I grow great tomatoes(very sweet, no lie) and for years have compared with others tomatoes ...I only water them when they really really need in so so soil and do not fertilize much ( several locations and climates..same results) Some plants really need lots of organic material in the soil Like cucumbers . So I make little spots for the ones that require loamy soil. And keep the ones that like more water close to each other.Economising water usage..I am basically a water miser. I'm also lazy so raised beds11?? OK so I need yard slave before that will happen. I grow in what even is handy. I can never be accused of over watering especially tomatoes. I only grow Early girl and better boy. Have tried Heirloom with mixed results so stick to my proven winners. (some grape tommy toes are great.) Red candy every year..though recently moved to Oregon and will have to change my technique..inconsistent sun has made for a poor tomato crop but I hear everyone had that problem. Lettuce you have to pick as soon as it is ready!! Letting it go past that and it starts turning bitter. So so with carrots, need more amending of soil here. Something here clobbers my baby sprouts ..esp.. broccoli!! Never had issues with beets even in poor soil..also water miser. Like with fruit/ citrus..you give too much water and it dilutes the flavor.

Anecdotal evidence. Why do some folks have so much trouble accepting it? Isn't that where discovery and progress begin? If a cancer pill came out that claimed to kill 75% of tumors should that pill be rejected because it failed in 25% of cases. If a "cure" for baldness was discovered that helped 80 folks out of 100 should that cure be abandoned because 20 people weren't helped? If scientific proof is the only thing to guide us in our decision-making, all we have to do is reflect on how many "truths" have fallen throughout the history of the world. Remember when the world was flat? And the sun revolved around the Earth? I'll say it once again, a little more emphatically this time for the naysayers. I've been gardening for thirty years. I remember the times when my tomato plants and everything else were infested with aphids. INFESTED. I remember when my kitchen sink was littered with aphids as I rinsed the lettuce over and over again. I was reluctant to give some to the neighbors, thinking they would probably throw it away. No more! Two rinses is all they need now, just to get rid of some dirt. I haven't seen a single aphid YET this year. And the tomato plants are coming along, clean as a whistle. That's all the science this guy needs. One further note (very important). I start my marigolds indoors in early February so that I will have established potted plants by early April when the first lettuce plants are going into the ground. This way the marigolds are in early bloom long before aphid arrival time. By late April, when lettuce is being picked and mid-May, when the tomatoes are making their move in my zone 7, the marigolds are in full bloom, lending great color to the garden and doing their thing, which is to deter aphids. Try it; you'll like it.

One web page says it is moderately toxic to mammals and it does kill honey bees and other insects. Last year I lost cukes and squash to cucumber beetles. Since I planted different varieties I noticed that some varieties didn't seem to be bothered by striped cucumber beetles. i.e. zucchini romanesquo. Squash bugs followed the cuke beetles. I replanted the winter squash only to lose some beautiful squash to gnawing critters. I am trying not to use any pesticides. So in addition to growing varieties that don't seem to be bother much, this year we kept the zucchini bed under a fabric low tunnel until almost 4th of July (I'm in NH) and the plants were getting huge. I also use this tunnel in the fall to protect a late planting of bush beans. I did find a couple of striped cucumber beetles. They were frequently spending the mornings inside the female blossoms. The squash bugs have started so I have been going out in the morning to scrape eggs into a bowl of soapy water. I also grew some cucumber plants inside and put them out as young plants with some marigolds which are reputed to repel cucumber beetles. I still lost a couple of plants but I'm not sure which varieties. The rest of the little patch is doing fine and we are eating cucumbers. This year's winter squash were planted in a new area on the other side of the house from the veggie garden. I thought maybe the bugs wouldn't find it this year. The seeds were planted late but look like they are doing fine. I did find a couple of beetles but no egg masses .... yet.

Mmmm fresh veggies from the backyard? YES please! I started doing all veggies and herbs in containers and window-boxes. Tomatoes do great in pots if the pot is large enough. That is about the only thing I've had true success with in a pot. My garden this last year didn't do as great as I had hoped due to lack of rain the first couple months of summer. Being in central east Wisconsin, we only have a few months to enjoy a veggie garden before frost takes over. If you're doing a 14X4 foot you can do quite a few things. I'd suggest doing tomatoes in pots to leave more room for other delights in the bed. Some beans and peas varieties don't take up much space, peppers grow tall so they can be planted closer together than other plants, herbs can be done in containers but I personally have had better luck in beds being I'm in zone 4. As for anything else- squashes take a lot of space and sun, broccoli and califlower like cool weather so they should go into the bed in early spring to avoid bolting, and root-veg should also go in early so you have something to pull-up before winter comes. My veg garden is 30x20 and I have enough room to plant some of everything and anything. One year I got really ambitious and had 60 tomato plants. Half my garden was a jungle, but it was fun. I wish you luck on doing a veggie garden next spring! I also love all the photos of the raised beds others posted. Beautiful!