Upside down tomato growing tips

[Yooper]

I am experimenting with upside down gardening this year. I have a small growing area and would like to free up some space with this hanging system. Plus we get a lot of wind and it is difficult keeping tomatoes staked when they get heavy. I have tomatoes and cukes planted in white pickle buckets. They are temporarily hanging on the porch until they are completely hardened off and dh is done making the outside frame for them. I am wondering if anyone else has tried this and if there is anything I should be watching out for. I have planted the same variety of plants in my normal garden to do a comparison with.

One thing I am wondering about is the tops of the buckets. I have lids for all of the buckets. Are there any pros or cons to using the lids? Would it help keep them watered or would they get too hot? Should I use them but drill holes in them? I was toying with the idea of planting stuff in the tops of the buckets. And since the buckets are white, I am wondering if there would be any advantage to painting them a darker color for warmth. Any advice would be appreciated!

[catballou24]

i'd leave the buckets white...drill a few drainage holes in the bottom and plant a companion plant in the top like mint, basil, nasturtiums. we use the terracotta looking plastic pots and dh took a door knob drill to drill out the planting hole for the tomato. then i put chocolate mint in one, peppermint in one, marigold seeds in a couple and basil in another.. there are pics of them on my blog if that helps!

we had great success with this method last year, getting lots more fruit from them than the ones we planted in the ground. those just burned up in our death heat summer last year...it started in the 100's in may! this year is much milder so far, but we still have the upside down toms in part shade and dappled sun rather than direct sun. that's how we did them last year too. you just have to water them a little more frequently than you would ones in the ground. i water the potted ones a couple times a week and the in-ground once a week..

hth's!

[Talula Fairie]

Well I know that topsy turvy thing is a bestseller now and it seems like everyone has one, so I'd imagine that growing tomatoes upsidown works pretty well

[Yooper]

Originally Posted by catballou24

i'd leave the buckets white...drill a few drainage holes in the bottom and plant a companion plant in the top like mint, basil, nasturtiums. we use the terracotta looking plastic pots and dh took a door knob drill to drill out the planting hole for the tomato. then i put chocolate mint in one, peppermint in one, marigold seeds in a couple and basil in another.. there are pics of them on my blog if that helps!

we had great success with this method last year, getting lots more fruit from them than the ones we planted in the ground. those just burned up in our death heat summer last year...it started in the 100's in may! this year is much milder so far, but we still have the upside down toms in part shade and dappled sun rather than direct sun. that's how we did them last year too. you just have to water them a little more frequently than you would ones in the ground. i water the potted ones a couple times a week and the in-ground once a week..

hth's!

Thanks! That does help! We used a doorknob drill bit too There are also several more drainage holes in the bottom of each. They look pretty happy so far. I think I will plant something on the tops. The only reason I was thinking about not doing so is that the buckets are super deep and the dirt only comes to about 4 inches below the top of the bucket. With compression over the season, this could be even more. I thought putting the covers on might help retain moisture?

I will have mine in direct sun as we have a VERY short growing season here. Half of the appeal is that I can bring the entire plants into my enclosed porch during our early frosts in the fall. We usually only get a handful of tomatoes off the plants before the frost

[catballou24]

if you have mild weather, then i wouldn't be too worried about retaining moisture. tomatoes like to be watered deeply and infrequently...so you could probably get away with once a week in your climate.. and yes, the beauty of doing them this way is you can bring them in out of bad weather and extend your tomato season a bit.. good luck!

[tankgirl73]

I'm trying upside down tomatoes too. So far I planted four plants... one is doing fine, the other three died within two days.

One of them, I know I nicked the roots badly when I transferred it into the pot. So I wasn't surprised at that one. But the others, I have no idea.

Any tips for the actual transplanting? Do you shove the roots into the hole from the outside, or shove the leaves through the hole from the inside? I found it a very difficult process.

I'm using 16" round hanging wire planters lined with that coconut fibre stuff. I just cut a hole with scissors through it. Coir, that's what it's called. And I do have stuff planted in the top as well. I have three more planters still to do, and I'd like to know what might have killed these other plants...

Of course, most of my tomatoes aren't doing very well anyway. I burned them in a botched hardening off. A few died, most recovered, but they're still "behind" having lost many of their leaves and are growing soooooooo slowly. Some that I transplanted to the beds are doing fine, some are dying or just stalled. The ones still in their little pots seem okay, but they're still not GREAT. They were all GREAT before I burned them, so it's very very very frustrating and disappointing (I had over 40 baby plants, I'll probably only get 20 adults out of it sigh). I don't want to risk killing any more with botched upside down plantings, so I'd love ANY tips!!

[catballou24]

i handle the root ball very carefully and put it up into the pot from the outside. then we put straw down and dh holds the root ball gently while i set the straw around the stem and hole. then i start putting the dirt in and as soon as it reaches the root ball dh gently lets go. we fill the rest with soil, plant whatever we are planting in the top and hang the plant. after that we fertilize and water really well..

[tankgirl73]

Ah... I think I've got you. The straw acts as a wall to keep the soil in, allowing you to work with a bigger hole.

I had cut as big a hole as I thought would be safe for not making the pot/coir too weak and thus everything falling out. And it wasn't a round hole or anything, just a vertical cut in the coir. For the next ones, I'll try cutting a larger hole that's actually wide open, and I don't have straw but I have lots of coir pots I could chop into strips etc to use instead.

Thanks, this makes a lot more sense to me now! Hopefully the rest will live...

[PaulaJoAnne]

Originally Posted by Yooper

Thanks! That does help! We used a doorknob drill bit too There are also several more drainage holes in the bottom of each. They look pretty happy so far. I think I will plant something on the tops. The only reason I was thinking about not doing so is that the buckets are super deep and the dirt only comes to about 4 inches below the top of the bucket. With compression over the season, this could be even more. I thought putting the covers on might help retain moisture?

I will have mine in direct sun as we have a VERY short growing season here. Half of the appeal is that I can bring the entire plants into my enclosed porch during our early frosts in the fall. We usually only get a handful of tomatoes off the plants before the frost

May I ask you something? When are you starting your tomato plants?
Here in Alaska we have a very short growing season as well. In fact tomatos must be grown in a greenhouse.
So, we start our seeds in March. This gives a huge headstart for the plants, and you will get a much higher yield.
Ours are blossoming already, by the way.

[tankgirl73]

never mind...

[AngelBee]

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