How to Grow Tomatoes in Raised Beds

Raised beds offer many benefits that a traditional garden bed doesn't provide. The soil is often of better quality, due to better drainage and loose enough for good root development. The beds also warm earlier in the year, allowing earlier planting than in ground-level beds. Growing tomatoes in raised beds requires some extra preparation, as the same qualities that make beneficial conditions cause nitrogen and other soil nutrients to dissipate faster. They also require closer planting, which may lead to disease without proper vigilance.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Compost
• Hoe
• Tomato cage
• Fertilizer
• Fungicide

1. Prepare the soil in a raised bed in spring before planting. Lay a fresh 3-inch layer of compost over the entire bed and till it in with a hoe to at least a 10-inch depth. Pull out any old plants or roots while tilling.

2. Transplant tomato seedlings into the bed after all danger of frost has passed in spring.

3. Space tomato plants 18 inches apart in rows of the same distance apart. Plant each transplant 2 to 3 inches deeper in the soil than it was at in the nursery pot, then gently firm the soil around it.

4. Place a tomato cage over each seedling. Alternately, place a stake in the ground behind each plant, though it may be more difficult to get to the plants to tie them in the confines of a raised bed.

5. Keep the soil moist at all times, providing at least 1 to 2 inches of water a week. Check the soil moisture every three days, since raised beds dry out faster, and give water frequently enough to keep the soil moist

6. Apply a nitrogen fertilizer to the bed as the tomato plants begin to set fruit. Apply approximately 3 pounds of fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed.

7. Check plants regularly for signs of wilt or fungal disease from growing so close together. Treat immediately with an organic or chemical control if a problem occurs.

Tips & Warnings

• Trim back tomato plants to just one or two main stems to keep the bed from over crowding.
• Lay an organic mulch around the plants to preserve soil moisture and help prevent drying out.
• Blossom end rot and cat facing (disfigurement) occurs when fruit is stressed from dry conditions. Keep the bed evenly moist at all times.

References

• University of Tennessee Extension
• Ohio State University