Growing Tomatoes Upside Down

One of the latest and greatest gardening techniques is growing fruits and vegetables upside down, this includes tomatoes. There are several different containers available on the market, including the Topsy Turvy for growing tomatoes upside down. The only down fall is that it will run you about $50. On the bright side, you can easily create your own container for growing tomatoes and other vegetables upside down for less then $10.

What you will need to grow your tomatoes upside down:

• Tomato plants
• Soil
• A clean container (a 2 gallon, 5 gallon or any other decent size bucket that is sturdy and can hang)
• Water
• Drill
• Drill bits

Note: Insure that you have a nice sturdy bucket for growing your tomatoes in. Make sure that it is study enough to be able to drill holes in with out cracking or breaking the bucket. Also, there needs to be a handle on the bucket or have the ability to create a sturdy handle. This will keep your tomatoes plants off the ground since you are growing them upside down.

Step 1

Start your upside down tomatoes by preparing you container (bucket). For a 2 gallon bucket, flip the bucket upside down, find the center and drill a 1-2 inch hole. If you are using a 5 gallon bucket with more room for the roots you can grow 2-3 tomatoes upside down. (They will actually be from the side but will tilt down.). If using a 5 gallon bucket you can drill a single hole in the bottom or you can drill 2 -3 holes on the side evenly spacing them apart about 4-7 inches from the bottom of the bucket.

Step 2

Next, turn your bucket back right side up and hang bucket from a hook. Don’t hang too high at this point because you will need to be able to reach inside the bucket. Next, fill the bucket about 3 inches of soil. Take your tomato plants out of their current container. Slightly break up the root ball to loosen the roots for easy transplant. Gently slide the roots into the bottom of the bucket with the stem and leaves hanging down. Be careful not to injure the plant.

Step 3

Once you have your tomato plant in place, rearrange the roots spreading them towards the outside of the bucket. Add soil to fill in the remainder of the bucket leaving 5-6 inches of open space from the top. Water you new upside down tomato plant well. Allow to drain and water again.

Now that you have completed your upside down tomato plant(s), you can hang them in a secure location that will allow them to get plenty of sun. Protect from strong winds and cold temperatures to avoid injuring the tomato plants.

Continue to water as needed, checking the soil from the top. Fertilize as you would any other tomato plant following packaged instructions, being cautious not to over fertilize since the plant is in a container.

Other related articles:

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed