That's right - tomato bunk-beds.
Most of us are familiar with the common variety vegetable garden bed, and usually visuallize a neat rectangle or square, often raised with a neat border of timber, full of beautiful fertile soil from which grows a multitude of healthy plants, bearing lots of produce. Well, perhaps that's what we hope to see. And often in this picture you will see a stand of vertical stakes to which tomatoe vines are tied, in the true and time tested manner. Well, for the past couple of years I've done something a little bit different, and following great success with it, I'd like to share this system.

My vegetable beds, all measuring 5' X 12', are set up for a rotational system, to reduce attacks by diseases and pests. Now, each season the two beds reserved for tomatoes are converted to 'bunk-beds'. This is done first by spacing four vertical stakes, each about 5' tall, along each side of the bed. From these are suspended three layers of 3" re-inforcing mesh laid flat, beginning 18" above the ground, and then spaced about 18" apart. The finished structure somewhat resembles a triple bunk-bed - (anybody ex navy?) - but with not much room between the beds - (ex submariners?).

I raise tomatoe seedlings, keeping them straight with small bamboo stakes, until they are about 12 - 15"" tall, then transplant them ino the garden bed, under the lowest bunk. They are left for a couple of weeks to make sure they are well established, by which time their tops are beginning to grow through the first layer of mesh. I also at this time lay down dripper hose along the bed for irrigaton. Beneath the mesh, the plants are trimmed of side growth consisting of new leaders, then the space is filled with a layer of hay mulch. I use hay made from long grass cutting, gathered when the local council and water authority slashes their land. This provides me with a good, cost nothing mulch that doesn't pack down too hard. To this mulch I add a generous ammount of composted fertilizer and sometimes a bit of blood and bone meal.

Tomatoes, and corn, actually send out arial feeder roots, and if you have plenty of well fertilised mulch packed up around the stems, they will take advantage of this and increase your yield tremendously. Don't worry about collar-rot around the stems of these plants - it doesn't happen.

Now I let the plants extend their growth: Up through to the bunk above, and horizontally along each bed. The vertical growing tips are pinched off after they grow through the uppermost layer. As the plants begin to fruit, some will hang down through the mesh, but some I lift a little and place a handfull of straw underneath to support them. Grown in this manner, the tomatoes are kept clean, and are very easy to harvest. By the way, tomatoes are not ripened by sunlight: They are ripened by warmth, and indeed too much sun can be detrimental to the fruit, so don't trim off any growth to 'let the sun in'.

For harvesting tomatoes, pick the fruit when you see a pink glow at the base of each fruit, then ripen them in a warm place, out of direct sunlight, which you might be surprised to learn actually reduces their vitamin C content. (And I had always thought that 'vine ripened' tomatoes were best!) Of course, if you are running a self-pick garden for a bit of pocket money, you'd have to leave a lot on the vine, 'cause people just love to see rich, red tomatoes growing. Have your drying racks and canning equipment handy!

Had to come back and edit this thread to add a tip that I picked up recently: Aspirin!
Tomatoes under stress produce a very small ammount of salisylic acid, however it is usually not enough or too little to help the plant when it is most needed. You can crumble up a small handful of aspirin and spread it around your bed to provide a ready supply when and if the plants need it. I was rather sceptical when I first heard this, but after some anecdotal evidence, plus a bit of research on the web, I decided to follow up on the reccommendation, and have to admit that my tomatoes do look very robust and healthy. (We've had some pretty strange weather lately: Long periods of hot weather that have dried out the soil completely, then just when I want to get the tractor out to do some more leveling of the block, the heavens open up and we go underwater again. I wouldn't be surprised if the tomatoes have been stressed out by this sequence: I know I have been!)

U got pictures?

Got to save up and buy a new camera - ours is broken - but I'll see if I can organise something. I've actually decided that next season when I'm setting the system up I'll make a photo record, and possibly a video, of the entire procedure - something along the lines of Garden Girl's 'Urban Sustainable Homestead' site.

Any word on this ?? photos ?

Sorry Ocala,
The situation at the moment down here is:
It's the first month of winter;
It's been raining steadily for a couple of weeks;
and the veggie garden is flooded - again.

But....

Winter will end,
The rain will cease,
The veggie beds will dry out,
and I will start again.

And as so many people are interested, here and elsewhere, I will be taking a series of photos to show each step:
Construction of the bunks, planting, irrigation system, mulching, training the plants, harvesting, and processing of the yeild.
I'll post photos as the work progresses, (along with other projects).

Again I ask ANY pictures ?

wow 2 years to get pictures..Bid is setting a worlds record...

I'm going to send him a cheap disposable digital camera, will be worth it to see what he is talking about, lol.

LOL. OK guys, I do now have a digital camera, so when it's time to ready the beds for the coming season I'll assemble a bunk and take some pics to post.

WooHoo! Thanks bid!