Bobberman
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Planning to plant something between each tomato next year!

I am making some big changes on how I plant next year. I will plant several rows and have each row with a different plant between each tomato. Maybe it will help with blight and ease to get to the tomatoes. I am thinking one row with one tomato two peppers along the whole row, Another row will be tomato and a tall cosmos!. I also am planting each variety in sets of 5 then seperate it with a flower of some kind like tall marigolds and even naturtian! Has anyone had success or tried something like this?I am tired of the jungle look with a row of tomatoes!

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rainbowgardener
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I always plant stuff in the beds with tomatoes. But if you are doing sunlovers like peppers and basil, it doesn't really work to put them in between the tomato plants (at least unless you do a whole lot of pruning on your tomato plants), because the tomatoes will get so huge and bushy and shade out the other stuff. My front lawn garden bed for the summer has been tomato plants towards the middle with peppers and basil around the outside. I always plant marigold and nasturtium in with them. I tried putting a lavender plant in one corner, but it didn't like it there... I think it was getting watered too much as I tried to keep the other stuff going through the drought.

Often I plant a row of carrots down the outside of a tomato bed. The tomato bed in back has a butternut squash vine, which worked out well because the squash vine found its way out of the bed (through the deer netting that surrounds it!) and out across the patio, so it is getting plenty of sun, away from the tomato plants. It's gone now, but there was lettuce in that bed also. Lettuce works well with tomatoes since in the summer it benefits from getting shaded.

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applestar
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the squash vine found its way out of the bed (through the deer netting that surrounds it!) and out across the patio
I wanna see a picture of this. 8)

I have similar concerns about things getting shaded out. In addition to things that benefit feom the shade, planting early spring crops BEFORE the tomatoes and planting the tomatoes between THEM works since they will be harvested and gone by the time tomatoes need the room. Same with garlic planted previous fall and tomatoes planted between them in spring.

Pole and runner beans have worked for me because they find their way up above the tomatoes. But you need to choose varieties that won't be so vigorous as to overwhelm the tomatoes.

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, didn't mention that. I always plant broccoli on the outside of tomato beds very early. Then later plant tomatoes behind them. By the time the tomatoes are getting big and need the room, the broccoli are done and can be pulled. And then something else can be planted there. I did try planting some beans in with the front lawn tomatoes, but there wasn't really room for them and they didn't do well.

I did last year plant garlic in a bed that this year had peppers and basil added.

I will try to get a picture of the squash tonight, it is nice, very decorative!



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