Anna’s Life

Everyone has heard of the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter, why spend the $$

when you can do the same thing at home much more cheaply.  By doing it at home, you can reuse the container year after year which saves even more money!

Try this:

Upside-down Tomato Plants

Growing Tomatoes Upside-Down

At first glance, this might look like an unusual way to grow tomatoes. But people have discovered several benefits to hanging tomatoes in buckets. First, the air can circulate better so the plants have almost no disease problems. Second, the fruit doesn’t rot as quickly as that on the ground. And finally, some pests that eat tomatoes have trouble getting to the ripening fruit.

To make the upside-down containers, use 5-gallon buckets with tight-fitting lids. These can be recycled from a restaurant or bakery (icing bucket) or even Wal-Mart.  Or, you can find them many places, such as paint stores, home improvement stores or hardware stores.

Clean each bucket out with soapy water and make sure the handle is attached securely. Then cut a 2-inch or larger diameter hole in the center of the lid and one in the bottom of the bucket. To make the holes, use a drill with a hole saw bit (an attachment for cutting a door to install the doorknob).
With the bucket standing upright and the lid off, cover the hole in the bottom with a coffee filter or scrap of fabric. That way the soil won’t fall out when he turns the bucket over. Then fill the bucket full of a lightweight potting mix, such as Miracle Grow, shaking it to settle the soil.

2 in. or larger diameter hole cut in bucket lid for both drainage and watering	Established tomato seedling ready to hang

Before you put the lid back on, place another coffee filter over the soil where the hole will be.  Next, put the lid on and turn the bucket upside down.
Then cut a slit through the filter in the hole and plant a tomato seedling. To give the tomato a fast start, strip off the lower leaves and plants the seedling deeply so roots can form along the stem. Then place the planted bucket in a sunny location and keep it well-watered for the next few weeks.

When the plant is about a foot tall, it is ready to hang it upside down. The bucket needs a solid support to hold the weight. A clothesline pole is ideal.

Or you can build a rack similar to the one pictured here.

By building a rack, you can make it as large as you need it depending on how many buckets you want to use.  We are going to build two large racks big enough to hold about 6 buckets each.  Make it to where you pole just sits in a hook for easy removal of the buckets.  Also, make sure to make your rack high enough to accommodate the tomato plant as it grows.   :)

If you hang the bucket from a building, make sure it won’t bang into a window or the siding on a windy day! 

Water the plant everyday in the hot summer, but in the fall use less water. The plant will grow enormous so make sure the place you hang it will support the plant and the height of the plant to keep it from the ground where pets and pests can get the tomatoes.

You can also grow cucumbers this way.  Happy gardening!!

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