Jan
17
Growing Tomatoes in Raised Beds
Posted by Brian in General Growing Advice, Selecting a Location
There are several advantages to growing tomatoes in raised beds, many of which are similar to growing tomatoes in containers. If you think about it a raised bed is a form of container, it is just a container on a slightly grander scale, a little like a growbag or a large pot.
The main advantages of growing tomatoes in raised beds
- You can more easily control the mix of the soil and utilise compost specifically suited to growing tomatoes
- The plants are generally easier to access for staking, weeding, watering, pruning and pest control
- The soil tends to warm up more quickly than non-raised beds
- Its easier to apply a mulch to aid contamination prevention, supplement feeding and keep weeds down
- You can avoid standing on the soil causing it to compact
- raised beds tend to be free draining and do not get over saturated
- the soil can easily be dug out and replaced should any contamination occur. This should be done on an annual or bi-annual basis in any case
- Feeding the tomato plants is much more targeted and effective, follow the instructions on the feed of choice or as a rule of thumb you can apply a high nitrogen liquid tomato feed around once a fortnight
- Pests are less likely to infiltrate a raised bed but when they do they are easier to deal with
