I purchased these two planters and they're nice and easy to use. They cost me $12.99 each though and so I thought I might make them for a little less. The package said that you could grow any type of tomatoes this way so I'm taking them at their word and planting Early Girls and Big Boys.
After considering what type of container would be safe for vegetable growing I decided that these new white plastic paint buckets with HDPE #2 marked on the bottom that I purchased at a discount store would be good enough for me. I would not use a bucket that had contained paint, oil, etc. no matter how well it had been cleaned. You may be able to get free used food grade buckets from a deli, restaurant or bakery. Just be sure that the bucket has a metal handle rather than a plastic one which won't hold the weight.
Using a drill or exacto knife, put a hole in the bottom of the bucket just large enough to push the root ball of your plant through. Put a hole or holes in the lid for watering. You don't have to use a lid but container plants dry out quickly and the lid will help conserve moisture.
The purchased planters employ a piece of foam rubber with a slit. I am using some coffee filters I cut a slit in instead.
Turn the bucket over and push your plant through root first leaving some stem and leaves hanging out. Then put your hand down inside the bucket and place the coffee filter collar around the roots. If your hole seems too big for your root ball then just use extra thickness of coffee filters. You may be saying to yourself, these filters are not going to hold my plant in once I've put in my potting soil, but they will.
Now it's time to fill your bucket with potting soil to within a few inches of the top. I could lay the bucket on its side and manage this myself but its much easier to have a helper and so I had hubby hold the bucket upright while I added the potting soil.
We used chain and S hooks to hang the planters but you could use rope or anything you think will be strong enough to hold all those pounds of tomatoes you're going to grow. I spent around $25 on 4 buckets, lids and S hooks. My husband had some chain left from another project.
You could make these for free with used buckets and something you have at home for a hanger.
I also planted a green pepper plant, and just because I could, a zucchini plant. I will let you know if it's a raging success or if the zucchini plant eventually brings it all crashing down.
Welcome to my upside down garden. It may not be aesthetically pleasing but it's definitely interesting and a sure fire neighborhood conversation starter.
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Comments: 58
wow I'm impressed this took some thinking
Thank you Ill have to try this
Well done, Kay. I might just have to try that.
Great idea to make your own. That's much more economical. Good luck, I hope you have tomatoes coming out your ears later this summer!!!
Great job! Hope they all do well.
I wish I was that crafty!
great idea
Interesting. Thanks.
Neat idea!
Cool planters and a neat idea!
Wow! Great idea! I hope you grow lots of tomatoes!!
This is a very clever idea. We already have a lot of them in our above ground boxes but I'd like to try this.
Oh my goodness, they look so cool! That's such a fun summer project!
Thanks! I've wondered how to make these myself, but haven't had the chance to check out the store bought ones...I'll have to try this!
Looks interesting. I can't wait to hear how they did.
Oh, I'd be out there checking on them every day. It's going to be fun following how they grow.
Neat, Can't wait to watch them grow.
Great job, how very cool :)
That's a great idea! Thanks, I might be able to do this project. :)
Good job.
very cool! I have heard about upside down tomato planting, but never knew anyone who had tried it! Can't wait to hear about how well your tomatoes grow!!
I should have done some strawberries this way. I need to find more places to hang things.
I'm so looking forward to seeing pictures from you this summer. I have been very curious about these upside down planters, and I cannot wait to see how they turn out.
Great! My sis just did some of these...or at least she was going to attempt making her own. I'll have to check to see if she did.
It will be fun to follow the progress of yours. Make sure to keep us updated. :)
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Thank you for posting to Gather Gardens!
Thank you for featuring my article Kim
There you go. My girlfriend bought one and a bird built a nest in it.
This is a wonderful substitute for those hanging baskets. I'll certainly give this a try. Thanks for a creative alternative.
Awesome idea, kay. I saw an ad for the upside downs, but they were over 25.00...that is a bit much. You did it much less expensively...:)
very cool idea! I wish my mom was computer literate - she would love this.
I want to try this
While driving around the other day, I noticed quite a few people are doing this. Some are using 3 gallon buckets. Good luck on your upside down gardening.
I will be watching your posts to see how these do! I was thinking about doing this, but I don't really have the hanging area to do so.
I bought an upside down planter for petunias a couple of years ago and never tried it. Maybe I'll see if I can find it. Looking forward to seeing your results with this.
That's very cool!
neat idea
I am impressed, very well done,and thanks for commenting on my stuff
This is a very good idea. Please take pictures of the tomatoes when they grow.
I'll update on this little experiment. I have a big postal scale and I'm going to weigh the produce as I pick it.
You did a great job, what a wonderful idea.
Most creative, imaginative, and definetly much cheaper, too. So glad you posted this, Kay. You did a GREAT job on making them. You're a smart thinker!! :-)
Very cool idea, and clever alternative to the commercial planter!
What a cool idea! If I liked tomatoes, I'd definitely try this. hehe
I'll keep an eye on the progress of your vegetable garden. Maybe I'll get my hubby to try this.
My FIL does this and has so mant tomatoes we can, can alot of them.
wow, that's interesting! I've never seen that before. If I didn't already have 30 tomatoes in the ground, I would try it
One of my neighbors is trying this. So far, no luck. Keep us updated, Kay. We'd all like to know how it turn out
You know, I have been thinking on how to do this for a while. This is great information and obviously you spent a lot of time, thinking and documenting. Thank you very much.
Your tomatoes look great in your video Sue.They wouldn't let me comment on it.
That's being creative. I love the idea.
This article has been featured in the group Gardening 101. Thanks for your excellent contribution to the group.
Thank you for featuring my article Vicky
Very cool! I can't wait to see how it turned out for you!
Great idea!
Different way to do it.