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Tips for Growing Tomatoes in a Raised Bed Garden

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Fresh garden tomatoes are one of the best things about summer.  Unfortunately, living in the suburbs can make gardening a bit challenging. But, I have some great tips for growing tomatoes and other vegetables in a small raised bed garden that will make it simple should you struggle to have space for a large garden.

As a general rule, advantages of growing tomatoes in a raised bed garden: more convenient to care for the garden, better control over soil quality, more tomatoes for the space, faster watering time due to compact nature of plants, makes gardening possible for those that have very little space.

4X4 wood raised bed garden in lawn with tomatoes plants.

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I grew up in rural Missouri, surrounded by lots of land and space. Every summer, we would have a garden in our backyard and fresh tomatoes were my absolute favorite!

After being spoiled with vine tomatoes, it’s really hard for me to enjoy tomatoes that aren’t ripened on the vine. Garden tomatoes vs ‘store-bought’ tomatoes taste completely different.

Tomato Fest is a great source to help you determine the best time of year to plant your vegetable garden based on your geographic location.  Just a hint, in most areas in the midwest, that time is late April to mid May.  

Plant your tomato plants as soon as the risk of frost has passed and nightly temperatures are mostly 55 degrees and above.

If you have been considering your own garden, but thought you didn’t have the space, read on for tips to grow your own tomatoes in a raised bed garden!

Choose the Best Location for Garden

Select a location for your garden to allow for plenty of morning and midday sunlight.  

Your location should receive 6 – 8 hours of sunlight daily.

I like to place my raised bed in a location that gets some shade in the late afternoon.  Those July and August days can be brutally hot and hard on your plants.

Our backyard space faces the west, so gets lots of daily sun!

Also ensure your location has good drainage and is out of reach of pets if possible.

Your raised bed can be made from lumber yourself if you want to DIY it, or you can simply purchase a kit for a raised bed. I found 4×4 foot raised bed kit at Home Depot, but many big box stores that carry gardening supplies will have these at a decent price.

James Prigioni has a great YouTube tutorial if you would like more information on making your own raised bed.

Remove Sod and Apply Weed Mat

It is best practice to remove the sod from underneath the raised bed to allow the vegetable roots to grow deep into the soil. This will allow for strong, healthy plant roots.

Confession: even though I know it is best practice is to remove the grass, I did not!  I simply covered the ground with the weed mat and called it a day. In years past, I put newspaper down under the mat, but that didn’t even happen this year as I forgot!

Just know if you neglect this step, the roots of your tomato plants cannot get as deep into the ground; therefore, your plants won’t be as healthy.

Weed mat within raised bed with white 5 gallon buckets and tomato cages.

Prepare the Soil

You will need good quality soil to ensure good growth for your tomatoes and other vegetables.

It’s worth spending a little bit extra to give your plants the nutrition they need. Purchase a soil made especially for raised beds.

The raised bed soil is pricy. So, I find it works well for the budget as well as the plants to mix regular garden soil with this mixture.

Consider adequate pH for the soil. The Almanac suggests proper pH range for soil when growing tomatoes should be between 5.5-7.5.

Once you have your soil in the bed, mix well.

Adding garden soil to raised bed garden.

Determine Vegetable Layout for Garden

Before putting the veggies in the garden, determine the best location for each of the plants within the space.  

I got nine plants for my 4×4 foot garden. By visualizing a 3 x 3 grid, you could easily plant one plant per ‘square’ within your grid.

My garden had 4 regular sized tomato plants, one grape tomato plant, cilantro, two cucumber plants, and sweet mint.

This sounds like a lot for a small raised bed garden, but it works. In case you’re interested, my tomato plant varieties: Red Beefsteak, Big Boy, Celebrity, Beef Master, and the grape tomato Tami G.

Collage of grid for planning small raised bed garden.

Plant Tomatoes and Other Vegetables

For quicker results, purchase plants that already have a good start. It takes a bit more care and patience to grow tomatoes from seed.

Dig a hole deep enough to cover the roots, all the way to where the leaves begin. Many tomato plants will come in a peat pot.

Simply rip off the bottom of the pot and put the entire thing in the ground.

Pro Tip: If you opt to grow mint, KNOW THAT IT SPREADS! I keep it in a separate pot and just bury the majority of the pot in the garden.  Otherwise, I find it takes over. BUT, it is definitely worth having! Infused water is great with mint, cucumber and lime.

Put Cages Around Tomato Plants

It is good practice to secure your plants with stakes and/or tomato cages as the vines can be quite heavy as they start to produce tomatoes.

The cages will allow you to keep the plants off of the ground and make for easier harvesting down the road.

Ensure each cage is deep in the ground around the tomato plants.  

As the tomato plants grow, you’ll need to be sure you pull drooping branches through the wires to keep the plant off of the ground.

I also put cages around my cucumber plants. 

This will keep them off of the ground and out of the mud.  As the plant grows, train the cucumber vine to grow up the cage for support. With guidance, the vine will wrap around the cage.

This will give you better access to the plants for pruning and eventually picking!

If you have trouble with pests or rodents, consider using chicken wire around the entire bed.

Fertilize

Apply fertilizer such as Miracle Grow for Tomatoes every 1-2 weeks to fertilize and improve the growth of your tomatoes. This will ensure your plants get the proper nutrients they need to thrive.

You will see a BIG difference when using this. This works great for tomatoes as well as your other garden vegetables.

I grew up on a farm, so using cow manure for fertilizer was something we always did. I realize this is not readily available to many growing raised beds.

Mulch Garden

Mulch helps to hold in the water to keep the plants from drying out AND it reduced the amount of weeds you will have to deal with.  This becomes especially helpful in the heat of the summer.

To mulch your raised bed garden, select from the following options: straw, newspaper, wood mulch, grass clippings or compost.

Water Regularly

Regular watering is key, especially with a raised garden bed.

If you do not have a soaker hose, ensure your garden hose has easy access to your raised bed. If your water source is convenient, you are more likely to stay on top of this.

Water your garden tomatoes daily, typically in the morning is best, before the heat of the day. Most gardens need 1-2 inches of water weekly, so if you are in a dry spell with little rain, you may need to water two times daily to ensure your plants get enough hydration and moisture.

Once again, the mulching will help to hold in the water, so be sure you don’t forget that step!

Include a Tag to Identify Plant

I love keeping track of which varieties work best for me.  A simple way to do this is to just leave the original vegetable name flag stuck in the soil by the plant.


Good Tomato Variety Choices

When talking about tomato varieties, it’s important to distinguish between indeterminate vs determinate.

Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are more viney in nature while determinate varieties grow in more of a bush.

I have grown both, and there are certainly pros and cons to each. Determinate varieties seem to produce tomatoes all at once, while indeterminate produce fruit until frost.

I also tend to prefer the flavor of indeterminate variety tomatoes.

You will just need to experiment with the varieties you have access to and determine what you love and what best suits your specific needs. 

Popular options of indeterminate variety tomatoes:

  • Brandywine
  • Beefmaster
  • Beefsteak
  • Early Girl
  • Sweet Million (cherry tomato)

Popular options of determinate variety tomatoes:

  • Celebrity
  • Glacier 

Other Helpful Tips

  • White Bumps on Stems: These are normal and of no concern. However, do pay attention to the overall health of the stems and address any problems as they arise.
  • Growing Season: Tomatoes like warm weather! Plant your tomato plants after the last frost has passed and nightly temperatures stay above 55 degrees. Typically, tomatoes do well in most regions of the United States if planted in late spring to early summer.
  • Pinch suckers from main stems for a stronger plant.

It is possible to grow tomatoes, lettuces, peas, and a variety of other vegetables in a raised bed garden. Perfect for an amazing summer salad!

More Backyard Projects:

FAQ

How deep should a raised bed be?

A raised bed garden should be approximately 8 to 12 inches deep to accommodate for growing plant roots.

How many plants can I grow in a 4×4 foot raised bed?

A 4×4 garden can accommodate approximately 9 different plants. Note, the plant selection will be the deciding factor of how many plants you choose as some plants will grow to be larger than others.

How often should you water tomatoes in raised bed gardens?

It is best to water tomatoes in the morning, but the sun gets too hot on the plants to avoid burning the plants. Tomatoes should be watered daily, averaging ~1-2 inches of water per week. In dry spells of little rain, consider watering plants two times daily.

What is the best soil for growing tomatoes in a raised bed?

Proper pH is to be considering for growing tomatoes. Generally a pH of 5.5-7.5 is considered adequate for tomato gardening. When using a raised bed, purchase soil that is made specifically for raised bed gardens.

What are the advantages of growing tomatoes in a raised bed?

As a general rule, advantages of growing tomatoes in a raised bed garden: more convenient to care for the garden, better control over soil quality, more tomatoes for the space, faster watering time due to compact nature of plants, makes gardening possible for those that have very little space.

Yield: 1 raised bed garden

Tips for Growing Tomatoes in a Raised Bed Garden

raised bed garden filled with tomatoes and other vegetables.

Tips for growing tomatoes and other vegetables in a raised bed garden.

Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $50

Materials

  • Raised bed
  • Raised bed soil
  • Weed mat
  • Tomato cages
  • Tomatoes and other vegetables

Tools

  • Gardening gloves
  • Garden shovel

Instructions

  1. Choose a proper location for your garden that gets ~8 hours of sunlight daily, has good drainage, and is away from pets.Preparing raised bed in lawn.
  2. Prepare raised bed. Either DIY build your bed or assemble premade raised bed kit.Assembling 4x4 raised bed on patio.
  3. Remove the sod from the lawn to allow roots of tomatoes and other plants to grow deep in the ground. Removing sod and adding weed mat to raised bed garden.
  4. Determine grid for vegetables layout, including exact plants you will be using. collage of garden grid and planting vegetables.
  5. Plant vegetables. Tomatoes should be planted all the way up to the first bottom leaves.Peat pot with tomato plant.
  6. Add cages (and stakes) to tomato plants to ensure they are sturdy as the vines will get heavy when the tomatoes begin to grow.
  7. Fertilize tomatoes and other vegetables after planting, then every 1-2 weeks. Miracle grow for tomatoes.
  8. Mulch around plants immediately after planting. Mulch options include compost, grass clippings, straw, newspaper. Straw mulch around tomato plants.
  9. Identify plants with marker. Create your own plant labels or simply use the labels that come with the plant. Label of plant type by tomato plant in garden.

Notes

The proper prep work for your raised bed garden will ensure you have delicious tomatoes and other vegetables throughout the summer season.

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6 Comments

  1. I like this idea of a small garden. I think I could keep it alive. Thanks for all the great tips on tomato planting.

  2. Love a little backyard gardening! And that kit looks great and so easy! I am growing lots of the same types of vegetables, and am unintentionally trying my hand at Brussel sprouts (bought the wrong plant). 🙂
    We have to add a wire fence around our garden to keep the dogs from traipsing through. Happy growing!!

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