Trellised Tomatoes in 1 Square Foot
I was more than a bit skeptical that a large indeterminate tomato plant could be grown in 1 square foot on a vertical frame. Well…I did it and it was great! The plants grew without disease and were easy to manage. My favorite part was picking the ripe ones. I no longer had to “dive” in the green to get the red. I grew three plants in side by side squares with a basil plant on the end nearest the path.
This is a Cherokee Purple on the Vertical Frame
The construction of the frame was easy and inexpensive. All the materials you need to build a vertical frame are usually available locally. I picked up the 1/2″ conduit, 1/2″ rebar, and elbow connectors at the home improvement store. The nylon trellis netting is available at Wal-mart or Amazon.com.
I will be adding a vertical frame to each of my boxes next year. Place them on the north end of the box so you do not shade any of your other crops. This simple addition to a square foot garden allows you to grow more kinds of crops. I plan on doing tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, and maybe even a small watermelon on mine next year.
I’m jealous! I lost all of my tomatoes to blight this year. I’m going to have to put them in a greenhouse if I want any next year.
It was my first year trying cucumbers, and they did very well on the trellis, so good luck with yours next year. If you plant 4 cukes like I did, you’ll be up to your ears in the things.
I have a question, what kind of zucchini will you put on a trellis? I didn’t think they were vining squash.
Cucumbers will be on the trellises next year for sure. The ones I put out early got zapped by a cold night and the replacements got sunburned. We love a salad made from early tomatoes, cucumbers, and Balsamic Vinaigrette. We also will add some basil and cheese. Simple and great!
In this other blog entry http://allaboutsquarefootgardening.com/ you first identify these same 3 tomatoes as “Cherokee Purple” then farther down the page you identify these same 3 tomatoes as “Purple Passion.” What gives?
Bill
Your posts keep me coming back
Bill,
Thanks for pointing out this naming to photograph error. It is the Purple passion tomato that is pictured above. I know this is true, because the Cherokee Purple grew in a homemade earth box in 2007. Thanks for pointing this out.
I love everything about gardening, growing plants and learning all I can about organic gardening and all the garden accessories that are out there. Keep up the great work on this blog and I look forward to visiting again. By the way, you might really enjoy what you find at http://gardeninglunatic.com Have a great day