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Re: Heirloom 'mater spacing...

Four feet apart in rows and five feet between the rows, so says Dr. Carolyn
Male who is known widely as the Heirloom Tomato Queen.  She grows out 300
varieties every year and is one of the principle tomato seed suppliers for
Seed Savers Exchange.  In reality, we SQ Footers can't do that.  So here is
what I do.  I plant two plants together in one hole and treat them as one
plant--that helps with genetic diversity.  I space about three feet apart in
each direction and I cover the cages with Reemay--floating row cover.  This
keeps down cross-pollination.  I save seeds from the tomatoes on the lower
part of plants--ones that were set first while the covers were on.  Because,
at some point, the plants go nuts with growth, you have to remove the
Reemay.  Tomatoes are generally self-fertile.  There is a less than 10%
crossing rate if left to their own devices.  So with the Reemay, I've had no
crossing.  This I know because I grow out my seeds year after year, and
characterists like potato leaves (which are recessive) always show up where
they should.
Doreen Howard

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