Upside Down and Topsy Turvy Tomatoes - Grow Tomatoes Hanging Upside Down Without A Garden

Tomatoes are a popular choice with the home gardener. Almost everyone loves the idea of freshly picked tomatoes to use as part of their summer diet. The biggest obstacle to growing tomatoes is the space required. For those trying to grow tomatoes on their patio or balcony, using a container to grow tomatoes still takes up valuable space, and you are usually restricted to using some of the smaller varieties of tomatoes, like the ever popular Patio tomato. These varieties have small vines and don't need a lot of staking, but usually don't produce the large juicy tomatoes that we all dream of picking.

A recently popular alternative to container growing tomatoes is to use a hanging tomato planter. They range from simple bags from under $15 that hold a single plant, to a free standing garden that holds 4 plants and assorted herbs and radishes as well. The idea is simple enough, you start a tomato plant growing in the container, either by transplanting a tomato plant into it or germinating the seeds in the planter while it's not upside down. You then hang the planter up on some hook, taking care to put it high enough that the variety you have chosen will have enough room to grow.

Advantages of Hanging Tomato Planters:

These advantages include:

No need to stake your tomato plants
Few problems with slugs and other soil based pests
Soil borne disease is significantly reduced because you can use fresh potting soil
Weeds are almost no problem, especially if you choose a soil-less mix
Air movement around the plants is improved, so you get good pollination, and few problems with rot

But if you choose to use an upside down hanging tomato planter for your patio or balcony, there are a few things you need will need to do differently...

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How to plant a Tomato Hanging Basket

Gardening Directs own guide to planting out a Tomato hanging basket kit an easy route to your own tasty and nutritious harvest of tomatoes directly on your doorstep. We show you step by step just how easy it is to prepare and plant out. Its worth it, as theres nothing like the taste of tomatoes which have ripened on the vine!

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Hanging Tomato Planters - How Well Do Hanging Tomato Planters Work?

We are always on the hunt to find the best ways to grow tomatoes in our gardens. Few crops enjoy such widespread popularity, which is somewhat ironic given that they were considered poisonous in medieval times. But these days tomato growing is almost a national pastime.

But not everyone has the space or time to start a vegetable garden. So various container growing approaches have come about, but few are as popular as hanging tomato planters. Here's a sampling of why they have become popular.

First, you can use them almost anywhere. Since they hang, you don't even need floor space for them. Put one on a balcony, and many apartment dwellers can find they will grow great tomatoes. Put a hanging planter on your deck or patio, and fresh tomatoes are just outside the kitchen door, handy enough for a quick salad or to slice for a sandwich.

You don't need to weed them nearly as much as a regular garden. They are isolated from the lawn and other weeds, and there is not usually that much surface area to attract weeds in your planter.

Because you can change out the potting soil or growing medium each year, you end up with fewer problems with disease, as disease organisms will often overwinter and come back the next year. Similarly, because the soil is prepared as opposed to just using what's in your yard, you can improve the drainage and the moisture retention by using a custom mix with more organic matter or enhancements like perlite or peat moss.

Since the tomato plants hang down, the whole problem of trying to set up stakes or tomato cages is eliminated, just let them grow down to the ground, and for large indeterminate varieties you can prune them to keep the tomatoes under control. This improves the air circulation as well, which can help the pollination of the plants.

However, like most container garden approaches, the key to making it work well is to keep it watered well without water-logging the tomato plants. This is what usually sets apart one planter type from another...

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Topsy Turvy Planter | Hanging Tomatoes

See how Steve made his Topsy Turvy Planter...

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