| Raised Veggie Bed |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-708 |
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Q: I would love to grow tomatoes in my garden, but the area I want to use has poor drainage. What can I do? A: (from Ask DIY gardening expert, Walter Reeves) There's nothing like the taste of a garden-raised tomato. Here's how to make a raised bed to give your plants good drainage that will result in tomatoes that taste delicious.
Raised Bed for Tomatoes and Other Vegetables
Materials: 1x12 planks
Wood screws or nails
Shovel
Spading fork
Top soil
Soil amendments (humus, cow manure, sand)
Trowel
Tomato plants
Steps: - Tomatoes need a lot of sunshine, so select a location for your raised bed that receives a lot of full sun.
- You can build a raised bed using a number of materials -- planks, cinderblocks, bricks, stones, or even simply piling up earth in mounds. For the raised bed in our demonstration, we used 1x12 planks joined at the corners using wood screws (figure A).
- Tomatoes also need good drainage, so once you've sided your bed with a framework, dig and break up the dirt inside the frame (figure B).
- Using a shovel, dig and turn the dirt the to a depth of about 12" (figure C). The depth is required, not because the roots will grow that deeply, but to allow water from rainfall or irrigation to drain properly from the soil.
- Another useful garden tool is the spading fork (figure D). Using this tool you can break up and turn the dirt and sod thoroughly and efficiently, and reduce the time it takes to do so.
- Once you've dug and loosened the dirt at the bottom of your bed, you can fill in the area with top soil and soil amendments like humus, sand and manure (figure E ).
- Simply dump the soil, humus and manure inside the frame (figures F and G) and mix the ingredients well using a shovel or spade fork.
- A mixture like this (figure H) contains rich soil, nutrients and sand in a loose configuration that makes for good drainage. This is critical since good drainage produces healthy roots and, in turn, results in full-bodied plants and sweet-tasting tomatoes.
- For our bed, a variety of tomato named Goliath was selected. When planting tomatoes, keep in mind that the lower portions of the stem in pot-grown plants can form roots. You may want to pinch off lower limbs on the stems of your plants (figure I) and plant them deeply into your new bed.
- Use a trowel to dig a hole big enough to accommodate the root ball, place the plant carefully in the hole (figure J) and fill in around it with new soil.
- Planting Tip: Plant each tomato plant in a separate corner or quadrant of your raised bed. A bed that is 4' by 4' will accommodate four tomato plants once they are full size. You may want to fill in some of the free area with a few basil plants.
- Since tomatoes are actually a vine, once they begin to grow tall you'll need to stake your plants to keep them upright and keep the fruit off the ground. There are several ways to stake tomatoes. You can simply use straight wooden stakes, or you can used the newer corkscrew-style wire stakes (figure K). Insert the stake firmly into the ground next to the plant. Use cord or twist-ties to train the plant, fastening the stem to the stake at several locations along its length.
Growing Tips: - One key to successfully growing tomato plants is to water them regularly. Tomatoes are susceptible to a condition known as blossom-end rot, resulting from underwatering. Avoid overwatering as well. Don't allow the soil to remain soggy, but don't let it dry out completely between waterings.
- It will also be helpful to feed your tomatoes with vegetable-food or a simple "10-10-10" fertilizer. Follow the instructions that come with the brand you select .
- It's also a good idea to mulch your bed with pine straw or other mulch material. Some people even use newspaper to mulch their bed.
RESOURCES :
Kitchen Gardens: Beyond the Vegetable Patch
Book By Carole Turner
Out of Print
(Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, 1998)
ASIN: 1889538051
Savory Way: High-Spirited, Down-to-Earth Recipes for Savory Vegetable Dishes
Model: 0767901665
Author: Deborah Madison
(1998)
Broadway Books/Random House, Inc.
Website: www.randomhouse.com
Tomato: The Indispensable Guide To Tomatoes
Model: 0754807819
Author: Christine France
(2001)
Lorenz Books / Anness Publishing Inc.
Website: www.lorenzbooks.com
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