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artemis78

Growing tomatoes in planters: how many is too many?

artemis78
15 years ago

(This is cross-posted from over in the tomatoes forum, but figured there might be some good thoughts from container experts over here as well!)

I'm about to have a planter built for our backyard that we'll be using for tomatoes and potentially for an eggplants or peppers, but I'm new to container gardening and struggling with sizes. Basically, the sunniest south-facing spot in the yard is all concrete, whereas our "real" veggie garden is in a shadier area, so we've had trouble with tomato and eggplant yields. (We're in the San Francisco Bay Area, so sun/heat can be a problem.)

Here's my question: how deep should such a planter be, and how many plants can I fit into it? The planter will be four feet wide regardless, but I can either choose to have it be 18 inches wide and deep (~50 gallons), or 24 inches wide and deep (~100 gallons). The smaller size is much less expensive and fits our patio design a bit better, but I'm concerned that it's not deep enough for tomatoes. (Will probably grow determinates.)

I've read that I should be spacing plants 12-18 inches apart. How does that work with the planter edges---do I need 12" on the outside edge as well, or will 6" suffice? Trying to figure out how many plants would thrive in each of the configurations to decide whether the added cost of the extra space is worth it.

Any advice would be much appreciated---thanks!!

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