Growing tomatoes in the same bed: this is how it works every year

Created: 02/02/2022, 17:43

By: Mattias Nemeth

As a rule, you always want to grow tomatoes in the same place, but a few points have to be considered, because you usually have to follow a crop rotation.

Munich – Anyone who grows vegetables should also pay close attention to when what is grown.

Because if you don't pay attention to this, it can lead to increased diseases or leaching of the soil.

But tomatoes often cannot be moved, which is why you should grow the tomatoes in the same bed every year, but is that possible?

24garten.de explains*.

Growing tomatoes in the same bed: this is how it works every year

With few exceptions, tomatoes are more likely to be grown in greenhouses or tomato houses.

These are usually permanently built on the spot and can therefore not be moved.

The exception here are the foil tunnels.

These can often be moved with a few simple steps - at least the smaller ones.

However, crop rotation is very important for the soil.

If you grow the same types of vegetables every year, diseases can accumulate in the soil that damage these vegetables.

In addition, the soil cannot recover properly.

If you have a greenhouse, you want to grow tomatoes in it every year.

(Iconic image) © blickwinkel/Imago

Things are a bit different with tomatoes, however.

These can also be grown in the same location under the right conditions.

The experienced gardener Marie Dietrich shows why this is necessary and how it can be avoided on her Youtube channel root system.

She's been doing this for a long time and has tried a few things.

Luckily, annual transplanting isn't necessary either.

To do this, use a few simple tricks:

• Intermediate planting: After the tomatoes, winter vegetables can be grown.

  Garlic, for example, is suitable here; it can be harvested when the tomatoes are planted again.

• Green manure: Also a kind of intermediate planting, but with special plants that are good for the soil.

  Crimson clover and winter vetch are recommended for tomatoes.

• Nutrient addition: After the winter, mix the soil with compost and/or worm castings to return the used nutrients to the soil and give the tomatoes a good start.

• Effective microorganisms: If you water the soil with effective microorganisms between tomato seasons, this can lead to faster regeneration of the soil.

Growing tomatoes in the same bed: it won't work then

Unfortunately, there are also exceptions where there is no way around a transfer or an earth exchange.

Namely when the tomatoes had certain diseases*.

If you have the following diseases, you should not plant the tomatoes directly there:

• The fungal disease Verticillium wilt occurs primarily in greenhouses.

  It wilts the tomatoes and unfortunately overwinters in the garden.

• The plant-parasitic root knot nematode, overwinters in plant debris or in the soil as an egg.

• Bacterial wilt Tomato wilt causes white spots with a brown center on the fruit and the stalks can also discolour.

Brown blight is not a compelling reason to replace soil, it can only survive on living organisms.

As a preventative and in the early stages of brown rot, it is still worth spraying the tomato plants with a 10 percent skim milk solution, as reported by kraut&rüben.

You can also cover the used soil with fresh compost.

If you keep these points in mind, the new tomato season can soon begin.