Really depends on what you are trying to accomplish and how much watering you want to do. If your aim is to grow sheer quantity, then closer spacing is the way to go. Google "Square Foot Gardening" or "French Intensive Gardening" and you will have a wealth of information. However, if you are looking for fewer, larger veggies, then give them space. This also helps if you don't want to have to water them constantly. Closer spacing means more watering and more fertilizing. Give the roots room to expand, and they are alot more "self-sufficient". For instance, in the Square Foot Gardening guide, spacing is as follows (per square foot): Tomatoes: 1 / ft2 (or 12" between plants) Broccoli: 1 / ft2 (or 12" between plants) Onions: 16 / ft2 (or 3" between plants) Lettuce: 4 / ft2 (or 6" between plants) Carrots: 16 / ft2 (or 3" between plants) My spacings are as follows: Tomatoes: 48" between plants in a row, about 5' between rows Broccoli: 36" between plants, about 2.5' between rows Onions: 3" between plants, and 18" between rows Lettuce: 6" between plants, and 24" between rows Carrots: 3" between plants, and 18" between rows Large plants like tomatoes are planted down the centre of a 4' wide raised bed, with a 1' path between each 4' bed. Broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. are all planted in raised rows, about 1.5' wide and with 1.5' in between each row. Small items such as spinach, lettuce, onions, carrots, etc. are planted in 4' wide raised beds, but are planted the "short way", or 4' rows laid across the bed. These short rows are planted 18-24" apart, depending on the plant. The key difference here is that with square foot gardening (or intensive) you can get alot more in the same amount of space. For instance, you get 4x as many onions in the same space with SFG. But, I will bet you that they probably 1/2 the size as the ones that are given the extra room. Additionally, with the method that I use (often termed "extensive-traditional") there is alot less irrigation required. If you have the room try both methods. I'm sure you will find the system that works best for you.

I grow all my tomatoes in raised beds. I grow at least 5 different varieties. Okay, I grow the Romas in an EB, but only cause I don't stake them and I grow so many that it's the easiest for me. I use tomato spiral cages. The only thing I've run in to (and changed when I reworked the north bed) is not enough water retention. Sooo, I worked in a heavier soil with something called "Gro-Bric" which holds 5x it's weight in water. To have fabulous tomatoes, in Fl...you MUST be diligent. You'll have to look out for whiteflies, tomato worms, blossom end rot, etc...but it's possible. (I use sevin dust...no problems at all using that). A lack of water (which is a problem in raised beds) will result in cracking, which isn't a big deal when you're canning or cooking, but is unattractive and if someone doesn't know what cracking is, they won't eat it! I actually use regular sand with a mixture of mulch, garden soil and other junk, but I bake out the nematodes every chance I get... lay 2 or 3 pvc pipes on the unused bed (or part thereof) put sheet plastic over that, weight it down with dirt around the edges and just let it sit in the sun for a few weeks. The temps get sooo hot under there that it kills all nematodes! You MUST have it in full sun, I do it when the spring veggies have had enough! When it's too hot for anything but okra, cherry toms and hot peppers, time to bake out nematodes! Good luck! OH, if you're away, you can always have a soaker hose on a timer. I water just before sunrise.

Every year is a new experiment. This year I have densely planted maters in my 8x8 raised bed. I have 4 sections of tomatoes growing vertically: 4 Romas, 3 Big Boy (was more than that but I, uh, pruned off the main stem and they never recovered), 4 beefsteak, and 5 cherries (didn't know how prolific they were!). In the same bed I have 7 pepper plants (some of which are too shaded from tomato plants), 3 basil plants, some beets, carrots, and bush beans. I also stuck some lettuce seeds in the shade of the tomato plants. There's an 18" path right down the middle. So far, so good. I do not have the yield I see in some of y'all's photos, but it's not bad, either. The plants all seem to be healthy. Follow link for photos. In the fall I need to reorganize b/c the frame timbers are rotting. I'm thinking of using square foot spacing and am wondering if anyone here does that? I realize that some of the most successful people here do not - I'm thinking of those giant cages digdirt and others make - and of course the self-watering containers. Are there any square foot gardeners on this board? Pat Here is a link that might be useful: Pat's garden pics

I am in a hot humid 8b zone. I don't prune. On occasion when the foliage canopy cannot protect the tomatoes from direct mid day sun in June, the tomatoes get scalded. I sacrifice some growing space to keep full foliage as assurance against scalding. I have 4 plants in a 4 x 4 and I expect I will learn if I have been too optimistic in crowding them. I have a twin sister on Austin. When she relays her gardening experiences, the conditions are more brutal heat wise, always hotter sooner. May be less humid, which may give you some wiggle room to prolong pollination into July. Most of my plants shut down in July. They idle or die. Some survive until the heat subsides. In reading this forum, I learned some in my zone plant out again in July. The July and august