How many tomato plants?

[Scarlet]

Assuming 2' spacing, that only allows for 6.5 .... Don't understand where you get 24 from unless I've misunderstood the size of the tunnel.

Similar to my calculations..I would go with 6 each side and one at the back in the middle.

[Newbiegrower1970]

I was thinking of 2 x 80cm beds with a double row of plants 2ft apart in both directions down each side. It's not worth buying a pt if i can only put 12 plants in it

[Alison]

I was thinking of 2 x 80cm beds with a double row of plants 2ft apart in both directions down each side. It's not worth buying a pt if i can only put 12 plants in it

A double row down each side is just asking for problems and will seriously reduce the productivity of the plants. There won't be decent air flow and you won't be able to get to the ones at the back. As already said, do what you want but I think it's far too many..

[Bigmallly]

If you grew around 20 in your garden last year, imagine cramming them into a 4x2 poly. You would have to be very regimented when it comes to pruning.

[Bigmallly]

I was thinking of 2 x 80cm beds with a double row of plants 2ft apart in both directions down each side. It's not worth buying a pt if i can only put 12 plants in it

I think you are quite unique in that you eat 1lb of Toms per day. 12 plants would be sufficient for most families..............I'm lucky if I eat 1 Tom per week..........

[Scarlet]

I was thinking of 2 x 80cm beds with a double row of plants 2ft apart in both directions down each side. It's not worth buying a pt if i can only put 12 plants in it

If each double row is two foot apart..how big is your path, and how far in from your poly wall will you site your first row.
I can understand you wanting to grow lots but my GH (with straight sides!) is 8ft wide. I do a staggered double row down each side. It's difficult to get to the back row near the glass, remember the plants need to be staked, you just can't push some leaves aside to get at the row behind. I don't think you will manage to walk down through the middle.
If you've set your heart on growing more than a dozen plants. Reconsider the size of polytunnel.

[Bigmallly]

There is a small article here :

Tomato Spacings]

[bario1]

I have a 12x6 polytunnel and believe me, you won't get 24 tomato plants in it! Assuming you have a door at both ends, that leaves you with two beds roughly 2' by 12'... that's 6 plants in each bed. I've even pinched a bit of extra path space to make my beds wider, but I wouldn't put more plants than that in. What I do is hang basket tomatoes in the four corners and grow three or four cordons in the middle - that leaves me with some space under the baskets to grow other, smaller crops (chillies for example, or marigolds to encourage pollinators in). Nevertheless it always ends up a jungle even with diligent side-shooting, and with 24 plants I'd be seriously worried about ventilation, or being pounced on by tigers.

[bario1]

Omg just found this pic of my Tumblers in 2014!

[Scarlet]

How many baskets is that 2?

[bario1]

Yep, one plant in each!

[sparrow100]

Personally I wouldn't double-row tomato plants. I did do it one year though, despite warnings from the good people on here. By August I couldn't get in the greenhouse - exacerbated by planting Ildi right in the middle of the rows, they have enormous trusses.

The solution was to horizontally suspend an 8ft bamboo from the roof and then cinch it in from fixings to the sides so the tomato vines were pulled in. I don't know if you can do that in a polytunnel. I grow tomatoes up strings, this obv wouldn't work if you use canes. Then I had to remove a good third of the foliage to allow for ventilation. I got a good enough crop (we eat a kilo or more of toms a week in summer) but it meant I had to spend a LOT of time in a sweltering greenhouse removing sideshoots and foliage to avoid disease.

I now grow mine up the sides and then bent at a 45 degree angle along the roof pitch to get in an extra couple of trusses as compared to straight up. As an added bonus the tomatoes hang down at a perfect picking height for me.

[piskieinboots]

....or being pounced on by tigers.

LOL

I love the idea of baskets in the corners - will do that. Thanks

[Newbiegrower1970]

Thank you for all the advice, I think I'll give the poly tunnel a miss this year and see how i get on with the garden, the greenhouse and the allotment

[Scarlet]

and see how i get on with the garden, the greenhouse and the allotment

You've already got a greenhouse? it's no different to growing in a poly for plant spacing..what do you grow in that?