People love growing tomatoes and we love to give people what they want. After providing you with successful guides to grow tomatoes in containers, in self-watering planters and in grow bags, now, we will provide you with the best guide for growing tomato in raised beds.
Our goal is not that you just grow tomato successfully, but besides growing them successfully, we ultimately aim that your crop is heavy and tasteful. Growing tomato in raised beds is a great way to get delicious fruits, It is also one of the easiest and practical approaches to gardening.
Besides, in a raised beds, you can grow your plants closer together, producing more tomatoes for your space. Therefore, we will provide you with these great tips on how to grow tomatoes in raised beds.
1. Select a good position
Tomatoes are very sensitive plants. Perhaps the most sensitive and the most delicate among all edible plants. Thus they grow in particular conditions. One of the vital conditions for growing tomatoes in raised beds is sunlight exposure.
In order to get a healthy heavy crop, you need to choose a spot for your raised bed that is level and free of debris. The spot should be a well-draining spot, near to water resources and could receive at least eight hours of direct sun daily.
2. Prepare the soil
The first step of preparing the soil for growing tomato in raised beds is to create an outline for your raised bed with string or even flour. After setting the outline, work the soil. Tomatoes are deep drinkers. Roots of plants in a raised bed will need to penetrate the soil below. Therefore, remove sod and use a tiller to turn and loosen the soil at least 12 inches deep.
3. Choose an edging material
Use edging materials to set the outline of the bed. All edging materials such as stones, Lumber, and cinderblocksare fit to use. They have to be heavy enough to keep your raised bed in place. You should always choose ones that are long lasting so you can grow tomatoes year after year.
Then Calculate the estimated volume of soil needed for the project by measuring the length times the width times the depth of the raised bed. Don’t forget that the bed should be at least 12″ deep to give the roots room to grow and allow for proper drainage.
Raised beds should not be wider than feet so you can easily reach the center of the bed. If you are building more than one bed, don’t make the common mistake of building close to each other. Set them far enough from each other so you can pass through them.
4. Fill the bed
After installing the edging material and making sure that your raised bed will not move from its place, fill the bed with soil. You could also line the bottom of the raised bed with chicken wire or hardware cloth as a protective measure to keep out gophers, moles, and other tunneling pests.
Tomatoes are heavy feeders, therefore, it is highly recommended that mix in two- to three-inch layers of compost and cow manure to the top one-third of the topsoil. A rich organic soil will definitely increase your crop.
5. Plant your tomatoes
Plant your tomato at least 12 inches deep. You should also keep at least 18 inches space between each plant. Insert sticks to ensure that your plant grows up straight. Water tomatoes regularly to avoid blossom-end rot, which is caused when the soil is allowed to dry out.
Watering could be tricky. Although tomato needs regular watering, you should not allow the soil to become soggy. You should also feed your plants regularly at least once a week.
6. Vital advice
- Once the plants start to grow, you risk inadvertently snapping off a limb or damaging the plant. Therefore, you should stake them early and carefully.
- Don’t water from above, the roots may not get the water and they will get dry and die.
- Pinch the suckers weekly.
Follow these 6 simple steps and growing tomato in raised beds will be the easiest gardening activity you have ever done. There are a lot of great ways to grow tomatoes. You could also grow them in containers, in greenhouses, and in grow bags.
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