Growing Tomatoes in a Raised Garden Bed

Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables to grow in home gardens. However, they are susceptible to a few unique problems, and one of them is that inconsistent watering can either kill them because they are waterlogged, or watering problems can bring on tomato blight. One way to combat these problems is to use a raised bed garden to grow your tomatoes.

Title: Tomatoes Have Curled Over Again – How to Build a Raised Garden Bed

Author: Tony Cashel

Article: Imagine for a moment that you have finally got your tomatoes growing so well that the keen gardener up the street saw them and just had to call in and check them out. However after a couple of days of heavy rain your garden becomes water logged and your precious tomato bushes just curl over and die from too much water. Scratching your head you can not believe that too much water was the cause. However you soon realize that unless you can find a solution to your drainage problem then you are wasting your time growing tomatoes and most other vegetables as well.

After some research you decide that a raised garden bed would solve your problem because as the garden is above the ground level it would allow for free drainage. So you retire for the night to dream about your next crop of big juicy tomatoes.

Next morning it dawns on you that you have no idea how to build a raised garden bed but consider yourself a bit of a handyman so it should not be too difficult. After further research you come up with the following requirements for a successful crop of tomatoes grown in a raised garden bed.

Site Selection And Size of Raised Garden Beds

Site selection is very important for your raised bed so you should pick an area that will get full sun most of the day as most vegetables including tomatoes grow best in full sun. A few vegetables however grow better in areas with a bit of shade so read the label on the seed packet or do a bit of research into what vegetables you wish to plant in your new garden beds. Bare in mind that you will also need access to all sides of your garden so be sure not to build it up against a fence unless you build a narrow bed that you can reach across with ease.

Remember that if you have to continually step on your garden to access it then this compacts the soil but with planning this can be minimized. So make your beds so that you can access them from the sides. Long and narrow beds are ideal. The depth of your vegetable bed is also worth considering as it will be determined by the type of vegetables you wish to grow. Some vegetables like carrots need deeper soil than others but a basic rule is the deeper you build it the better.

Next you will need to decide if you need to dig up the soil already in your garden bed or if it will deep enough when finished so you can just the cover the existing soil with cardboard or layers of newspaper to control the existing weeds.

Building Your Garden Beds

Now you have decided the size and depth of your raised garden beds it is time to decide what you are going to use to build them and how you are going to construct them. When I constructed mine I went the the timber yard and found out what size timbers were available and then planned everything around what was available to save cutting and wastage. If you use used timber you will need to make sure that it is rot-resistant because you do not want to have to do it all again in a couple of growing seasons.

What I did was create a simple frame and drove some stakes into the ground on the inside and bolted the frame to the stakes with the nuts on the outside so I could tighten them if they become loose. I have noticed that roofing companies are now building nice looking garden beds out of colored roofing iron which look quite impressive. It is important that you make sure you new garden bed is as level as possible in all directions so that water does not sit in the hollows or runs off other parts of the bed.

Now you have a level garden bed you can fill it with garden soil with added compost which will be ideal for most of the vegetables you wish to grow. Once raked level you can begin planting your seedlings and seeds for your first harvest.

One of the advantages of raised garden beds is that they require little maintenance. A good idea each fall and spring is to add some fresh compost and manure after harvesting and dig well into the top few inches of soil. Mulching will help keep the weeds at bay and help to retain moisture remembering that raised garden beds drain much faster than convention beds. So I now have happy tomatoes in a well drained environment and you can too.

If you enjoyed this article about how I built raised garden beds to solve my water logged t omato growing problem and would like to know more about growing tomatoes and other vegetables then I recommend checking out Growing Tomatoes and Other Vegetables In Raised Garden Beds at http://growing-tomatoes-raised-garden-beds.blogspot.com/

About the author: Tradesman who is a knockabout bloke who writes articles from his own experience. Interested in home improvement and other work around the home. I believe every man needs a shed or some space where he can tinker to his heart’s desire.