Author: Kelly
• Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

I spent some time planting in my raised bed garden yesterday. Already had some corn, peas, and some lemon basil in so I put in some tomatoes.

Now I’ve planted tomatoes in the past but I’ve only really had success with cherry tomatoes. This time I did some research. Soil is the first thing to consider. From listening to Randy Lemmon (garden guru) on the radio I’ve learned to go heavy with the rose soil.

Angie's List!

Next, not all vegetable species are created equal. Certain varieties do better in any given location. For my location along the sunny gulf coast, I bought Carnival and Better Bush, both determinate.

Say what? Yes, that’s something else I learned: the terms determinate and indeterminate. Don’t you just love counter-intuitive words? In a nutshell, determinate tomato plants only reach a given height, four feet is a good bet, and produce fruit within a short period of time.

Indeterminate ones, on the other hand, grow larger, need staking, and bear fruit for a longer period of time.


Will I save much money by growing my own vegetables? Probably not this year, give what I’ve shelled out for building the raised bed. Cinder blocks, soil, and mulch. This year, I do it for homegrown organic flavor. Next year, I save money!

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11 Responses



  1. This topic is quite trendy in the net right now. What do you pay the most attention to when choosing what to write about?


  2. I follow your blog for a long time and must tell that your posts always prove to be of a high value and quality for readers.


  3. I only want to say thanks for all the great info found on your blog, even helped me with my job recently :) keep it up!


  4. I always doubted whether gardening would be profitable, but man it is. today my main income cmoes from Juniper bonsai gardening .


  5. Thanks for writing this. Gardening was a favorite activity of mine, with my mom when I was a kid. It’s nice to keep it up for the next generation.


  6. A classmate urged me to look at this site, nice post, interesting read… keep up the good work!


  7. I found this site via Bing and just wanted to take some time to thank you for writing about these great growing tips. I will be sure tell about this site to my mother. Thanks again!


  8. From the desert state of Rajasthan, this one’s a delight. The Rajasthani people were often deprived of fresh vegetables and fruits in their hostile arid environment. Most also happened to be die-hard vegetarians. They used non-perishable dried legumes, and root vegetables such as potatoes, onions and garlic capable of prolonged storage


  9. I’m spending more and more time on this site when I really should be concentrating on work. keep it up. and remember “If life gives you weeds….make herbal tea. =) Keep on Gardening


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