My husband built this frame work to hold three tomato plants. The grass in the top of the buckets helps hold the moisture in. He cuts it with a scissors. The chains on each side allows him to raise the buckets as needed.
Simply popping the lids on the buckets will also stop evaporation and keep moisture in. I plant another tomato or a green pepper plant on the top of mine -- doesn't stop the evaporation process, but gives me extra food in otherwise unused space. This year, I have cantaloupes growing under my buckets, so in effect, I am gardening on three levels. By-the-way, the buckets do not have to be filled with dirt. You can add more as the plant roots fill the container. It is extremely important to thoroughly water the plants before they dry out, or at least every other day, and to fertilize them too.
Check out these tips.
They were only 2 topsy turvy planters left to buy at the store. After purchasing them, I had an idea, plus I wanted to plant more than 2 tommy toe tomato plants.
I started a hanging tomato garden, and not having anything to hang them from, I built a trellis using the 1 1/2 inch and the 1/2 inch PVC piping. The milk jugs I used for my garden fit perfectly on the 1/2 PVC piping, and will sit on top of the 1 1/2 inch PVC piping rectangle trellis I made!
I live in a second floor apartment with a balcony and not a very big one at that. I decided to plant tomatoes but there isn't much room to put containers in such a small space, then I looked up.
I just purchased an Upside down Garden. This is a great product. I will no longer have to worry about groundhogs eating my tomato plants. I also will not have to worry about the roots rotting.
Take your terracotta pot and make the bottom hole larger by nipping it very very carefully with wire cutters. Drill three holes around the top rim of the pot.
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Use hanging baskets found in yard sales and in local Dollar Tree stores as the base for your own attractive hanging plants. I added grass clippings along the outside walls to hold in the soil or you can use moss.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a topsy-turvy plant that is about 18 to 20 inches long. It is having a problem with bugs. The leaves are getting eaten by a very small worm-like bug inside of the leaves. It seems healthy anyway but a lot of the leaves have this in them. What can I do? Please help. Thank you.
This sounds like leaf borers. This is a worm that lives inside the two layers of leave surfaces, front & back. You can spray for them, but I don't care for insecticides, unless there is no other option.
I've seen commercials for the hanging baskets to grow upside down tomatoes. Do these really work and does anyone know how difficult they are to use? Thanks so much.
Hardiness Zone: 7b
By Tamra Benson from NC
I used 2 liter pop bottles two years ago, they worked great (just do a web search for upside down planters). Last year I got a good deal on the topsy turvey planters and they also work well. I put heavy hooks into the ceiling beams of my porch. I wanted them away from my garden as the year before I had blight in my tomatoes.
I would like information on growing tomatoes upside down.
By Donna from NE PA
You can use a 5 gal bucket and hang it right side up. Drill the holes for the plant about l/2 way up the bucket and hang it low enough to be able to water it. Remember the plant knows which way is up and will automatically grow upward, it requires more watering and feeding this way also.
My tomato plant leaves are turning yellow and brown. Can you tell me why?
By Lori A. N.
Check out these photos.
I recycled my milk jugs by planting tomatoes in them upside down, and fed them used coffee grounds, they are thriving!
Tomatoes grow very successfully in upside down planters and they are convenient for a patio or deck. This page is about making a homemade upside down tomato planter.
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I am looking for instructions on how to build a frame to grown tomatoes upside down, including how to secure it. Maybe in a hole with cement to the ground so that it can hold the weight of the buckets.
Tips for growing tomatoes in hanging baskets from the ThriftyFun community. As far as hanging baskets of tomatoes, all I can think of is grape tomatoes would be the easiest and most adaptable. You need good soil, something to keep the dirt in the baskets, some sort of support for the plants. And plenty of sunlight.
