You are doing 1 tomato plant per square foot? Have you had success with such crowding in the past? I know most of the experienced Sq. Ft gardeners over on the SQ Foot Gardening forum here (you might want to post this question on that forum) recommend a minimum of 2 squares but I guess it also depends on the variety you are doing - determinate or indeterminate or dwarf.

That said you could probably plant them with the other crops still in place IF those other crops won't remain for long. They will compete for water and nutrients with the tomato plant so would need to be removed before the tomato plant begins to bloom.

Dave

You might be able to do it if you have rich soil, bury the tomato deep and grow them single stem.

I cannot imaging how a tomato plant can be managed in one square foot. Maybe a 16" by 16" square can be done with vigorous pruning ( to no more than 2 stems) and by staking. Dterminants would need even bigger space as you are not supposed to prune them. So they get really bushy.

I am one who plants tomatoes in tight spacing. Even then they get about 3 square foot each. I think 4 square foot is better if you have the real estate.

Sey

That is some seriously intensive planting and it's such an advanced topic that very few people could get anything better than a meager yield.

If that.

I used to plant 8 tomatoes in a 3' x 7' bed. I also planted 4 tomatoes in a 3'x3' bed. I did that for 20 years. I never pruned, they were horribly crowded, but I got tomatoes. It was a jungle and they didn't all ripen by the end of the season, but I definitely got a lot of tomatoes. I don't have any tomato diseases here, though, and we have dry summers. I also planted lettuce and onions on the outside sides of the bed sometimes. They did fine as well. I used an organic fertilizer and lots of irrigation. My beds were 12" raised beds with virgin prairie dirt and compost, so I had a lot of easy root growing room for my plants.

I have always pushed the limit on my growing space. Last year I grew about 300 Red Long of Tropea onions in a 3'x6' bed. Again, lots of water and organic fertilizer.

After all is said and done, It's only plants and dirt, trial and error and learning from it. Have fun and see what works!

Rebecca

My tomatoes will go in the ground in another month. My lettuce and arugula are going to seed now, but the chard is still doing fine. Unfortunately, I'll have to harvest all of it to plant the tomatoes. My suggestion would be for you to do the same.

It's all in the planning and it may or not not be too late to think about now, especially depending on the climate where you live, but...

If you have multiple squares of lettuce, cabbage, arugula, etc.. then you can harvest every 2nd or 3rd sq. early for baby salad greens.

Cabbage in a sq, ft. is also pushing the envelope, but it can share above-ground space easily with a tomato planted in the adjacent squares. That type of planning would actually give you approximately 4 sq. ft./cabbage and tomato plant. The lettuce could be sown early in the sq. ft. where the tomato will go, and harvested as the tomato is set out.

Small spaces do require a bit more planning and ingenuity, but can be quite successful. The main thing is to decide what crops are the priorities, and then figure out the best ways to harvest that would maximize your efforts. If tomato is a priority, and there's not enough time for heading plants, then think baby greens.

if you are following the square foot gardening guidelines correctly you should be fine. given the responses so far of the other posters in this thread most don't have clue about square foot gardening.

And thank you, Gridgardener for your kindly response!!

Thanks, Dave! :)

the reasons I said other posters don't understand square foot is simple.

1. "You might be able to do it if you have rich soil, bury the tomato deep and grow them single stem." square foot requires rich soil. even at best square foot soil mixes using the 1 ft depth in original square foot guidelines sqquare is never really deep.

2. digdirt spacing for is different under square foot for 1 per foot indeterminate and 2ft x2ft determinate varieties using the original spacing method

3. 1 cabbage in 1 sqft is fill under guidelines which require you to use cabbage varieties that don't get to big.

4. given original post did give diagram of the square foot planting or dates and varieties given more help is bit difficult. give so may unknown variables.

digdirt spacing for is different under square foot for 1 per foot
indeterminate and 2ft x2ft determinate varieties using the original
spacing method

________________________

Well, that is not "Square foot" ? I plant mine roughly in 3 sq-ft.

As with determinants , they need just as much space as indets. The reason being that I don't prune any side branches on them and they get real bushy and wide.

Here is my planting scheme, just an example in a 3ft x 6ft bed.

So, I guess there is more than one way to do just about anything.

Sey

gridgardener, do you understand the concept of hypothetical scenarios?

Secondly, the question had nothing to do with following the sq. ft. gardening method exactly, rather the concerns were about space already being filled. The scenarios I presented (I can only speak for myself) made allowances for not having exact varieties, nor details. The concept is about planning, and how plants of different types can share space and be planted in succession.

I have to agree that if I were the OP, I would conclude that instead of offering useful information, you mainly put everyone down... including the OP. As you point out (if indeed I understand you correctly) there was little detail about neither the garden, nor the varieties planted. Your comment expects this person to be "following the square foot gardening guidelines correctly." What if they weren't 'following it correctly'? What if they wanted to plant a larger cabbage? Would you consider that 'incorrect'? Would they no longer be 'sq. ft. gardening'?

I stand by my comment and offered a way to still be using the sq. ft. technique regardless of your off-base negative criticism.

rgreen48What if they wanted to plant a larger cabbage? Would you consider that 'incorrect'?

I guess you forgot to read the part square foot guidelines that deal with both bigger and smaller type of vegetables in a square foot setting. which is to plant the vegetable in question is final in row spacing distance. if it say plant 18 in apart you do it. the reason I know this is three fold One it is obvious , Second I ask the square foot gardening author himself the question when I met him in person a few years ago. finally it is one most common questions he got over years and is answered in square foot answer book.

ttfn

Then, when you speak with him again, ask him if it's okay, if instead of growing a smaller cabbage, to plant a large cabbage in a square that is surrounded on each side by 4 tomato plants (or any, especially taller-growing single-stem plants.)

Make sure we aren't breaking the laws of sq. ft. gardening, and that we are doing it correctly. Remember, earlier you said that smaller cabbages are the correct way. Now you admit that larger cabbages are 'allowed'. Which is it?

I really don't mind you speaking up to help the OP (as I'm sure you have much to add,) but please don't put others down in the process. I make mistakes at times... we all do... but please try not to make yourself look good at our expense.

I said it suggested using small cabbage. if want to use large ones the guidelines tell how do it. but shoving it between tomatoes would cause other issues like crowding and shading issue for cabbage.

you suggestion of planting for single stem tomatoes plant on all for sides of cabbage would also violate regular vegetable garden rule short plants in front and tall plants and trellised plants in back. or where you putting in some weird type trellis to train the single stem plants up around the cabbage.

"1 cabbage in 1 sqft is fill under guidelines which require you to use cabbage varieties that don't get to big."

To 'require' is not to suggest, and now it's getting silly.

well you ask if used cabbage that would grow to big for square foot spacing.

I told you.

if read the square books there two concepts you seem be missing square is not just one plant or several plants of same type in 1 foot x1 square. the standard square foot box is 4ftx4ft for adults and 3ftx3ft for kids. there several spacing sizes for vegetable plants that take more or less space depending how they are grown or the vegetable variety type in square system.

if wish I will post page number and book source source of each examples below.

example 1 :

{zucchini trellised or grown around string is spaced 1 plant per square foot.

zucchini grow flat 3ftx3ft in square foot bed.

example 2:

{

early season short height sweet corn 4 plant per foot spacing as a #4 on dice

mid season medium height sweet corn 2 plants per foot spacing as a #2 on dice

late season tall height sweet corn 1 plant per square foot spacing as a #1 on dice

}

There are a lot rules in square method but if understand the flexibility
designed into rules you can use them properly. The author/inventor of square foot
gardening was engineer. Which means scalar design is built into system. there also lot tricks that you can use if read the books carefully to deal with larger vegetable plant sizes. I could post some diagram to explain them to you ;but t you have shown a lack mastery of system and I don't time to explain it all to you "grasshopper".

Sq Foot Gardening guidelines are just that - guidelines. They are not "requirements" nor "rules" nor cast in stone. They have evolved, changed, over the years because of the many variables involved. There are literally hundreds of varying opinions about them based on experiences and in his talks Bartholomew often discusses the need for flexibility and adaptability when doing it because of those variables.

So there is no one way of doing it, or even two ways, no absolutes. And there is clearly no justification for arguing that others "don't have a clue about it" because they have adapted/modified the basic guidelines because of those variables and their experience. Anyone can offer their opinion on how they do it and why but personal attacks on them just because it differs from another's opinion are nothing more than pointless rude behavior. There is nothing to be gained by engaging a person who repeatedly uses such tactics.

However, as there has been no follow-up by the OP, no response to the questions initially posed, this entire discussion is moot.

Dave

Idk anything about square foot gardening, though I can't possibly imagine growing a tomato in one square foot, however I just wanted to add to the discussion that I grew lettuce right at the feet of my tomatoes last year (IIRC it was an accident), and it did great. It was a good size by the time the tomatoes provided heavy shade and was harvested in early summer. Of course each tomato plant has several square feet for sure.