Currently there’s been a lot of news about growing plants in an upside down planter and probably you would like to have one too. There are of course a number of options that you can use, pre-made are the fastest and easiest but you needn’t really use them. Simple plastic bags and even plastic containers will do the trick as well. You would need a sturdy plastic container (preferably with its own handle), a sharp utility knife or a drill, coffee filter or old cloth or landscaping material, rope for hanging the container (if the container doesn’t have a handle).

Any type of container can be used to make an upside down planter

If you have ready plastic containers available, you can just as well use them. Use a 5-gallon plastic container. Ensure that it has a handle. The handle makes it easy to hang and transport. First thing to do is wash these containers with just a tablespoon of home bleach and about a gallon of water. The bleach kills all the bacteria and small insects that may be left over in the container.

Creating a planter

Turn the container over so that it becomes upside down planter and then take a sharp utility knife and cut a hole in the centre of the planter about 2 inches in diameter. If you have a drill machine with a 2’ bit, even that will do just fine. Clean out the edges. Now flip the container over and layer the hole with a coffee filter or even leftover landscaping material. Now fill it with dirt. A good quality brand soil sold at gardening and hardware shops will do just fine. You can even get ready mix soil that is a combination of soil, manure and other pesticides (we prefer organic) and fungicides. Fill the container fully.

Filling the upside down planter with soil

Essentially the filter or the material helps to contain the soil while the upside down planter is been filled with soil. Flip the container again so that it becomes the upside down planter. Now remove the filter or the material by inserting your fingers inside the hole. Also make space for the plant to be potted just like you would in an ordinary case. Put the plant in. The same rules apply here as an with the ordinary planting of tomatoes yet these are in the upside down planter. Plant the tomatoes in the soil firmly. Ensure that it won’t fall out. Else you would be left with the upside down planter and the plant on the ground.

Finding support for hanging the planters

Preferably you have already found a good support for your planter. Actually you should have a strong sturdy hanging place since the upside down planter will be quite heavy with all the soil and water.  To make the planter more visually pleasing, especially with the large 5 gallon pail type you can even plant other herbs or small flowers on the topside of the upside down planter. It gives your planter an additional bright look.

Watering the planters

You should water the plant after potting it, till a bit of the water seeps out of the upside down planter. This is essential to ensure that the soil is moist enough to provide nourishment to the plant. Your planters should be watered as per the needs of the plants and the weather conditions. Usually moderate watering every other day works fine for all types of plants.

Of course you need to pay attention to your growing plants in the upside down planter as you would do for your other plants in normal planters. So go ahead and plant a tomato or whatever that you fancy in an upside down planter.

Tags: growing plants, hanging place, plant a tomato, Plant the tomatoes, planter, plants, potting, soil, tomato planter udside down, Upside Down Planter, Watering the planters

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 8:43 am and is filed under Hanging Tomato Planters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.