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Old April 18, 2018   #11
b54red
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
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I have been planting in the same raised beds for over 35 years. Some years are better than others but I don't rotate too much from year to year because the tomatoes do best in the beds that have the most sunlight. By the middle of summer all but a couple of my beds will usually have tomatoes planted in them because I stagger plant from March through July. Over the years I have added a multitude of manures, various composts and fertilizers. Over the last ten years I have consistently added cotton seed meal, a bit of chicken manure and my own compost every time I prep the beds for planting. I now use the well balanced Texas Tomato Food and the other Urban Farms fertilizers along with some Miracle Grow throughout the year and my production seems to be holding up despite the over use of the same ground. I do not dig out part of my beds each year and replace the soil but rather add in some peat, bark fines, and compost to replace the small amount that is needed to keep the beds full each year. I hope this continues to work out at least well enough for me to have some decent production without making any major changes to the beds. I worry that I may be lacking in some trace elements but as long as this keeps working I don't plan on making any major changes to my routine maintenance of my raised beds.

Bill
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