How to grow tomatoes upside down? Why do we grow tomatoes upside down in the first place? Well, the main reason to grow tomatoes upside down is not to have a unique garden but rather to avoid the blight and pests which are wrecking the tomatoes. It is not difficult to grow your crops upside down. You can even choose to create it with commercial planters tools or with homemade items.
A gardener from Guelph, Ontario, Mark McAlpine said that he had transformed his garden upside down for two years because his garden was massively attacked by cutworms when planted his crops on the ground and as a result he had to lose so much. He started his garden conversion with six planters using plastic buckets in the size of five gallons. Some of these buckets were bought from the Home Depot but some other were salvaged from the trash of his neighboring winemaker.
He simply cut a two inch hole at the bottom of each bucket and plants the tomato seedling and other crops at the opening. Soon, the seeds will grow through the opening. In order to keep the dirt in the bucket, he used strips of newspapers around the root ball. As for the soil, he used a mixture of compost and soil then used sturdy steel hooks to hang the buckets on his backyard deck.
The upside down gardening system is often used for crops such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Beside the fact that the upside down garden has the ability to save crops from pests, it also has other advantages. This gardening system can also save more space and this is very essential as people today often do not have lots of spaces for gardens. The upside down garden can also help to reduce fungus and weeds. The delivery of nutrients and water is also more efficient because it has the assistance from gravity. Another advantage of the upside down garden is the better sunlight exposure and air circulation.
If you are thinking about building an upside down garden, then it is recommended for you to choose the indeterminate labeled tomatoes and not the determinate ones. The determinate labeled tomatoes are stubbier and they usually bear many fruits at once. This will cause too much weight on the upside down garden. On the other hand, the indeterminate tomatoes are the contrary. They are more flexible, bearing fruits all trough the season. This way gravity will help them instead of harming them.
