I have decided to do my tomatoes in a 30’ long grow box. The grow box would have 2 rows running its length. I am going to put a trellis down the middle of the grow box so that I can grow the tomatoes vertically. I am using indeterminate tomatoes that continue to grow throughout the season. I have decided to grow Amish paste tomatoes for half of the row. I have yet to decide what type of tomato to grow for the other half of the row.
Here is the definition that the garden master cd has for grow boxes.
Grow boxes use artificial soil (for example, 1 part washed sand to 3 parts sawdust) and are usually 36 to 48 inches wide, running from10 to 50 feet in length. (For your convenience, Garden Wizard uses 48-inch widths and 30-feet lengths, although you can change either dimension to meet your particular needs.) A grow box is the equivalent of two grow beds within a box made of wood (except cedar), cement, or bricks. Since a grow box bed is really two sets of grow beds in a single grow box, and each bed can have one or two rows of plants (depending on the type of plant), there may be up to 4 rows in a grow box. There is a walkway ranging from 3 to 3.5 feet between each box, and space around the edges of the boxes for easy access. Water and fertilizer are applied directly down the middle of each of the two beds (i.e., between each pair of rows). Grow bed gardening is more expensive than grow box gardening because you need special soil, lumber for the sides, and so forth.
However, grow box gardening can be more successful because you are starting with 'clean' soil which has preferred drainage characteristics and so forth.
In order to have as much success as possible, your garden area should:
- Be at least 36 inches wide
- Have rows running from North to South
- Be levelable (even if you need to use terraces)
- Have an adequate water supply
- Have easy access to boxes
In addition, since you live near Tooele, Utah, your garden should be exposed to a FULL afternoon sun.
Most of your garden will be planted after the last spring freeze, around 5/4/2004.
