener she purports herself to be or if she has a garden planner come in and do everything for her? I am a little suspicious when all the pics of her garden are expertly groomed with fresh straw mulch everywhere and not a weed in site. That said, if I had her money I could afford to stay home all day everyday and tend to my garden.

[Jason Akers]

That said, if I had her money I could afford to stay home all day everyday and tend to my garden.

Oh to dream...

[bacpacker]

I go along the lines of what Jason said. I lay out a row, 2 actually and dig my holes for the plants, add plenty of compost and plant the tomato plant in each one. After that's done I've started using a trick my dad showed me. Take some 1" up to 1 1/2" PVC pipe and cut it to about 14-18" long and stick it in the bottom of the hole before you start adding the compost and plant, then add everything in. The pipe should stick up at least 4-6". I then use the pipe to hold a 2 liter "coke" bottle turned upside down filled with water. It takes a while for the water to drain (depends on your soil), but you are adding water directly to the roots which cuts way down on evaporation loss. Also if you use a liquid fertilize, just add it to the water every few times you water. My watering cycle is about twice a week if we have less than .25" of rain that week.
My tomatos are also caged using concrete grid wire at about 5 feet high.

[WayneH]

I try to use determinate type tomato plants in the beds.  Those patio hybrids are pretty awesome for beds too.  The grape type tomatoes tend to go crazy and take over a 3' diameter area.

Most often, I stick them anywhere they will fit.  Tomatoes are like weeds, they will grow just about anywhere.  Plant enough of them so that if you have to remove one to make room for other plants, you won't feel so bad.

[Brian Ring]

Our tomatoes have always done the best in raised beds, spacing correctly is always tricky whether raised or not.

[CortneyRae]

We are thinking about buying one or two of those galvanized tubs to grow them in since we only have 2 beds right now. We are a bit worried about loosing too much real estate to the tomatoes. So hopefully the tubs (or 5ga buckets) will do the trick for now.

Seriously, I keep having to hold myself back. Its just our first year but we keep wanting to do and plant more and more!

[Brian Ring]

Yeah, it is hard to resist expanding.  We expanded every year since we started.  Not always the best idea as we fell behind last year, but we are still expanding this year.  A bit crazy, but I guess we will  see how it turns out.  we started off with 2 4x10 beds and have 900-1000 square feet now in our back yard. Good luck resisting the urge.

[WayneH]

I actually went smaller this year.  It was getting harder and harder to keep up on the garden.  By the end of last summer, it wasn't enjoyable to me.

[BZHound]

When you make the raised bed, what is your goal? If it's to grow the coolest, biggest tomatoes that's a winner. If it's to be self sufficient, I think it's too much effort per area. I save seed from the best tomatoes each year, start plants from that, and can grow crazy amounts by just overplanting and thinning and giving other started plants to friends.

[CortneyRae]

We are using the raised beds simply because we are renting the home we are in now, it is much more practical for the homeowner and the soil here is also primarily gravel.

I agree that it isn't the most self-sufficient method, but it is what works for the situation we are currently in. I would rather be a little less self-sufficient for now while learning and still growing healthy food than do nothing until we can be completely self-sufficient about it. But, we do intend to save seeds!

[heliotropicmoth]

The best teacher I ever had was failure.

[BZHound]

The best teacher I ever had was failure.

Wow, you had Ms. Failure too!

Hunt, Grow, Gather, Eat!