I put mine out in rows, as it makes harvesting easier. I would think a block would be hard to reach the plants on the inside. I'm sure others will have answers other than mine. Good Luck!
Shelley

Thanks!

How much space do you leave between rows?

Bart

How much space do you have to work with? When you say blocks, I assume you mean more rows that are shorter, with paths between. Everything will depend on how much room you have as well as plant spacing. I wouldn't want to walk long rows so would lean towards more, shorter rows.

I plant mine in rows of 15-20. I use the ladscape fabric that is 3' wide down each row. Then I have grass walk ways between the rows. It works great because there are no weeds to pul or hoe around the plants. I made my paths big enough I can drive my truck between them to make watering eaisier. I have to haul water to my garden in a 200 gallon tank.

I'd go with rows, if I were you. I planted a block of six Celebrities last year, and practically had to hire small children to harvest the middle of the block. I can't imagine trying to get to the middle of a six by seven plant block.

We have raised beds and plant our tomatoes in double rows about 3 feet apart. The beds are 4 feet wide so the tomatoes are planted close to the outer edges of the beds. Within each row they are spaced 2 feet to 3 feet apart and I get about 8-12 plants per row. I also stagger the rows so that if you looked down on them from above it is a zigzag pattern, instead of like parallel like the rungs on a ladder. That improves the spacing of the tomatoes so they don't crowd each other.

I agree with the other post if you plant tomatoes in a block pattern they are difficult to harvest without trampling the soil, and they get all tangled with each other.

An alternative compromise that I use in high tunnels is to have sets of rows, in your case 3. Double rows could be 20-24' appart and plants staggared so they are not directly accross from another plant in the adjouning row. Then you can allow a 30-36" walking aisle between the sets of rows for picking access.

I try to plant same varieties accross from eachother within the double rows because they grow together and are difficult to distinguish, even with heavy suckering and clipping on a stringline.

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

I think I'm going to use landscape fabric to try to keep the weeds under control. Do you think it's better to plant along the edge of the fabric (between two rolls/rows of fabric), or plant right down the center and cut holes in the fabric?

I like the idea of having grass rows to walk on instead of walking down rows of fabric, but I also like the idea of not having to cut holes in the fabric and dig and plant through the holes.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again,
Bart

I plant mine down the middle of the fabric and cut holes for the plants. It really isn't too bad to do as long as your plants aren't too big. I just plant to whole row and then put the fabric down and cage them as I go. The cages do well holding the fabric down. I have had really good success doing them this way. It also gives your garden a tidy look when it is all mowed up.

One word of caution, don't do this when the wind is blowing really hard and get cages on them ASAP. The fabric will tear a plant up in a hurry if the wind blows it around.

Use the cheap 5 year fabric because it is pretty much toast after a season. I got a 150' roll at Menards for 7.99 this spring.

Thanks!

I'm still working on my seed starting timing, and I certainly haven't perfected it yet because my plants are quite large. They probably could have gone into ground three weeks ago if it was warm enough.

I guess I'll try the hole cutting method and just bury the plants deep!

Thanks again,
Bart

Another thing about blocks is you have to be ok with things like spiders and such. When you go wading into the middle you will be popping in to visit more than one I imagine. At least I always seem to have a vibrant spider community in my tomato plants. They are more than welcome there, I just don't like 'surprises' if you know what I mean. Kids won't venture in there either based on that knowledge.

Never thought much about the spiders but we have a pile of garter snakes under the black plastic. They must like the warmth. The insects I worry about most are hornets. They will definately let you know that they don't want you near their nest. But in reality the thing you will dislike most is contact with the very plants you are growing. That green stain will coat your hands and arms. You will probably itch from plant contact. The more dense the foliage, the more you will subject yourself to "Plant ruboff syndrome".