Have you ever given a thought to the option of growing tomato plant upside down? Tomatoes are fun as well as easy to grow, when compared to other fruits. Still, there are a few aspects that you need to pay attention to. Often, the ground soil lacks in the nutrients required to grow tomatoes. On other occasions, fully grown tomatoes are attacked by pests. In order to save your tomato plants from such situations, the best bet would be to grow them upside down. Now, are you wondering how should you go about with it? Do not worry, as we given below some tips to help you know how to grow upside down tomatoes.
Growing Tomato Plant Upside Down
Materials Required
- 5-gallon Bucket, with handle and lid
- Sphagnum Moss/ Newspaper/ Coffee Filters
- Soil
- Tomato (species of your choice)
- Small Drill
Directions
- The first step would be to drill a hole in the base of the bucket. The most appropriate size for the hole would range between 2 and 3 inches in diameter.
- Now, lay the bucket on its side, with the hole exposed. Put in some material, such as sphagnum moss, newspaper or coffee filters, to secure the seedling at the bottom.
- Gently thread the leaves and stems through the hole, so that about 2 inches of the stem is protruding out from the bottom.
- Once the plant has been threaded, make sure that the material is nicely packed, so that it holds the plant and prohibits it from falling down, until the root system has developed.
- While holding the plant, put soil into the bucket. Make sure that soil is well distributed to every root ball and comes up to at least 2 inches below the soil line.
- Add about 2 cups of compost on top of the soil. Again fill the bucket with soil, this time an inch of it.
- Now, hang the bucket by its handle on a tree branch. Water the plant, until it starts running out of the bottom hole.
- Check if the soil level is still at 2 inches. If it is less than 2 inches, add more soil.
- Lastly, cover the bucket with the lid, making sure that you do not seal it tightly. The lid would help prevent moisture loss and also protect the plant during extreme rainfall.
- From time to time, add water to the bucket, along with fertilizers, to grow a healthy tomato plant!