Most of us have seen commercials on tv telling us how we can order kits to grow tomatoes upside-down in our yards. Its not necessary to purchase such kits just to have the unique fruits. You can easily create your own upside-down tomato plants, and for that matter, other foods. It isnt hard to take care of the plants and its easy as pie getting them set up.
Most any plastic bucket with a handle will work for growing the tomatoes. Youll have huge yields if you use, say, a five-gallon bucket. If youre looking for smaller plants you can use a mop bucket. Want something even smaller? A childs old Easter basket will work! If the container is plastic and has a handle youve got what it takes to create the upside-down plants.
Cut a hole in the center of the bottom of the bucket or pail. Use a drill to make the hole or just poke a hole with scissors, then cut it out. The hole of a five gallon bucket should be about three inches in diameter. Smaller containers will require you to make the holes just slightly smaller than that. Now youll need something to prevent the plant from falling out while the root system develops. Coffee filters work perfectly for holding the plants in place. You can also use a circle cut from a plastic bag. Cut a hole in the center of the bag or filter. Carefully push the tomato plant through the coffee filter with the roots hanging out from the bottom of the filter. Smaller tomato types will work best for creating the upside-down plants. Youll need the help of a friend, or a different setup, to fix the plant in the bucket before hanging. You can have a friend hold the bucket, while you arrange the plant, or you can set the bucket on a couple of sawhorses. Make sure the hole is between the horses so you can push the plant through without damage. Feed the plant through the hole of the bucket. Its important that you take great care when pushing the plant tops through the hole. Position the filter so that it lays flat, around the tomato plant, and against the bottom of the bucket. Now add the soil to the bucket. Add some soil, pack it well around the roots, then add more soil. Water the soil well. Using a sprinkle-type watering system, rather than a hose with much pressure, will give you better results. Water the plant until the water is actually dripping from the hole in the bottom of the bucket. Now all thats left to do is to hang the bucket anywhere you want. The tomatoes like sunlight so try to find a sunny place. Some choices of where to hang the bucket include a deck roof, porch, clothesline pole, or even a tree limb. The tomatoes will bear fruit soon. Until then, check to make sure the vines are growing downward, since they have a tendency to grow towards the sun. Just check every couple days to make sure the vines are not trying to grow up through the hole in the bucket. Besides tomatoes you can also grow peppers and other edibles. Large peppers, like bells, wont give you the rest results. Small peppers will grow much better in the upside-down planter than larger types. But, whether youre growing tomatoes or peppers you can still grow other things at the opposite end of the upside-down plant. For example, add extra dirt to the upside-down tomato plant bucket and grow parsley in the top part of the bucket. Every couple of weeks check the soil level of the tomatoes. If there has been some loss simply add a little more soil. This will ensure you have a good amount of soil to secure the root system. This will not be possible, though, if youre growing a second plant on top of the tomatoes. Upside-down tomato plants are all the rage because theyre beautiful, unique and yummy. Its easy to grow them in most any setting. You dont have to have a giant garden to enjoy juicy, ripe tomatoes. Go get the mop bucket and get started! Nows the perfect time to plant!
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