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North Of The Border

The "optimal" spacing, is 5 feet. This jas grown a 10 pound tomato, so it has some merit, but a bucket, 1 foot space, has grown a 6.8 pound tomato, so this has some merit.

I don't believe that the full 25 square feet is needed, but maybe more than 1 square foot.
I was wondering about personal experiences with small areas, or bigger areas.

10/11/2020 2:56:38 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

One of the reasons that space is needed for tomato plants is so that they will not be shaded by nearby plants. They need the sunlight.

10/12/2020 10:11:17 AM

North Of The Border

That makes sense. Would it work better, if you face the row of plants South, (and run it east west) to let the plants get as much sun as possible? Also, how much do they actually shade each other if they are, say 3 feet apart, in comparison to 2, or 4?

Thanks!

10/12/2020 4:00:45 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

That depends on how far apart the rows are.

10/12/2020 7:44:45 PM

Grittyville, WA

If you are going to let your plants get big then 5x5 ft is the minimum in my experience. It all depends whats the end size you expect to prune them to. The domingoes are really big plants that can take up 5x5 if they aren't pruned. Sprawling plants have worked well for me and they take even more space... like 6x6. I tried 3 ft spacing last year but the plants got crowded. Either coulda thinned or pruned more or I could have spaced them farther to begin with.

10/12/2020 10:05:54 PM

Lebanon, Oregon

Agree with G. Kins. Half my garden was 6x6. The other half 4x4. I prefer 6x6 for less shading of other plants end better sir circulation. Ironically, my top 4 tomatoes this year were from plants at the end of rows. Coincidence? No competition one one side? I need to plant more shorter rows with more ends!

10/12/2020 11:57:20 PM

Norfolk, UK

Agree on reducing shading / air circulation - that’s why I moved my plants further apart this season. Also depends on your pruning - a single stem BZ can be tighter than a multi stemmed Domingo.

10/13/2020 1:43:56 AM

North Of The Border

With no southern shading, only watermelon that direction, and with intense pruning, would 3x3 be enough?

10/13/2020 4:09:33 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

You realize that two plants 3 feet apart have essentially 18 inches of space to grow in? Plants 4 feet apart have 2 feet to grow before they actually touch one another.

10/13/2020 5:40:25 PM

North Of The Border

Well, yes...
But, they can also grow the other direction. I was just wondering about ground spacing, and what would work best, not sunlight spacing, and was wondering what amount of distance soilwise they needed, not sunlight.

Would a 3x3 be enough soil, or would it need more?

10/13/2020 6:30:37 PM

On top of Brush Mountain, Pa.

This would all depend on the quality of you soil. If Salad can grow a 6 pound tomato in a 5 gallon bucket then there you go.

10/13/2020 6:54:01 PM

Grittyville, WA

Depends of u can water daily. Some of the top growers water/fertigate on a timer more than once a day. I like the wider space because then I could probably ignore the plants for a week and assuming the roots are healthy there will be enough water that in the ground that the plants will remain healthy. So it probably comes down to watering and pruning. You could go closer... but less BER if the roots aren't crowded. If roots are crowded & get overly thirsty... it's a setup for BER as soon as you turn the water back on.

10/14/2020 6:05:12 PM