My raised beds are 4x8, so I don't have a choice. What I do is put a metal fence post at each end of the bed and zigzag some hog wire between the posts. These are my tomato cages because my tomatoes get way too big for even the biggest cages. They get anywhere from 5-8' high. I can get 5-6 plants in this area, providing us with tons of tomatoes, some to give away and enough sauce for us for the year (maybe a few gallons?)
I'm in a totally different area as you, so I don't know if this is helpful. Nancy

Thanks Nancy, sure it helps. You do have a longer growing season and it may be hotter where you are, and I only have about 6hrs of sun, so my tomatoes are not going to get as large as 8ft, but I have had them 5ft tall and sometimes 6ft. They are always too big for commercial tomato cages and I usually stake them instead, but I'd like to do larger cages this time. I don't really know what 'hog wire' is, but I assume is metal wire? Does the tomatoes and the posts with the wire stay up during storms and wind?

I do 3 foot because I'm short. The wider bed is more space efficient in terms of your total garden area if you can reach across tho. As far as tomatoes, they can be grown in one square foot if you want to prune to a single stem. The plus of that is if you don't have a huge garden space but you like different varieties of tomatoes. Which I think is a lot of the fun of growing tomatoes.

With 4' wide bed you can plant two rows comfortably. I can do 2 rows in 3 ft wide but then I do some pruning. I don't want HUGE plants, cause I have a relatively cool and short season.

FOUR ft wide, my final answer :)

Veggievicki, I can reach in a 4ft bed and I'm used to that size and doesn't everyone like different varieties? [g]

Seysonn, do you mean, you put 4 tomato plants in a 4ft wide bed, like four square? You're in zone 7b so what do I have if your season is cool and short? :-) Well, if you are in Washington State, you might have a cooler season than I do, but the 7b throws me off.

I do like to grow indeterminate tomatoes and let them grow without pruning. Is there some reason I should try doing something else to get tomatoes quicker?

Seysonn, do you mean, you put 4 tomato plants in a 4ft wide bed, like four square?
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
I was talking about the width. length can be anything. For example, if it is 4' by 8' , you can plant 2 rows length wise, and 4(or 5) plants per row. That is 8 to 10 plants.

Wow, that's a lot of plants. 2x2ft for each plant I guess. I'd like to hear how this works out for you. I do sometimes take the suckers out of the corners of the plant and I do stake them, but I also let them grow a lot. I'm wondering what your harvest is like planting this intensively and how early is it? How much do you prune? I always like to give a lot of air circulation especially with tomatoes that have too many diseases they can succumb to. This seems pretty close together.

I think I'll be caging my plants this year and letting them grow to their maximum ability, butâ¦maybe I could try some this way too and see how that works.

I don't really know what 'hog wire' is, but I assume is metal wire? Does the tomatoes and the posts with the wire stay up during storms and wind?

Hogwire is a sturdy wire with large gaps, 4" . it is very sturdy cause we attach it to the metal fence posts driven into the ground. I use plastic clips or the green stretchy stuff to tie them to the wire.

Thanks Nancy. So you're talking about wire fencing material, not just strings of wire. Good to know.

Have you done any reading over on the growing Tomatoes forum here? Most all of the questions you raise have many detailed discussions about them on that forum.

The simple answer to your title question is there is no "best sized bed" as there are too many variables to consider - variety, type, type/size of support used, pruning or no pruning, planting dates, nutrient levels provided, sun exposure, season length, etc. all affect the plant spacing.

But anyone can successfully grow tomatoes in just about any size or shape of bed or garden no matter if it is 2 feet wide or 100 feet wide. Even a hole in the ground can work.

So your primary issue, given you live in an ideal tomato growing zone and season length and the info you have provided, would seem to be your limited sun exposure. Shape and size your bed to increase and maximize the sun exposure.

"Ripe fruit sooner" is based on the variety used and the proper planting dates. And pruning - what you call removing the suckers - when sun exposure is already limited - usually only results in longer, lankier plants with less fruit.

Dave

Oh, I always forget there is a tomato forum, thanks!

Yes, my limited sunlight is the bane of my vegetable gardening life. [g] I've long since focused on cherry tomatoes, because full size tomatoes produce a lot less. Sungold is our favorite, which usually is a fairly good size plant.

We are constructing new beds and my son has the time tomorrow to get started, so I have to stop thinking about it and decide. :-) I was thinking of orienting the tomato bed east to west with a 4ft wide x 15ft long bed and providing cages for them. It's actually going to be a 20ft bed, but I'm planning on using the most westerly 5ft of that bed for Asparagus that would be perennial.

This location in relation to my property will get morning and early afternoon sun and it starts to get shady about 2 or 3pm, with a line of trees to the West of my property.

So will that orientation and location give me maximum sun exposure?

D and others have given you some good advice. Toms 2 feet apart are fine. As D said....toms need 3 things: sun, sun, and more sun. I got caught with my pants down last year on my tom support system. Indeterminates must be supported well. This year I used 4'x8' welded wire panels used for concrete mesh. They are lashed between 8' T posts. I think I should be dialed in better this year.

I'd love to see that arrangement, you don't have a photo do you?