Yeah, up until 2 years ago, I would plant 6-8 tomatoes in a 3x8 foot bed. It was like a jungle. These tomato beds are going to be 2x2 to fit one tomato and I will put them 2' apart. I am hoping that will be enough room. I have grown tomatoes in small gallon pots before just to taste test, but I want to avoid potting soil and just use dirt and compost. My tomato cages are 18" ones from Burpees. I am rigging them so I can have one side open like a gate to tend the tomatoes. SO FUN!

Four square foot per plant ( 2' x 2' ) sounds good. But you have to support the plants either by staking or a sturdy 5'-6' tall cage. I space mine about 20" ( that is about 2.75 square foot per plant. But I do a lot of trimming and staking. If I had the space I would do 24" spacing ( 4 square foot per plant ).

To fill, you can use the stuff from previous bed and amend it with manure and compost. Potting soil for bed is too expensive and not economical.

Sey

If you want something rot resistant, have you checked out how much it would cost to make the raised beds from composite decking? It would be cheaper than buying them from the link you gave plus you wouldn't have to pay shipping.

Rodney

I try to keep 3 feet of space for each plant. I use cages, and we have a long season. If I do not give the plants enogh space thing tend to get unruly, and fungus problems abound.

Thanks for all the insight everyone!

SEY, How silly of me... I said my tomato cages were 18" but I meant that was the width... They are actually 58" tall, but some of that goes into the dirt, so say 50" after that. I am reinforcing them with 1/2" copper pipe that is 5' tall in the corners, because we get high winds here. My tomatoes grow to 8' some years. I plan on doing pruning off the top of the tomatoes, especially after August, because our season ends in September and those top tomatoes never ripen anyway. Good idea about the compost... I'll use 3/4 dirt and 1/4 compost for the beds and stir it up good.

RODNEY, I am checking into other materials and beds as well... Something I never thought of was safety in composition of plastic/composite beds, as far as leaching into the soil. I checked the cost of these beds, and they are $17 per bed to my area code, so that isn't too bad... But they are made from vinyl and I don't know if that leaches. I used Cedar before and at 14 years of age, lined in plastic, they are starting to sag and decompose. I need to do more research. I may just go with Cedar again.

CENTEXAN, I was planning on placing the 2'x2' beds 2' apart, so that would give me that 3' spacing... I agree, too close makes for a jungle. Even though we don't get diseases here, it still means I miss tomatoes that ripen and I can't even see for all the foliage. This time around, I want tidy... Well as tidy as I can get with tomatoes. :)

Thanks again to everyone!!! I new I could count on great advice from this board. It means a lot to me to be able to get help! :)

Can I go that small in a raised bed and still get good tomatoes?

One minor point to keep in mind - assuming you are not seed saving then you will get better pollination and production with 2 plants next to each other rather than each plant a large distance apart. Wind does play a role in pollination with tomatoes. How much of a role varies of course depending on lots of other factors but you might consider making the beds for 2 plants rather than only one. Like Texan I prefer 3 sq' foot spacing so a 2x2 bed (4 sq') is more than needed for 1 plant but not enough for 2 plants.

Dave

DAVE, Thanks for the 3 sq ft spacing advice. I wasn't quite sure about that, and was one of the questions I needed answered. I was thinking linear feet with Texan's reply.

I do save seeds, but bag the flower cluster before anything ever opens. I have thought about the 2'x4' beds, but it would be so wonderful to be able to walk around and entire plant to pick. I have been having back and shoulder issues, and this seems to be my solution to continue gardening as I am aging. We have abundant wind here and I have never had tomatoes not set fruit even on tomatoes in a pot planted clear across my yard, unless the heat is intense and the tomatoes take a vacation. The other thing I just remembered that I do, is to to shake the plant when it's young and still mobile in the cage... It seems to help with early fruit set when my tomatoes are protected with plastic from the wind. Great advice! Thanks for jogging my memory.

I contacted GUARDEN, the raised bed link from above, and they line their beds with HDPE which is a safe plastic according to this link. thttp://learn.eartheasy.com/2014/04/cedar-vs-recycled-plastic-vs-composite-raised-garden-beds/ Guarden uses titaneum dioxide which is used in food products, but is being watched, but that is gnats eyeball stuff and I'm not going to go there. It's not like I am going to chew on my raised beds.

The one point of interest from the man I talked with at GUARDEN was, why aren't they checking out the plastic and landscape fabric that is being used on top of the beds to warm the soil and keep out weeds? Good point. I was thinking of using that. Now, I'm not.

Because they also custom cut to size and they are not as expensive as other brands, they will be my choice. Now to decide the layout. This is so much fun!!

OK now I'm even more confused... This company uses 2" cedar and dips the wood in organic accepted coating that keeps the water out. They are in Florida, and their beds have not shown any decay in 8 years with almost daily rain... I think I may have to give these a try. They have my sizes and they are stackable if you let them know so they can make long pins for the corners to go through all the layers. Great people... Talked for awhile on the phone and got lots of information. So...paper, or plastic??!!!

https://gardeninminutes.com/shop

Rebacca, Cedar is naturally rot resistance. I have mine made of cedar going into 4th season (no treatment) and up here in PNW they never get a chance to dry up. But impregnating with some kind of natural oil can extend its life.

All my stakes are also made of cedar too. Pine will rot in one season

Sey

Hi Sey!

It's good to know your experience with cedar. Mine has been positive, too.

I love the cedar beds I have now, but after 14 years, they are starting to rot and sag. They are made from cedar 2"x12"s and lined with plastic. I am cutting waaaay back with my garden and so am looking for that "perfect" material to make a garden that will last to the end of my dirt digging days. :)

For the 3 foot spacing I use the spacing is measured from stem to stem. Last year it worked out well for me that way. None got too unruly. I pulled most of them by mid to late July as they are done by then, and it gets too hot for them anyway. Then I plant a few more in late August for fall tomatoes. I tried the close together thing. It was not worth it for me in the end.

I'm curious as to why the plastic lining is needed or recommended. It would seem it would only speed up the detioration of the wood.

Dave

Dave I think it is an effort to keep dirt off the wood to slow down rotting from that. Though I would suggest using weed block fabric instead as it will not hold condensation on the wood eliminating the reason it was there for in the first place.

Yeah I figured that was the reasoning but it makes little sense to me. It only increases moisture retention even to the point of creating ponding and water drainage problems. Soil and wood dry out, plastic doesn't.

Dave

Hey guys, here was my logic in lining the cedar beds. I wanted to protect the cedar from contact with wet dirt to make it last longer. I don't really know if it helped. The plastic is still there after 14 years, but doing more harm than good now, as it has broken away on the top and water can now go down next to the wood. The real problem with the beds is they are starting to bow and sag outward on the sides where the sprinkler system hits them several times a week in the summer. I never thought about that part. :) So, I could probably get many more years of use from them, but... Seeing as how I am 65 and no longer have a desire to plant enough to freeze and give away to the neighborhood, I am downsizing to new beds. If I decide to go with cedar again, I will get the ones from Garden in Minutes because they are dipped in soy based sealer that helps to prevent water absorbing into the wood. No more plastic liner for me. :)