Grow Hanging Tomatoes in Upside Down Planters

We have all seen the pleasure of tomatoes being plucked right from a plant that is growing down on the ground by a happy gardener. But what if we don’t have the space to grow tomatoes and yet want to enjoy them. Well quite simply the solution is hanging tomatoes. All you need are some upside down planters and you plant the tomatoes in these planters.

The best part about these planters is that they can be hung in open spaces such as terraces, balcony’s and even patios. Upside down planters such as topsy-turvy are easily available and can be used by almost anyone.  They can be used easily to grow a number of plants. The most popular choice for growing crop in upside down planters remain tomatoes. For this reason they are also known as hanging tomatoes. Tomatoes also need lots of direct sun. Ensure that your plant has direct sunlight for at least 8-10 hours a day.

A solid choice for growing hanging tomatoes is the topsy-turvy planters. They are reasonably priced and are available almost everywhere. The hanging tomatoes should be planted right after the frost in the spring season. You can get good quality seedling from any garden store. But check that the seedling is robust. The leaves of the plant shouldn’t be wilted or curled up. The diameter of the stem should be the thickness of a pencil. The plant should be as tall as it’s wide.

Fertilizing the tomatoes – know the right techniques

Hanging tomatoes need less nitrogen than other vegetables. When you add fertilizer too the soil, check the label contents on the fertilizer plant. Nitrogen isn’t bad for the hanging tomato plant, but you would have fewer blossoms and larger foliage. This is something that you don’t want for the hanging tomatoes plant.

Water-soluble fertilizers work the best for the hanging tomatoes plant. They are absorbed easily and faster by the plant. Since hanging tomatoes are 85% water, the plant needs a lot of water, especially if you live in a hotter climate. Ensure that you water the plant regularly. Over watering can easily set rot in the plant.

The fertilizer shouldn’t be applied very close to the roots of the plant as it can burn and destroy the roots. This will make the plant extremely unhealthy. You would also need to fertilize your hanging tomatoes plant, once the blossoms come. It’s usually once in 10 days when the blossoms start to appear.

Watering mechanism for the plant

Most planters come with their own watering mechanism. These planters have a hole from where you would need to water the plant. Usually drip water system works the best for hanging tomatoes plant in these planters. If the plant is watered irregularly, then you would get too few blossoms and the root can also be destroyed.  A watering can also works great.  If you don’t have one, don’t worry any container that hold water like a big glass or plastic jug will do.

Lots of small tomatoes vs. bigger but fewer tomatoes

If you want lots of tomatoes from your hanging tomatoes plant, then you needn’t trim the plant at all. You will get lots of tomatoes, but they will be smaller in size. But if you want larger tomatoes then you would be require to trim the new shoots that appear between the branches.

You would also need to apply some pesticides to protect the plant from insects, as you would do in a conventional garden. The planters will only assist you in growing the tomatoes, but you would need to take care of the plants yourself.

Tags: garden, hanging planter, hanging tomato, Hanging Tomatoes, tomato planter udside down, tomatoes

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Hanging Tomato Planters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.