[TomatoDon]

Hi Terry,

I have 4 X 12 beds, so all I did was buy 2 X 12 X 12 lumber. Whole pieces were used as the sides, others were cut into 4 foot pieces for the ends. That's just what worked best for me. There are all sorts of dimensions, but this just fit my plan. It was hard for me to find good and straight 16 foot material, so I just stuck with the 4 X 12 dimention, which is fine. And yes, it can be cut in 3 foot sections, which the math works out on that also. The 4 X 12 was just the most suitable and handiest for my needs, and I think it is a good size.

And I do think, on the whole, for a garden that will be rotating crops, that the 4 foot width is a good one. For tomatoes only I'm sure 3 foot is wide enough. But with 4 foot widths you just have more room to work with other things like corn, etc.

I've tried a lot of spacings, but for me, I have two rows of three tomatoes in a 4 X 12 bed. Six plants. That's crowding it a little. Three down the center would probably be better. I use 24" CRW, and two fit nicely side by side in a 4 foot wide bed, so that's just the way I do it.

The height. I have also wondered if the 22" height might be a little impractical once the plants are up. I sure would love to have the soil that deep though. I'm hoping to do it this week, but will try only one first to see how it looks and feels.

For tomatoes only I would agree that 3 feet is a good width, having the planting right down the center. But, I rotate other stuff, so the 4 foot width works best for me overall. In a 4 foot wide bed, planting down the center, you have some room left over, so I crowd them a little, making two rows of three, for a total of six plants. In a 4 X 12, or 48 squart foot bed, that gives 8 square feet per plant, which is plenty.

Many good ways to do it. This is just they way I do it.

Thanks!

Don