Make an Upside Down Tomato Planter

Have you seen those expensive upside down tomato planters in catalogs? Don't be a fool and buy one, they get terrible reviews. Make your own. Tomatoes are vines, so they don't seem to be confused by being planted upside down, but apparently many of the critters that munch on tomato plants are. The best thing about these planters is you can use the top space to plant other things like herbs: basil, parsley and butterhead lettuce work great.

Steps

  1. Find a five gallon bucket with handle. You can buy one from the local hardware store in the paint section, but it's better to re-use. This one carried salt for a marine aquarium. Pool chemicals sometimes come in {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} buckets, and even laundry detergent.
  2. Drill a one to two inch hole in the bottom center of the bucket.
  3. After frost in your area, carefully stick a small tomato plant through the hole, leaving the root ball, soil intact in the bucket.
  4. Without squashing your plant, carefully fill the bucket with a bag of potting soil. You may want to add other things beneficial to tomatoes like blood meal.
  5. Hang in a secure location with full sunshine.
  6. Water from the top and keep it watered according to the needs of your plants.
  7. Plant some seeds or herbs on the top. Some ideas include parsley, basil, radishes, lettuce, carrots and more.
  8. Be patient. In a couple of months, you will enjoy your tomatoes, saving patio space as well as creating a conversational item.



Tips

  • If your handle breaks, drill two half inch holes on the sides and hang with heavy duty rope, like rope for a small boat.
  • Plant cherry tomatoes and hang your bucket from the kid's swing set. They'll have a healthy little organic treat at their finger tips!

Things You'll Need

  • Five gallon bucket
  • Small tomato plant
  • Drill *
  • One to two inch drill bit.
  • Potting soil
  • Herb seeds or seedlings to compliment your tomatoes. Basil is a great choice.

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