Planting Tomatoes Upside Down

by Amy Stevens AdamscloseAuthor: Amy Stevens Adams Name: Amy Stevens Adams
Email: amy@capecodbranding.com
Site: http://capecodbranding.com
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I love cooking with tomatoes and have always wanted to grow them in my own garden. I am by no means a gardener and am just now beginning to find my way around the yard, literally. My dad is the opposite. He knows everything about every plant, can grow anything, and loves the time he spends out in my parents’ massive (7 acre) property; tending to his fruit trees, vegetable garden, pond, rose bushes, asparagus patch, bamboo, and tons of various flowers. He has a very green thumb that I never inherited. Over the years I’ve called him for advice when I’ve noticed some poor houseplant of mine (usually ivy) is on it’s last legs.  This year my call was different. I needed advice on a ‘real’ garden. My first question was how to grow tomatoes. He told me that while tomatoes are relatively easy to grow, they do have their share of issues; pests and animals will want to snack on them, and I’d have to string them up to keep them out of the dirt. However, he told me, “you can hang them”.

Hanging tomatoes upside down from a planter solves many of their problems, and also looks cool. I rushed out to pick up the few simple supplies I’d need.

1. Hanging planter (Mine is about 16″ in diameter and lined in moss)

2. Potting soil (I’m using Coast of Maine. Great stuff)

3. Tomato plants (I bought 5 of them, 2 Cherry Tomatoes and 3 Vine Tomatoes)

4. Basil plants to plant on the top (This can be any herb or flower you want)

Once back home I filled the planter with soil and began by figuring out where I’d want my tomatoes to hang. Because my planter hangs against the house, I didn’t want to plant along the backside where there wouldn’t be sun exposure. So I marked off 5 spots on the front half of the planter (down on the sides where the moss shows through the metalwork, refer to photo above) and I used a pair of scissors to make holes the size of quarters. From there, I took each tomato plant out of it’s little plastic square box and shook off most of the dirt from it’s roots and literally shoved the roots through each hole and into the soil on the inside of the planter. I made sure the plants where securely in the holes by pushing them in about 3 inches (some tomato plants will need to have a couple low leaves removed to do this). Now I had tomatoes plants hanging upside down around the side of the hanging planter. Next I planted my basil on the top of the planter just like you normally would plant.

The tomatoes will continue to grow down and as the fruit grows it will weigh it down. This will allow the tomatoes to hang freely without having to sit in the dirt or risk be eaten by deer or rabbits. As they ripen, just pluck them off.  I’ll post updates and new pictures every couple of weeks. Feel free to post any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

-Amy Stevens Adams of Cape Cod Branding

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