Growing Upside Down Tomatoes

If you want to grow upside down tomatoes, do you know what type of tomato is good for planting upturned?

Planting tomatoes the other way around is a great option for your garden. However, once the plants start bearing fruits, the branches are subjected to stress because inverted tomatoes are pulled down from their branches by gravity. Regular tomatoes can fall of early from their branches too. Although almost all types of tomatoes can be planted upside down and produce good harvests, some will grow faster and better than others. Which type then is good for this upside down tomato planter technique?

First, you have to know that to grow upside down tomatos, seeds will not work. The plant should at least be three inches tall before you can grow tomatos upside down. Among the varieties of tomatoes that work best for inverted planting include Big Boy, cherry or grape varieties, and Early Girl.

Tomatoes can be classified as either determinate of indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes grow to a predestined size, bear a fixed number of fruits at a definite time, and then die. Normally, they produce fruits within 60 – 75 days. Indeterminate tomatoes grow for the whole tomato season until it dies. Just the same, the first fruit comes within 60 – 75 days.

If you are just starting with gardening and want to take it easy, determinate tomatoes are easier to handle. The plants do not grow much and then eventually die after they complete their growing cycle. If you want to grow a garden of upside down tomatoes, plant indeterminate tomatoes on your first try.

Choose small varieties such as the grape or cherry tomatoes. The 100 and Early Girl types are good if you want plenty of fruits quickly. Celebrity tomatoes are large varieties that are best for slicing. Roma tomatoes grow very well in upside down planters. They are the ones that are normally used for salads and sauces because of the bright color and strong flavor. They are harder to find though.

Determinate Cherry tomato plants work well if planted upside down. However, they normally do not grow well, become very large, and gets stressed by the end of summer.

Varieties that are specifically designed for inverted plating include Window Box Roma, Micro-Tom, Basket Boy Red, and Basket Boy Yellow.

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Inverted tomatoes are all the rage these days. If you want to ride on the trend and try the grow upside down tomatos technique, you can purchase ready made containers and plastic bags for you to use. However, you can also try the economical route by making your own upside down tomato planter. It’s not the easiest thing to do, and often it’s easier to buy a pre-made one, but some prefer to create their own.

Here are the steps that you have to follow to grow tomatoes upside down:

1. Find a plastic container or bucket, preferably 5-gallons and with handle. Buy one from the local hardware store if you cannot find anything in the house. Find a tomato plant as well; if possible choose small fruit-producing varieties such as tomato Chello.
2. Drill a 2-inch hole in the bottom of the pot using a hole cutter or knife. If your bucket does not have a handle, also cut small holes on the three sides of the bucket. You will have to insert heavy-duty string on those holes, as these strings will hold your planters once they are placed on the hangers.
3. Some growers place fabric at the bottom of the pot to keep the soil from washing through the hole when you water the plants. Cut a line in the middle of the fabric.
4. Hang the pot somewhere or ask someone to hold the planter for you before filling the container with dirt. Fill the container with soil from the large opening. Now you are ready to grow upside down tomatoes. Insert the tomato into the hole and in the middle of the fabric.
5. Slowly water the planter when the soil is about half full. Then, continue to fill the pot with soil until you reach to the top. Some gardeners plant flowers or herbs such as oregano or parsley on top of the inverted tomato to make it more attractive.
6. Place your container on a hanger by tying the strings to it. Let the roots grow into the soil by watering the plant as needed.

After following these six easy steps, you now have your inverted tomatoes.

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