Raised Beds

[s.studer]

here they are

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/TomatoesMay222010.jpg[/img]


I planted

Kumato
Black Cherry
Black Crimson
Black from Tula
Campari
Red Mortgage Lifter
Paul Robeson
Darma's Perfection
Oxheart
Yellow Acid Free

[tedln]

Beautiful! I love the creative beds.

Ted

[rainbowgardener]

Beautiful! I love the creative beds.

Ted

Just what I was going to say!!

That's a lot of different tomatoes. How big are the beds?

[s.studer]

Thank you, we weren't quite sure about how to incorporate the raised beds in our small backyard, but we finally came up with this layout and it seems to work. The outside edges are 6 feet long and the beds are 3 feet wide. I think the diameter of the "circle" is about 20 feet. We spaced the tomato plants 18 inches apart lenghtwise and 2 feet apart across. I know it is a little too close, but I wanted to plant all of the plants that I raised from seed..

[Duh_Vinci]

Very nice craftsmanship, looking good!

Regards,
D

[farmerlon]

Yes, I love the craftmanship of those beds; they look great.
I bet it will be a joy to grow and harvest Tomatoes from those beds.

[tedln]

You could plant some "Bright Lights" Swiss Chard around the edges of the beds. The colors would accent the lower areas of the beds as the tomatoes grow tall. It also would be a good addition to your meals incorporating the tomatoes.

Ted

[lakngulf]

Good job. For your box design you are thinking "outside the box".

[s.studer]

You could plant some "Bright Lights" Swiss Chard around the edges of the beds. The colors would accent the lower areas of the beds as the tomatoes grow tall. It also would be a good addition to your meals incorporating the tomatoes.

Ted

What a great idea! Are they easy to find?

[tedln]

You can find them from seed vendors on the internet, but I know some people have bought the seed off the rack in some stores. Do a Google search for them and see what you find.

I wanted to plant them myself, but I got in a hurry and simply bought three different varieties of normal Chard off the seed rack at Home Depot.

Ted

[gixxerific]

Those are cool. love the design.

Ted had a good idea, if I may add when I saw those boxes I thought it would be great to plant something small in the center. Anything a small shrub or maybe some herbs. It could even be in a large ornamental pot or something.

Just an idea. Really nice job on those boxes.

[s.studer]

Those are cool. love the design.

Ted had a good idea, if I may add when I saw those boxes I thought it would be great to plant something small in the center. Anything a small shrub or maybe some herbs. It could even be in a large ornamental pot or something.

Just an idea. Really nice job on those boxes.

Yes, I was thinking about putting something in the center, like a large ornamental pot. I also will want stepping stones, but can't decide on what to use yet...

[Zapatay]

....

Why are those sticks standing straight in the air? (I see those often)

... probably a silly question sorry

[kimbledawn]

Zapatay, those are here tomato supports. You stake them or cage them or wrap them with some sort of twine.

[s.studer]

Stepping stones layout:
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/3.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/2.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/1.jpg[/img][/img]

[stella1751]

Omigosh! Talk about landscaping genius. This is lovely! I liked it before; I love it now

Wait until those tomatoes add deep rich green foliage dotted with bright gleaming scarlet to the tableau. Your neighbors must be delighted to have you next door. All the property values with escalate through the roof by fall

[s.studer]

Thanks! That would be nice

[engineeredgarden]

I just love the way you laid everything out! You have quite a beautiful garden there....

EG

[s.studer]

I just love the way you laid everything out! You have quite a beautiful garden there....

EG

Thank you

It was quite a challenge. Our backyard has a lot of shade and the only spot that would get enough sun was right in the middle. We also knew that we should make it as nice as possible since we would be looking at our vegetable garden from our deck.

Now the next challenge will be to make it deer-proof. So far they haven't done anything, but we are a little concerned that deer may take a liking to the tomato plants and think the raised beds are a "buffet" set up for them

[s.studer]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/FirstoftheseasonaCampariTomato.jpg[/img]

Here is the first one, a Campari Tomato.

[Kitty-Diggins]

OH the stepping stones are it!!! When not a Tomato bed I can see seat covers on the frames too. What a beautiful layout you have.

[Darceyoh]

Layout is very nice. I love the design of the beds. But I'm also a little jealous of all that green grass! It looks like the type of grass you just want to walk around barefoot in all the time.

[s.studer]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/5-1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/2-1.jpg[/img]

[jerseyguy1996]

Great looking garden! I went the raised bed route this year as well. Where bouts in Jersey are you? I'm on the north east side.....just over the river from NYC.

[s.studer]

Great looking garden! I went the raised bed route this year as well. Where bouts in Jersey are you? I'm on the north east side.....just over the river from NYC.

Sorry about the delay. West Orange.

[s.studer]

here are some pictures of the tomatoes:
Campari
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_10.jpg[/img]
Oxheart
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_12.jpg[/img]
Black Cherry
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_11.jpg[/img]
Black from Tula
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_7.jpg[/img]
Black From Tula - higher up
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_8.jpg[/img]
Daghma's Perfection
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_18.jpg[/img]
Yellow Acid Free
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_19.jpg[/img]
Kumato
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_17.jpg[/img]
Mortgage Lifter Flower
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/MyPhoto_3.jpg[/img]

[lakngulf]

Healthy looking plants and fruit there. Great job with the layout, and the maters. What kind of mulch do you use?

[s.studer]

Healthy looking plants and fruit there. Great job with the layout, and the maters. What kind of mulch do you use?

That is mulch from Home Depot, just the regular kind. We filled the beds with top soil. I added a little bit of dry seaweed, lime and a little tomato fertilizer.

[s.studer]

Finally we see some color!
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/large.jpg[/img]

[s.studer]

Black from Tula
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/f5dd96c8.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/622601c1.jpg[/img]

Black Cherry
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/412d0dba.jpg[/img]

Oxheart
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/c774a258.jpg[/img]

Kumato
[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/5f023ca0.jpg[/img]

[s.studer]

[img]https://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii419/sstuder1/Tomatoes%202010/8-1-10.jpg[/img]