Upside Down Tomatoes: Growing Plants Upside Down

Description of the essence of the method

This method of cultivation does not require beds , which means that it will make it possible to save a significant part of the plot. This is especially important for those who have a small dacha plot and really want to enjoy their tomatoes.

Growing by weight can produce a much larger yield than conventionally growing tomatoes. At the same time, picking the fruits is much easier, since you don’t have to bend over for each tomato.

It is also worth noting the decorative nature of this method. Tomatoes planted upside down will be an excellent decoration for a summer cottage. In this case, planting does not require special manipulations - the seedlings are placed in a pot, covered with soil and watered .

Gardening scientists have conducted many experiments, which have proven that this method gives greater yield. This is because with such cultivation the roots receive more light and heat, more complete watering, and the shoots, in turn, are given more space. Also, there is no unnecessary pressure on the plant and it becomes stronger. All this contributes to the good condition of the plant, on which the yield depends.

Advantages and disadvantages

Many gardeners strive not only to grow crops and get a harvest, but also to give a decorative look to their plot. By choosing tomato varieties that are bright red or orange and planting them upside down, you can add a decorative touch to your yard.

In addition, there are a number of other advantages of this growing method :

• there is no need for land space, and this makes it possible to have a harvest even where it is not possible to plant a vegetable garden;
• use of additional, unused space;
• possibility of growing on balconies and loggias;
• the ability to get a harvest at any time of the year;
• no need for plant supports;
• no need to hill up and fight weeds;
• no stepsoning is carried out;
• ease of harvesting, just stretch out your hand and you have the fruit.

To all the advantages there are also disadvantages. There are significantly fewer of them, but they still exist:

• more frequent watering is required;
• highly susceptible to frost, like other potted plants.

>Vegetables upside down...

You can cut holes in the bottom of the pot with a special nozzle, and when they are ready, you can fill them with soil. Planting tomatoes in open ground is a difficult task that requires care and control. Planting tomatoes in a suspended state can give a much larger harvest.

The obvious advantage is that when harvesting, you don’t have to bend over for each fruit, and this is very important if you have a good harvest.​

​You need to take any containers that can then be secured upside down. You can take large pots or buckets, even cut pipes of a suitable diameter.​​The ceiling indoor plant system allows you to water the plant only once a month

When using such containers for landscaping living rooms and offices, it becomes possible to bring comfort to even the most cramped spaces, to organize a winter garden in any corner where there is enough light for plants.​

​Recently, gardeners have paid attention to an unusual way of growing vegetables - upside down. Do you have a large garden with a lot of space and you think that this method is not for you? You're wrong: pots hung at the right height will save your back from sciatica

And how surprised the guests of the site will be at how much joy this will bring to the children! On top of that, vegetables and flowers planted in such an unusual way can decorate a fence or enliven a section of a wall. An expert from , who, after testing this method, considers the results to be optimistic, can shed light on the problem. Three years of experience in growing tomatoes upside down has shown that, compared to specimens grown in open ground, the yield of plants planted in this way is higher.​​Vegetables upside down…​​If you choose an ordinary plastic bucket, then in its bottom you need to make a hole with a diameter of about 50 cm. The hole should be large enough for the roots of the seedlings to pass through.​

​Why do people grow tomatoes in such an unusual way? Why not try:​​The substrate level should be checked from time to time and added if necessary.​

​For decorative cultivation, you should select special varieties of tomatoes.​

​Planting in places where there is no soil makes the use of the territory profitable. When watering, water and nutrients well saturate the root system - because under the force of gravity, water is well absorbed and penetrates down the container. In the same way, productivity increases. If the container is made more decorative, into two sections, then flowers can be planted in its upper part. This will give your indoor garden a pleasant and beautiful appearance. Also, flowers or tomatoes planted in this way become a decoration for your summer cottage or garden plot. In the West, special pots have long been invented that meet all the requirements for growing tomatoes in this way. This is done very simply - the seedlings are placed in a pot, covered with soil and watered. Literally, your garden looks like this - the stems and leaves of the tomato look down, and the roots look up. Then you need to make a hole in the bottom of your container, about 6-12 cm. Then you need to pull your tomato upside down into this hole, the hole compact it to fix it, then cover it with soil and water well. It’s better to do all this together.​​It’s a very interesting idea to grow tomatoes in pots on windowsills, balconies, etc. But it turns out that tomatoes in pots grow much better if they are hung upside down. This is what the videos presented are about, how to plant such tomatoes, and how to grow them.​

​And for those who grow vegetables on the balcony of a city apartment, this method is a real godsend: the plants will get more light, and they need to be watered much less often. The only drawback is that you need to be very careful when watering. In order not to make mistakes when watering, it is best to install a humidity meter.​​Growing tomatoes upside down​​Vegetables upside down…​To make the container original, you can cover it with decorative film or wrap it in a beautiful material.​

Preparation

Tara

Its volume should not be less than five liters. This could be a plastic bucket, pot or water bottles.

When choosing a container, you need to pay attention to the material from which it is made. It must be food grade plastic or food containers. The bucket must have a lid. If the container is without a lid, then in order to prevent the soil from spilling out, it is necessary to build a frame to prevent this. also perfect for containers . You can also buy special kits for growing in this way in specialized stores.

Seeds

It is worth choosing seeds for planting tomatoes very carefully, because the harvest depends on their quality. They must be large enough and not have any damage, such as stains or discoloration. They must be disinfected before planting. To do this, they are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. After this, they are kept in a growth stimulator for 10-12 hours. Thanks to this procedure, seed germination will increase. Read more about treating tomato seeds before sowing them here.

The soil

An important component is soil . Its preparation must be approached extremely carefully and seriously. There are two options here:

1. Purchasing ready-made soil in a special store. At the same time, tomatoes grown in such soil do not need fertilizing.
2. Making your own soil mixture.

When preparing the mixture yourself, remember not to take soil from the garden .

The soil mixture must be combined from:

• one part compost;
• one part of humus;
• one part of peat.

Add one tablespoon of superphosphate and ammonium nitrate to one bucket of the prepared mixture.

Preparatory work

When planning to plant tomatoes upside down, you must first complete a number of preparatory steps. In particular, you will need to select suitable containers for growing, purchase soil and process the seed.

To grow vegetables, you need to prepare containers with a volume of 20 liters or more. Capacious plastic bottles, buckets, baskets, containers and other types of containers can be used as containers for tomatoes. A small hole with a diameter of 5-10 cm is made in the lower part through which the stem will pass. Containers with transplanted seedlings are suspended at a height of about 1.5 m.

Soil composition

Soil for growing crops can be purchased at a gardening store or prepared independently. When purchasing, you should give preference to a special soil mixture for tomatoes. This will avoid the need to use additional nutrient fertilizers.

To prepare the soil at home, you will need forest or turf soil, sand and peat. All components are poured into the container in equal proportions and mixed thoroughly. You should not add large amounts of fertilizer to the soil, as this may negatively affect the yield. This is due to the fact that the container volume is limited, and the nutritional components are directly supplied to the plants in a short period of time. As a rule, one tablespoon of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate is added to a 20-liter container.

Soil with a balanced composition acquires a set of characteristics necessary for active growth and development. In particular, the soil is characterized by:

• fertility;
• neutral acidity indicator;
• looseness;
• moisture capacity.

The first step in preparing planting material is sorting. To select the best seeds, they are immersed in a saline solution and stirred for a couple of minutes. After 10 minutes, empty and small seeds will float, and good ones will settle to the bottom. The sorted seeds are thoroughly washed with water and dried.

If the material was stored in a cool place, then it needs to be warmed up for a week before planting.

To prevent infection of seedlings, seeds should be disinfected. To do this, it is enough to soak them in a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. You can also use a 2-3% solution of hydrogen peroxide for treatment, heated to 40-45 degrees.

Features of growing upside down

The time for sowing seeds for seedlings is no different from ordinary tomatoes. Tomato seedlings are grown using conventional technology , and pulling out seedlings will be beneficial.

The secret of such cultivation is a well-developed root system.

This method of cultivation requires deep planting. The tomato stem has the property of growing roots over its entire surface. This increases the feeding area. This is exactly what we need. When the plant is 30-40 cm high, it is buried as deep as possible, leaving 10-15 cm on the surface. The leaves must be removed.

To speed up the process, transfer it into a container that is deeper , but not wide. After this, the soil mixture is added. In this case, the plant has time to grow a large number of roots before replanting.

There is no rush to transfer. It is carried out when the earthen ball completely “envelops” the soil.

Mr. Summer Resident warns: mistakes when growing tomatoes upside down

The technology for upside-down tomatoes doesn't seem complicated. However, possible errors lead to loss of yield. They occur when summer residents do not see the difference between growing crops in open ground and limited soil volume.

Untimely watering. Potted plants have nowhere to get moisture; its supply is limited. Therefore, crops in containers are irrigated much more often. The daily water consumption per bush is approximately 5-8% of the volume of the earthen clod.

The soil is not covered with a mulch layer. Even under a cover, the rate of water evaporation is high, which causes the soil to dry out. At the same time, the earthen ball becomes compacted, the roots lack oxygen.

The absence of a retaining layer leads to washout of the soil mixture. Failure to comply with the feeding regime. The soil in pots is depleted very quickly. Tomatoes also need fertilizing in open ground, but in pots it should be mandatory, at least once every two weeks.

It is unacceptable to use soil taken from beds where nightshades grew for planting - diseases in this case are difficult to avoid.

Planting tomato seedlings

After disinfection, the seeds must be germinated to obtain seedlings for planting upside down.

1. To begin, the seeds are placed in a small container and covered with damp gauze.

2. Then they are kept in a warm place for 3-4 days. After this time, small roots will appear.
3. Then the sprouted seeds are planted in small containers up to 200 ml.
4. The seeds are placed 2 cm from each other at a depth of 1-1.5 cm.
5. Before sowing, the soil must be moistened.
6. After sowing, cover containers with seeds with glass or film and store in this state at a temperature of +25...+30 degrees until germination.

Then the resulting seedlings are planted upside down in the following sequence:

1. Make a hole at the bottom of the container. It should be large enough to easily plant the seedlings.
2. Place the container on the bottom, cover the hole made with film or paper and fill it with soil.
3. Close the container with a lid and turn it over.
4. Make a hole in the film and plant seedlings in it.
5. We wait 3-4 weeks for the plant to take root and show clear signs of growth. Only then should the container be turned over and hung.

Supports for an air garden

The main requirements for supports are strength and stability . For support, you can drive hooks into a wall or fence. You can use branches from large trees. Another option is to hammer in wooden beams or make an arch yourself.

To make an arch you need to take:

• pipe with a diameter of 30 mm;
• rod with a diameter of 6 mm and 10 mm;
• tape measure, pipe bender, hacksaw, hammer and wire cutters;
• welding machine.

Produce according to this plan:

1. Cut 4 identical pipe bushes.
2. Bend a 10 mm rod into an arc (make two such arcs).
3. Weld 6 mm rods together.
4. Dig pipe supports into the ground and strengthen them.
5. Connect the supports to the arcs.
6. Paint the structure.

also suitable as a support for such tomatoes . It is an open veranda, some of the openings of which are filled with lattice and beams. It's not difficult to build:

1. Make a wooden frame from a powerful beam.
2. Fill the top of the frame with a thin lattice or beams.

Another option is a pyramid stand.

You can make it like this:

1. Take 4 supporting parts (reinforcement, wooden blocks, pipes).
2. Dig the lower parts square into the ground.
3. Connect the tops together.

Care and watering

Another advantage of this type of cultivation is that it does not require special care and there are no weeds.

The containers are constantly heated and, accordingly, the soil dries out. This is what needs to be monitored very carefully.

1. Watering should be done frequently, so do not place the plants very high. To make watering easier, cover the top with mulch.
2. If you place containers with tomatoes in a row, you can use drip irrigation. It will help to constantly maintain the necessary soil moisture.
3. Watering must be done every day with settled or rainwater.

Top dressing

Feeding is applied depending on the development phase . To make the bush lush, fertilize it with mullein infusion, which is diluted in water.

For the flowering phase, the following fertilizer is needed: 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of wood ash per 10 liters of liquid. One plant needs 2 liters of this fertilizer.

At the moment of active ripening, fertilize with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of nitrophoska and 1 tablespoon of sodium humate per 10 liters of water.

Treatment against pests and diseases

Before planting tomatoes, it is necessary to treat the soil from fungus and insect pests . This treatment does not need to be done often. Once is enough.

Common Mistakes

• Lack of lighting.
• Weak supports for containers with plants.
• Wrong variety chosen for cultivation.
• Using acidic soil for planting.
• Excessive and incorrect feeding.
• Non-compliance with watering.

We invite you to watch an informative video about mistakes when planting tomatoes upside down:

Are you tired of caring for tomatoes in the open ground and don’t have enough space on your growing plot? It’s worth trying to grow tomatoes upside down, and you already know from the article how to properly plant tomatoes in this form. Even a beginner can easily master this . The result is an excellent harvest and a beautiful design for your site.

Want to know how else you can grow tomatoes? We suggest you read how to do this in twists, on two roots, in bags, peat tablets, without picking, in the Chinese way, in bottles, peat pots, in buckets upside down, in a barrel.

Reviews

Andrey, Samara

“I tried to experiment with this planting last year. I planted them in plastic bottles and hung them around the greenhouse. Those who were at least a little in the shade felt better, and their land did not dry out as much. The harvest was small, but it made my granddaughter happy; she happily watered the upside-down tomato bushes from a small watering can, picked and ate small tomatoes directly from the bush, and the puppy jumped up and tried to reach the branches. You can plant for fun.”

Ekaterina (pensioner), Leningrad region.

“Last year I had a few seedlings left, but the garden is small, there’s nowhere to put it. So my neighbor advised me to plant them in upside-down plastic bottles. The tomatoes were of different varieties and the yield was different. From a bush with smaller fruits I collected about 1.5 kg, but I was not pleased with the large variety. There were only two tomatoes. I came to the conclusion that this method can only be planted when there is not enough space in the garden, maybe someone has a different opinion.”

Residents of different regions have different opinions and different results when growing tomatoes upside down. But if you take into account all the nuances when planting and caring, then the chances of getting a harvest equal to or exceeding the number of fruits obtained using the usual method increase. And for those who only have a balcony or a very tiny plot of land near their house, receiving even a small harvest will be a joy.