Go Topsy-Turvy for Earth Day 2010
Lots of people grow delicious homegrown tomatoes upside down, thanks to a method appropriately nicknamed "topsy-turvy." The tomato branches hang downward and the tomatoes remain up high and out of reach of most bugs and worms but easy to pluck for harvesting.
- You'll need a 3-5 gallon plastic pail with a wire handle. You can recycle the 5-gallon buckets that joint compound or house paint come in, as long as you can get them clean.
- Next, use a tomato plant that has already started. Grow them from seed yourself or buy them at a nursery. Cherry tomatoes are a great choice, but any tomato that appeals to you can be grown topsy-turvy.
- Cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket that is about 2-3 inches in diameter. You want the hole large enough to accommodate the stalk of the plant while still keeping it as small as possible.
- Next, enlist a friend to hold the bucket right-side up as you remove the starter plant tomato out of its pot or container - along with enough dirt to keep the roots nicely covered and protected.
- Turn the plant upside down and push the branches and leaves through the hole in the bucket from the inside - being careful and gentle.
- You should wind up with the green portion of the plant hanging down through the hole in the bottom of the bucket, held in place by a plug of dirt - the dirt covering the root ball - so it doesn't fall all the way out of the bucket (if it does fall through you cut the hole a little too big).
- Now add potting soil to the inside of your pail until it is filled about three-quarters of the way, packing it tighter around the plant's root ball to help secure the plant in place.
- Hang the bucket right-side up in full sun, high but within reach, from a planter hook or nail, and water it from above.
Be sure to situate the plant where water that might drip down as you water it will not be an annoyance - like on a balcony or deck that isn't right above your neighbor's outdoor furniture or your BBQ grill. Add a layer of mulch atop the soil to conserve moisture and you won't have to water as often.
