The newest fad invading the gardening world is how to grow tomatoes upside down. Lots of curious gardeners who are looking for an answer to the age-old question: How to grow tomatoes, have been take aback by this interesting new method. The truth is, growing tomatoes upside down isn’t anything new, but because of a new product being sold the method has been getting a lot of attention lately.
For those do-it-yourself gardeners who want to know how to grow tomatoes upside down themselves, continue reading to find out how to build your very own tomato upside down planter.
Here’s how to grow tomatoes:
Start with a five gallon bucket with a lid. Cut four to six 2” holes evenly spaced in the lid. Next, cut two 3”-4” evenly spaced holes in the side of the bucket. These holes should be located about two to three inches from the top of the bucket. Finally, punch six to eight drainage holes into the bottom of the bucket.
You will be growing the tomato plants out of the side of the bucket, so the next thing to do is to find a material that can mitigate the roughness of the holes in the side of the bucket. Some great material to try is packing foam, cardboard or even paper. The idea is to make sure that the edges of the holes aren’t so severe that they cut into the tomato plants as they grow.
Next, fill the bucket with potting soil up to the height of the side holes. Then plant your tomato plants into the soil and gently position the plant stalk out the side holes.
Put the lid on the bucket and hang the bucket in a place where it is at least five feet above the ground and in a place where it will get full sun. Water the tomato plants through the holes in the lid.
As your tomato plants begin to grow they will at first start to grow up toward the sun, but as they grow and tomatoes start to form, gravity will start to work and the plants will begin to hang down.
As with any tomato growing method, you need to make sure your tomato plants are getting the correct amount of water. Too much water will rot the roots, just as too little water will dry out the soil and cause the plants to die. Keep checking the moisture level of the soil until you become comfortable with how often your tomato plants need to be watered.
Growing tomatoes upside down is an absolutely simple thing to do and the tomatoes usually grow great, resulting in plump and juicy tomatoes that don’t require any staking or special attention. And because they are kept off the ground, you won’t have to worry about loosing any tomatoes to ground rot or small critters. I hope this article was helpful in your search on how to grow tomatoes.
