Squeeze em in?

9 of them in that size plot? Bad idea. Some of your proposed space occupiers I would eliminate:

Ditch: Aunt Ruby's German Green, Yellow Pear, Tigerella.

Assuming your plants can hang over the outside edges of your plot, and you can care for the plants without going inside the 8 X 11' plot, it might handle 6 plants.

If I was working with that space and those varieties (some of which I know nothing about), I would just plant 6 Brandywines, and forget everything else.

I disagree with tdscpa's evaluation. If all you have in the plot are tomatoes, you can probably squeeze them in.

In my garden, I plant indeterminates three feet apart in rows that are six feet apart. Some people put their rows closer, but that give me room for my garden cart or other equipment. At that spacing, if you start planting a foot from the edge of the garden, you can put in 8 tomatoes in each row. You wouldn't have to have six feet between rows since you will only have the two, four or five feet would be fine.

If you squeeze one row down to about a 28" spacing with the end plants a couple of inches closer to the edge, which I don't recommend since all of your plants have an indeterminate growth habit, you could put 5 in the row. It isn't "ideal" but it is do-able, and their are gardener's who use a closer spacing than that.

Better still, could you put one plant in a large container?

Of the plants you have listed, ARGG would NOT be one I eliminated. The only cherry type you have listed is yellow pear, and it's an ok tasting tomato (my youngest son is an adult now and it is still his favorite tomato.) I'd consider putting it into a container since it is prolific and it can take some neglect/abuse and still produce.

Betsy

It seems feasible to me. I opened an Excel spreadsheet, made an 8x11 (1-11, A-H) box with each cell representing one foot and started placing X's where I thought plants could go. I had no problems fitting 9 plants in there with enough room between plants for a body to get through to harvest and maintain. Yes, it will be crowded, but it is certainly doable.

Here is what I have. Open a new Excel spreadsheet. Place X's at the following locations:
A1, D1, G1
B4, E4, H4
A7, D7, G7
B10, E10, H10

There you go. 12 plants with more than two feet on either side. Yes, it's crowded, but can be done. If you are just trying to get 9 plants in, you could easily put over three feet between each plant and go with three rows of three.

Try it out and see what you can come up with.

Yes, I will just be attempting tomatoes on the plot, no other veggies. There were so many tomatoes to choose from that I just closed my eyes and pointed my finger at my screen. The Moreton and Ramapo are the only ones I specifically chose.

Betsy, I believe I will consider putting the yellow pear in a container and keep that one outside of my apt.

I definitely don't want to ditch any of the tomatoes as this is the beginning of my journey, so I'm just going to roll with the punches and see what happens. I have heard good things about Aunt Ruby's. We'll see what my taste buds say should everything go as planned.

Thanks Archerb, I did as you suggested and it doesn't look too bad. It's a community garden and they have rules, but I'm sure nobody is going to scream bloody murder if my plants go outside my plot a bit. However, I do want to respect the rules and other gardeners (should there be any no clue if anyone else purchased a plot).

While I'm here...considering it's a community garden and they have done this in the previous years, I imagine I should test the soil. I admit I've never really done that, but it seems like common sense considering I have no idea what was grown there previously? Does it even matter?

Thanks a lot for the replies gang. Gotta go check on my seedlings!!

Todd

Darn, can't edit a post...

Another question...tomorrow is the orientation for the garden and I we get to choose a plot inside of a large garden space. Should I consider a plot in a specific place, like the middle of the entire garden? Would near the fence be preferable?

I'm not sure it matters, but figured I would ask.

I guess there are minor things to consider, like traffic from other gardeners, perhaps the fence casting shade, etc... I don't know haha.

Todd

Good to know the yellow pear can do well in a container. I am looking for a tomato for a container.

Todd, I would go for a corner lot. Then you can put plants close to the fencing without hanging over another gardners space.

Also, I would take a shovel and dig a small spot. Maybe you can avoid any plots with lots of yucky dirt or too many rocks. just my opinion. I love to garden and my area has lots of rocks!!!

Karen

I have no idea about this stuff. I guess I have bigger garden 100X60 feet. I am struggling to plant one plant or two in the spot. Last year I put 2 plants in some spots and was too crowded. For each plant spot I put 5 feet wire house. It is neat and worked good last year. This year I planted only two varieties Butter-boy Hybrid and cherry tomatoes.

I meant to say "you can put in 4 tomatoes in each row." I suppose I was thinking of the total in both rows when I typed 8. Sheesh, they would be close then.

Betsy

Well, I went to the community garden and picked out my plot yesterday. I chose a plot in the corner, which seems to be nice. Good call on that, Karen. Actually, when I picked a corner plot there was an extra 3-4 feet to the fence and she said I could use that if I wanted (however it was not tilled), so BONUS SPACE!

They have a nice sprinkler system setup and provide pretty much everything. The woman who has a plot next to mine grows nothing but tomatoes, and has been doing it for quite some time, so gardenweb+her should be a nice set of resources.

I was also excited to learn that the garden was an old kitchen garden, where the gardener grew food for the family that lived in the mansion. So, I was told the soil is really nice. Not only that, but one of the people who care for the mansion is also a beekeeper and keeps bees right near the garden, so pollination should be fun.

I'm excited.

Todd

Hey Todd,

Tomatoes are self pollinating, so you don't need bees to get fruit. If you want to save seeds for next year and have them grow true to the parent type, you may want to consider bagging a few blossoms so that they aren't crossed.

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: How Do I Prevent Tomatoes from Cross-pollinating?

YEAH, sounds so nice Todd!

I bet you have some good soil. I saw some cheap soil testers at a bix box store. I wonder if those work?

I plan to test and add materials as needed this year. I had puny plants last summer :(

Good luck! Sounds like you picked a good spot. Plus extra space!!

Betsy,

Thanks for that information. I may in fact end up doing that. I don't have any rare seeds as I'm a beginner, but I guess we never know what will happen down the line.

Yeah, the soil seems real nice. I've been debating on whether to have it tested (sent to a lab, not the PH kits you get from the store), but I may just forget about that and just do it (like Nike). If I am as passionate next year, then I may just go that route.

Aunt Ruby's German Green
Azoychka
Black Cherry
Black Krim
Brandywine
Dr. Wyche's Yellow
German Orange Strawberry
Kellogg's Breakfast
Monomakh's Hat Tomato
Moreton F1
Old German
Ramapo
Rutgers
Soldacki
Sungold
Tess's Land Race Currant
Tigerella
Yellow Pear

Now what to actually plant... it never ends...

I meant 'just do it' as in just plant and see what happens.