Help With Design Layout

I was wondering what your thoughts are for the following layout. Last year was my first at SFG and I only had 2 3 x 6 boxes which was a good start. I'm looking to expand with 2 new 4 x 8 boxes. Last year I started Roma and Big Beef from transplants and only used a 4x4 area and they each could have used a 9x9 thus the new boxes. This year, I'll give the Roma the 9x9 and put the Big Beef on a trellis as described by Mel, but I will purne it this time. However, I want to start them indoors if I can, as well as other veggies which I'll be doing more reasearch on soon. I'm thinking I'll be doing my lettuce and spinach first and them move on the the peppers, but I need to find a schedule.

The different colors are to help me know which square to plant. The light colors are the first week and the dark colors are a week or 2 apart. Blue/Greenish is for some of the colder/cooler weather plants and the orange is for the summer plants.

Thanks

My experience is that cucumbers are wild things best to be grown together. They will do their vining thing with each other then and you can prune them to keep their tendrils from the neighbors better that way. Same with peas. So I would group those. Big Beef is a big plant, as you learned, alternating it with cucumbers is going to be an ongoing headache. I give Big Beef 18" square. That is with caging and pruning to keep it in there. So why not plant the cool weather greens in the in between squares with the tomatos, and pull them out when the tomato grows into their space?

Hope that is helpful. I can only dream of a Roma covering 9sqf. Maybe in my cold frame this summer they will do that. But you are alot better tomato growing country than I am.

Thanks, I'll us adjacent squares for the cucumbers and peas. I originally thought about that, but was reading that you should try not to plant the same thing to close to prevent dieses or bugs from spreading. However, I think it will be easier to identify one veggie on half the trellis and the other veggie on the other, so I'll do cucumber -> cucumber -> peas -> peas in one box. As for the other box, are you saying to put on the trellis cucumber -> cucumber and put the Big Beef in the center of the next 3 x 3 section where I currently have carrots, broccoli, spinach, collard, etc.

Well, what I was really suggesting is leaving out the cucumber between the Big Beef tomatoes. Plant that square in the spinach or mustard greens or something that will not last into your summer heat. You can train Big Beef with 2 main vines per root and it will do very well. It might squeeze the chives/collards/onions in front of it or they might be low enough to not interfere. Prune the lower leaves off your tomatoes regardless, for disease prevention. I am not sure how the final cucumber will make out on that trellis. I would be tempted to plant cherry tomato there for garden snacking and then whack at it keep it contained. But I probably like cucumbers less than you do.

Caveat here. I grow Big Beef in a greenhouse in tall cages I hang from the roof. I hate to prune. BUT the reality is that I end up having to do some, and that results in 2 vines per plant which the roots easily support.

Thanks Turan,

Here is a picture of my Big Beef before and after from last year. I really like the taste and everyone I gave some to also like them very much.

Big Beef - Nice and cute


Big Beef - Showing how it got its name

I love them too. So far they are my favorite tomato.
They roast really well for freezing and eating now. I still have a couple bags left.